Integrated pest management and lab rearing of plum curculio in peaches

Plum curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar (Herbst.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is an economically important pest of peaches in the United States. Both the adult and larvae are responsible for crop damage and can cause up to 85% loss in peach production. Eggs are laid directly into the fruit and the larvae cause significant damage by feeding inside the fruit, thus rendering the peach unmarketable. Further, damage by larvae feeding induces fruit drops thereby decreasing crop production. As eggs and larvae are protected by the developing fruit, chemical controls need precise timings. The most common management practice used by the growers is calendar-based insecticide applications targeting adults. In recent years, peach growers are experiencing higher than expected peach damage using calendar-based insecticide sprays. Mismatched spray timings and/or insecticide resistance may explain this yield loss and to this end, this project has two objectives. (1) To implement an integrated pest management approach (IPM) using insect monitoring to increase the efficacy of conventional spray programs and (2) develop a laboratory rearing procedure and perform bioassays testing for insecticide resistance in plum curculio. We are monitoring plum curculio in commercial peach orchards throughout the season using trunk traps baited with benzaldehyde lures. Live plum curculios collected from the field will be used to start the lab colony in green thinning apples, allowing the larvae to pupate in a controlled environment. The overall goal of this study is to develop integrated pest management strategies for plum curculio in peaches.