North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Doreen Howard" <gardendiva@charter.net>]

Thought this may be of interest to apple growers.
Doreen Howard

> STORY LEAD:
> Scientists Pit Fungus against Apple Pest
> ___________________________________________
>
> ARS News Service
> Agricultural Research Service, USDA
> Jan Suszkiw, (301) 504-1630, jan.suszkiw@ars.usda.gov
> October 23, 2008
> --View this report online, plus photos and related stories, at 
> www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr
>
> ___________________________________________
>
> A cocktail of gaseous compounds emitted by a beneficial fungus may offer a 
> way to biologically fumigate stored apples, ridding them of codling moth 
> larvae.
>
> That's the implication of studies conducted by entomologist Lerry Lacey 
> and others at the Agricultural Research Service's (ARS) Yakima 
> Agricultural Research Laboratory in Wapato, Wash. In earlier studies, they 
> showed that a blend of alcohols, esters and other gases released by the 
> fungus Muscodor albus killed adult potato tuber moths and larvae, costly 
> pests of stored tubers. The ARS researchers' work is part of a cooperative 
> agreement with AgraQuest, Inc., of Davis, California.
>
> In the Pacific Northwest, codling moths (Cydia pomonella) are problematic 
> for both growers and distributors. Stored apples are often fumigated with 
> broad-spectrum chemicals when the fruit is destined for foreign markets. 
> However, biobased treatments may provide options for codling-moth control 
> with economic and environmental advantages over standard chemical 
> fumigation.
>
> The Wapato team's investigation of M. albus falls under a larger program 
> to diminish reliance on synthetic chemical controls by using biocontrol 
> agents in an integrated pest management approach.
>
> In laboratory trials, Lacey placed adult codling moths inside special 
> fumigation chambers and exposed them for three days to fungal fumes that 
> killed 83 percent of the insects. Similarly exposing the larvae killed up 
> to 87 percent, depending on their developmental stage. The fungal gases 
> even reached larvae that burrowed inside apples, killing 73 percent of the 
> pests.
>
> Although the initial short-exposure tests didn't yield results comparable 
> to broad-spectrum chemicals, biofumigation's full potential has yet to be 
> evaluated within apple cartons, where the pests will be exposed to fungal 
> fumes for prolonged periods of time. For example, 14-day exposures of the 
> moth's overwintering stage--cocooned larvae, which are the hardest to 
> control--resulted in 100% mortality.
>
> Research by AgraQuest and others has also shown Muscodor's potential to 
> kill other fungi and bacteria harmful to stored fruit and vegetables and 
> to humans.
>
> ARS is a scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
> ___________________________________________
>
> This is one of the news reports that ARS Information distributes to 
> subscribers on weekdays. Send feedback and questions to the ARS News 
> Service at NewsService@ars.usda.gov.
>
> * You are subscribed to "ARS News" as gardendiva@charter.net.
> * To change the address, please notify the ARS News Service at 
> NewsService@ars.usda.gov.
> * To unsubscribe, send a blank email to 
> leave-155820-33919F@ls.ars.usda.gov.
> * Other ARS news products are available by e-mail. For details about them 
> or to subscribe, please contact the ARS News Service or visit 
> http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/lists.htm.
> __________________________________________
> ARS News Service, Information Staff, Agricultural Research Service
> 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128
> NewsService@ars.usda.gov | www.ars.usda.gov/news
> Phone (301) 504-1636 | fax (301) 504-1486