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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Curculio / Surround adhesion question

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  • From: <dmnorton@royaloakfarmorchard.com>
  • To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Curculio / Surround adhesion question
  • Date: Fri, 8 Jun 2007 11:31:39 -0500

The Trece traps come with wire attatched to them to wrap around a branch.  I hang the traps inside the tree canopy so there are stems with leaves resting on the trap which allows the PC to get to the trap.
 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2007 1:58 PM
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Curculio / Surround adhesion question

Thanks Dennis,
 
6mm is closer to 1/4" not an 1/8. (6mm=.234 inches which is almost a quarter).  That's the part that had me confused.  A lot of websites indicate the curculios are 1/4" which is twice as long as the little critters I see.  Maybe we just don't grow 'em as big here.  I guess this ain't Texas.  Maybe I'll try to get a picture of one.  But they are so small it's hard to compare them to the pictures I see on the internet.
 
With respect to the curculio trap, what do you use to hang the traps in the trees? String, wire?  Do they just climb down the string, wire?
 
Thanks,
Mark
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2007 9:26 PM
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Curculio / Surround adhesion question

Mark,
 
I have never seen PC really any longer than 5-6mm.  I have probably seen nearly 100 or so and they have all been around that size.  For those not acquainted with the metric measurement of insects, 6mm=1/8".
 
You spray at petal fall because you want the PC adults to ingest the spray before they lay eggs so they never have the chance to lay those eggs.   If the spray is done at petal fall before full fruit set, it is in place to be ingested as the females begin to strike the fruit which can happen as quickly as 2-3 days from petal fall.  I have seen strikes on fruit as small as 3mm in Liberty apples that set first and grow the fastest.  Our Liberty were at 20mm when most other varieties were at 12 - 15mm.  We thin with NAA between 12 and 15mm and have to use Sevin on anything larger than 15mm.  And if you let PC larvae survive in the fruitlets, they will become the next year's adults as they survive through June drop.  They will stay in the fruit and never ingest any spray.  Hope that answers your questions.  If not, just let me know.
 
 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2007 9:26 AM
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Curculio / Surround adhesion question

Dennis,
 
I had some questions about curculio. I think I've seen the buggers on the trees, but the info on the web says they are about 5-6mm long.  The snout beetles I see on the trees are no longer than 1/8 inch, about the size of small lady beetles (significantly shorter than 6mm).  They act like curculio, in that they drop and play dead, but I'm confused about the size.  Do you see curculio 1/8 inch long?  Do you ever see them larger?
 
Secondly, why spray at petal fall?  I know it's the recommendation, but I don't understand it.   Since the fruit is at such an early stage of development there's nothing to sustain the eggs.  If the eggs, or adults, kill a few fruitlets, so what.  Doesn't the fruit need thinned anyway?  Why not wait till the fruitlets get large enough to sustain the larva before spraying?  What am I missing? 
 
Thanks,
Mark
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, June 05, 2007 9:04 AM
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Curculio / Surround adhesion question

Stephen,
 
I devised a pheromone trap for plum curculio this season and it worked very well for us.  I trapped about a half dozen PC total, but one is all that is needed.  If you trap one, you know they are in your trees.  I placed 1 trap per block in our orchard for a total of 7 traps.   I trapped one PC in each trap and had ovipositing on 3 mm fruit from each of the trees where the traps were located.  The first PC appeared May 8 at 250 GDD when we were at pink.  Bloom was on May 12 and petal fall was May 18.  Our biofix for codling moth was May 10 and we hit threshold on May 18.  I found that plum curculio were in the orchard before bloom, so I could do my spray as soon as petal fall.  The traps showed me that the PC were in the trees about 2 - 3weeks before we had 3mm fruit.  Even without traps, the spray at petal fall is still the best defense against PC because they will usually enter your trees before bloom.  For now, we use a 2lb/acre rate of Imidan instead of the 4lb/acre rate for codling moth and use Rimon for codling moth.  Rimon is one of the newer growth inhibitors and is supposed to work on PC also.   
 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, June 04, 2007 2:17 PM
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Curculio / Surround adhesion question

Though curculio is not a problem out here, I still try to keep an eye on control methods.  The reports of good control are isolated.  Some growers like Surround plus Neem; some use trap trees; some burn the underlying plants.  I think it’s most likely that a combination of methods would work best.  I’m hoping for more effective pheromone traps, which would not just monitor the presence of the wee beasts but trap them out or interfere with mating.  IPM (integrated pest management with limited pesticide use) is an understandable choice vs. organic when dealing with curculio.  Our coop carries only organic produce, but I think we lose business by not having local IPM crops available hen there’s no organic alternative.  Then again, being strict does create a demand for more all-organic crops.  But we’re spoiled.  Right now we don’t have pests that can’t be controlled organically. 

 

~ Stephen

 


From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Lee Reich
Sent: Monday, June 04, 2007 6:48 AM
To: North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Curculio / Surround adhesion question

 

I sprayed Surround on my apples for about five years, beginning right after petal fall and then every week or two or whenever it rained about an inch. I got good coverage using a gasoline powered Stihl backpack sprayer. In those five years, I harvested almost no apples and would often see curculio scars on the fruits the day after I sprayed!

 

Lee Reich, PhD

 

Books by Lee Reich:

The Pruning Book

Weedless Gardening

Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden

A Northeast Gardener's Year




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