Evaluating an attract and kill strategy to manage tortricid moth pests using plant volatile-based lures and the biopesticide Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki

Tortricid moths are economically damaging apple pests. The main damage is caused by caterpillars, which bore into the fruit rendering the fruit unmarketable. Most apple growers in New England use synthetic insecticides to control caterpillars. Some small-scale growers believe that there is a need for a management system that is eco-friendly as well as less expensive. To address this issue, we evaluated an environment friendly attract and kill system against codling moth and oriental fruit moth. We hypothesized that by strategically installing attractive lures the pest will aggregate in specific areas within the orchard, giving us a chance to implement control measures on those areas, leaving other parts of orchard comparatively pest- and chemical-free. PHEROCON® Megalure CM 4K Dual lures were used, and the information collected was used to set up a biofix for targeted application of the biopesticide, Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t. = Dipel). Our results show that trees baited with Megalure dispensers and B.t. application had 2% tortricid fruit injury on average whereas trees without lures and trees baited with lures but no B.t. application had 3.8% and 11% percent injury, respectively. The results from this study suggest that the attract-and-kill system described here may be effective at managing codling moth in small orchards, and this approach should be evaluated further.