Time to Plan For Plum Curculio

Plum Curculio Ovipositing Egg

With apple scab season in our midst, and petal fall coming to an end, it is time to turn our attention to several insect pests. Plum curculio (PC) is one of the most difficult insect pests to contain.  They enter the orchard from the perimeter after the adults pass the winter hidden under leaves, along fence rows, in brush piles, rock walls and in other protected places. In spring when the weather warms up (mean temperature 60°F. or maximum temperature above 75°F.), about the same time apples are blooming, the adults become active. The adult plum curculio beetles, pictured to the left, emerge right around or just after petal fall, to feed on apple buds, flowers, leaves and young fruit.  The duration of full bloom to petal fall is usually about 5 to 10 days.  From petal fall to fruit set is generally another 5 to 10 days, depending on temperatures.  Once the fruit sets, female beetles cut holes in the young fruit and deposit one egg in each cavity. 

 

 

These sites, called oviposition stings, are easily identified by their crescent shaped cuts. Unlike codling moth, the larvae of plum curculio rarely cause damage to the fruit. The fruit is primarily damaged superficially by the egg-laying and feeding by the adults. These "stings" will cork over and cause an indentation in the fruit as it matures making it look deformed and unsightly.

The question then becomes, how do we control them??  Pesticide application at this time is very important for plum curculio control. To prevent fruit drop, and due to toxicity to bees if there are still blooms on the trees, do not use carbaryl (Sevin®) or any pyrethrin based spray as these are highly toxic to honey bees and other pollinators as well as any beneficial insects. Any other pesticides should be applied int he evening when the honey bees have returned tot heor hives.  For home growers, an acetamiprid spray such as Ortho® Flower, Fruit & Vegetable Insect Killer Ready-Spray is a deterrent.  If no blooms are present  on any trees, a pyrethrin based spray can be used as a deterrent, even though there may be no fruit.  Picking up and disposing of any fallen fruit will reduce problems with plum curculio, other insects, and many plant diseases. For conventional growers, Avaunt or Assail are two choices you might use, based on your codling moth protocol and your apple maggot protocol.

For a pure organic spray, the two most frequently used insecticides are Surround® and Pyganic®, both certified organic. The organic products may need to be sprayed multiple times for complete control at 7 to 10 day intervals or after any rain. And, as always, follow all label directions on any spray product. 

For a complete Fact Sheet on Plum Curculio, consult the Cornell University Plum Curculio Fact Sheet and for an in depth look at this pest.
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This publication contains pesticide recommendations that are subject to change at any time. These recommendations are provided only as a guide. It is always the pesticide applicator's responsibility, by law, to read and follow all current label directions for the specific pesticide being used. Due to constantly changing labels and product registration, some of the recommendations given in this writing may no longer be legal by the time you read them. If any information in these  recommendations disagrees with the label, the recommendation must be disregarded. No endorsement is intended for products mentioned, nor is criticism meant for products not mentioned.  The author assumes no liability resulting from the use of these recommendations.

Our First Major Insect of the Growing Season

Plum Curculio Ovipositing Egg

With apple scab season in our midst, and petal fall ending, it is time to turn our attention to several insect pests.  I have had the first sighting of plum curculio activity in the orchard today.   Plum curculio (PC) is one of the most difficult insect pests to contain.  They enter the orchard from the perimeter after the adults pass the winter hidden under leaves, along fence rows, in brush piles, rock walls and in other protected places. In spring when the weather warms up (mean temperature 60°F. or maximum temperature above 75°F.), about the same time apples are blooming, the adults become active. The adult plum curculio beetles, pictured to the left, emerge right around or just after petal fall, to feed on apple buds, flowers, leaves and young fruit.  The duration of full bloom to petal fall is usually about 5 to 10 days.  From petal fall to fruit set is generally another 5 to 10 days, depending on temperatures.  Once the fruit sets, female beetles cut holes in the young fruit and deposit one egg in each cavity. 

 

 

These sites, called oviposition stings, are easily identified by their crescent shaped cuts. Unlike codling moth, the larvae of plum curculio rarely cause damage to the fruit. The fruit is primarily damaged superficially by the egg-laying and feeding by the adults. These "stings" will cork over and cause an indentation in the fruit as it matures making it look deformed and unsightly.

The question then becomes, how do we control them??  Pesticide application at this time is very important for plum curculio control. To prevent fruit drop, and due to toxicity to bees if there are still blooms on the trees, do not use carbaryl (Sevin®) or any pyrethrin based spray as these are highly toxic to honey bees and other pollinators as well as any beneficial insects. For home growers, an acetamiprid spray such as Ortho® Flower, Fruit & Vegetable Insect Killer Ready-Spray is a deterrent.  If no blooms are present  on any trees, a pyrethrin based spray can be used as a deterrent, even though there may be no fruit.  Picking up and disposing of any fallen fruit will reduce problems with plum curculio, other insects, and many plant diseases. For conventional growers, Avaunt or Assail are two choices you might use, based on your codling moth protocol and your apple maggot protocol.

For a pure organic spray, the two most frequently used insecticides are Surround® and Pyganic®, both certified organic. The organic products may need to be sprayed multiple times for complete control at 7 to 10 day intervals or after any rain. And, as always, follow all label directions on any spray product. 

For a complete Fact Sheet on Plum Curculio, consult the Cornell University Plum Curculio Fact Sheet and for an in depth look at 

 Reference in this publication to any specific commercial product, process, or service, or the use

of any trade, firm, or corporation name is for general informational purposes only and does not

constitute an endorsement or certification of any kind by Royal Oak Farm.

People using spray products assume responsibility for their use

in accordance with current label directions of the manufacturer.

Planning for Pest Management for the 2019 Growing Season

Many homeowners enjoy raising their own fruit, but anyone who has attempted to grow fruit in their backyard knows that fruit crops are attacked by a wide variety of insect and disease pests and prone to environmental damage, especially in the Midwest.  For your Home Orchard, we recommend the use of an entirely new approach to managing pests called Biointensive Integrated Pest management (Bio-IPM) to minimize the insect and disease damage to your fruit. Biointensive IPM utilizes a systems approach to pest management based on an understanding of pest ecology and tree physiology.  It begins with steps to accurately diagnose the nature and source of pest problems, and then relies on a range of preventive tactics and biological controls to keep pest populations within acceptable limits.  The preventative tactics include a combination of ecological, biological, natural, and cultural controls to keep applications of chemical and organic controls to a minimum. The goal is only to spray as a last resort for the control of pest and disease and to only use the most environmentally friendly materials.

In the northern regions of Illinois and in most apple growing regions east of the Mississippi, there are four main pests of apple trees.  Those four main pests are plum curculio, codling moth, apple maggot, fire blight and apple scab. To learn more about these pests and how to control them, you may want to download the available pest fact sheets  and the "Managing Pests in Home Fruit Plantings" guide from Purdue University available here or on our web site. This publication provides homeowners with the information they need to produce an acceptable amount of quality fruit (apples, pears, peaches, plums, cherries, grapes, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, currants, gooseberries).

  

Often there are enough beneficials (insects that prey upon other insects) to control the pest(s) in your orchard without spraying.  On other occasions you might use traps to catch pest species as they enter your orchard, or determine from the traps that there are too few of the pest to cause serious damage to your trees or fruit. But if you do have to control insect pests, there are many new all natural products on the market today that can be a 100% ecological solution.  One of those products is spinosad. Spinosad is a natural substance made by a soil bacterium that can be toxic to insects. It is a mixture of two abcterium called spinosyn A and spinosyn D. It is can be used to control a wide variety of insect pests. But  always, as a last resort, reduced- risk pesticides may need to be used if other tactics have not been adequately effective, and with care to minimize risks. 



 As the growing season approaches, now is the  time to determine what pest problems you had last season, or may have this season, and what the best approach is to handle those problems.  As the various stages of tree growth develop, so does the growth of pests.   The "Managing Pests in Home Fruit Plantings" guide will provide for you a chart of the growth cycles of the tree and a spray guide chart to let you know what pests are prevalent during those growth stages.  The "Spray Guide" will give you a list of environmentally friendly products you might need to use against those pests as a last resort.  Remember, spray chemicals is a last resort, but is also necessary if bio-controls are not working on your pests.


 
The benefits of implementing biointensive IPM include reduced chemical input costs, reduced environmental impacts, and more effective and sustainable pest management.  An ecology-based IPM has the potential of decreasing inputs of natural chemicals and synthetic chemicals - all of which are energy intensive and increasingly costly in terms of financial and environmental impact.  All these efforts make it possible for you to apply chemical controls only a few times each season when they are truly required. And we can recommend the use the most environmentally friendly materials available in our Nursery Center.      

I hope you find this post useful!  As always, if you have any questions contact me anytime via comments or through our web site!

The Plum Curculio Invasion is Beginning

Plum Curculio Ovipositing Egg

With apple scab season in our midst, and petal fall beginning, it is time to turn our attention to several insect pests.  The first and most difficult to contain is plum curculio (PC).  The adults pass the winter hidden under leaves, along fence rows, in brush piles, rock walls and in other protected places. In spring when the weather warms up (mean temperature 60°F. or maximum temperature above 75°F.), about the same time apples are blooming, the adults become active. Adult plum curculio beetles, pictured to the left, emerge in the spring, right around or just after petal fall, to feed on apple buds, flowers, leaves and young fruit.  From full bloom to petal fall usually lasts about 5 to 10 days.  From petal fall to fruit set is generally 5 to 10 days, depending on temperatures.  Once the fruit sets, female beetles cut holes in the young fruit and deposit one egg in each cavity. 

 

 

These sites are easily identified by their crescent shaped cuts. Unlike codling moth, the larvae of plum curculio rarely cause damage to the fruit. The fruit is primarily damaged superficially by the egg-laying and feeding by the adults. These "stings" will cork over and cause an indentation in the fruit as it matures making it look deformed and unsightly.

 

 

The question then becomes, how do we control them??  Pesticide application at this time is very important for plum curculio control. To prevent fruit drop, and due to toxicity to bees if there are still blooms on the trees, do not use carbaryl (Sevin®) or any pyrethrin based spray as these are highly toxic to honey bees and other pollinators. For home growers, an acetamiprid spray such as Ortho® Flower, Fruit & Vegetable Insect Killer Ready-Spray is a deterrent.  If no blooms are present  on any trees, a pyrethrin based spray can be used as a deterrent, even though there may be no fruit.  Picking up and disposing of any fallen fruit will reduce problems with plum curculio, other insects, and many plant diseases. For conventional growers, Avaunt or Assail are two choices you might use, based on your codling moth protocol and your apple maggot protocol.  For a pure organic spray, the two most frequently used insecticides are Surround® and Pyganic®, both certified organic. The organic products may need to be sprayed multiple times for complete control at 7 to 10 day intervals or after any rain. And, as always, follow all label directions on any spray product.

For a complete Fact Sheet on Plum Curculio, consult the Cornell University Plum Curculio Fact Sheet and for an indepth look at plum curculio management in stone and pome fruits from Michigan State University.

Plum Curculio Expected This Weekend!

Adult Plum Curculio Ovipositing Egg

With the approach of petal fall upon us, and the temperatures predicted to be in the high 60's to low 70's this weekend, it is prime time for our ugly little friend, plum curculio (PC)! As soon as the temperatures hit 70, that is their signal to move into the apple trees.  Adult plum curculio beetles, pictured to the left, emerge in the spring, right around or just after petal fall, to feed on apple buds, flowers, leaves and young fruit.

Plum Curculio "stings" leave large "corked" spot on mature apples.

Female beetles cut holes in the young fruit and deposit one egg in each cavity.  These oviposition sites are easily identified by their crescent shaped cuts. Unlike codling moth, the larvae of plum curculio rarely cause damage to the fruit. The fruit is primarily damaged superficially by the egg-laying and feeding by the adults. These "stings" will cork over and cause an indentation in the fruit as it matures making it look deformed and unsightly.  The question then becomes, how do we control them??  Pesticide application at this time is very important for plum curculio control. But, to prevent fruit drop, and due to toxicity to bees if there are still blooms on the trees, do not use carbaryl (Sevin®) or any pyrethrin based spray as these are highly toxic to honey bees and other pollinators. 

So, for home growers, an acetamiprid spray such as Ortho® Flower, Fruit &  Vegetable Insect Killer Ready-Spray is a deterrent.  If no blooms are present  on any trees, a pyrethrin based spray can be used, but remember, pyrethrin will harm any beneficial insects as  well as bees.  Acetamiprid, in the cyano class of neonicotinoids, has been deemed safe to use when bees are not active, usually early in the evening before dusk.  Cultural practices include picking up and disposing of any fallen fruit which will reduce problems with plum curculio, other insects, and many plant diseases. For conventional growers, Avaunt or Assail are two choices you might use, based on your codling moth protocol and your apple maggot protocol.  For a pure organic spray, the two most frequently used insecticides are Surround® and Pyganic®, both certified organic. The organic products may need to be sprayed multiple times for complete control at 7 to 10 day intervals or after any rain. And, as always, follow all label directions on any spray product.

For a complete Fact Sheet on Plum Curculio, consult the Cornell University Plum Curculio Fact Sheet and for an indepth look at plum curculio management in stone and pome fruits from Michigan State University.

Plum Curculio Season

Plum Curculio Ovipositing Egg

With the petal fall being behind us, and the temperatures predicted to be near 80 this weekend, it is prime time for our ugly little friend, PC! Adult plum curculio beetles, pictured to the left, emerge in the spring, right around or just after petal fall, to feed on apple buds, flowers, leaves and young fruit. Female beetles cut holes in the young fruit and deposit one egg in each cavity.

These sites are easily identified by their crescent shaped cuts. Unlike codling moth, the larvae of plum curculio rarely cause damage to the fruit. The fruit is primarily damaged superficially by the egg-laying and feeding by the adults. These "stings" will cork over and cause an indentation in the fruit as it matures making it look deformed and unsightly. 

The question then becomes, how do we control them??  Pesticide application at this time is very important for plum curculio control. To prevent fruit drop, and due to toxicity to bees if there are still blooms on the trees, do not use carbaryl (Sevin®) or any pyrethrin based spray as these are highly toxic to honey bees and other pollinators. For home growers, an acetamiprid spray such as Ortho® Flower, Fruit & Vegetable Insect Killer Ready-Spray is a deterrent.  If no blooms are present  on any trees, a pyrethrin based spray can be used.  Picking up and disposing of any fallen fruit will reduce problems with plum curculio, other insects, and many plant diseases. For conventional growers, Avaunt or Assail are two choices you might use, based on your codling moth protocol and your apple maggot protocol.  For a pure organic spray, the two most frequently used insecticides are Surround® and Pyganic®, both certified organic. The organic products may need to be sprayed multiple times for complete control at 7 to 10 day intervals or after any rain. And, as always, follow all label directions on any spray product.

For a complete Fact Sheet on Plum Curculio, consult the Cornell University Plum Curculio Fact Sheet and for an indepth look at plum curculio management in stone and pome fruits from Michigan State University.