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The rationale leading to initiation o£ the project was as fol- 

 lows: "Although extension effort to provide New York fruit growers 

 with the best possible advice on controlling their orchard pests 

 has been successful, growers are receiving information and advice 

 primarily on an area basis and often cannot interpret and adapt 

 this to conditions on their farms. For example, pest pressures 

 may be heavier on certain farms than on others and, presently, 

 growers have no way of determining their specific needs for con- 

 trol measures. Consequently, growers predominently use insurance 

 (preventative) type pesticide programs." 



In 1973, the project was established to determine: "(1) if 

 a pest management system could be established to integrate all the 

 useful known and new pest management techniques, (2) if New York 

 fruit growers could reduce their pesticide use through efficient 

 pest management without reduction of the quality and quantity of 

 fruit, and (3) if a core of specialists could be trained in fruit 

 pest management to continue and expand the practices demonstrated 

 in this system." 



The approach taken in Wayne County aimed at establishing a 

 total farm advisory program on all apple pests, beginning with 

 pre-season grower conferences and strategy meetings, and including 

 full (daily-weekly) in-season grower advice and consultation. The 

 program was carried out by farm advisors and assisting field scouts 

 trained in insect, mite, and disease management, and by research 

 and extension personnel. 



The backbone of the program was continuous monitoring of all 

 orchards for pertinent weather data, pests, chemicals, and bene- 

 ficial organisms. For example, traps baited with synthetic sex 

 odor attractants (pheromones) were used to monitor populations of 

 codling moth and several leafrollers (see Fruit Notes 41:Jan-Feb. 

 1976 for further information on codling moth traps) . Visual traps 

 baited with a feeding-type odor lure were used to monitor apple maggot 

 flies. (I will discuss apple maggot traps in the next issue of 

 Fruit Notes .) Apple maggot, codling moth, and leafrollers have 

 been controlled so well during the past decade or more that they 

 are no longer present in most commercial orchards. But they are 

 ever-present in nearby wild or abandoned trees. The strategy of 

 the program was to prevent these pests from becoming established 

 in commercial orchards. The monitoring traps were employed to de- 

 tect such invasions. The data on daily or weekly pest captures in 

 the monitoring traps also provided information on insect emergence 

 patterns and prediction of potential pest outbreaks. Many insect 

 pests such as plant bugs, aphids, leafrollers, curculio, scales, 

 and fruitworms were monitored through traditional sampling methods 

 such as emergence cages and orchard inspection. Programs encour- 

 aging the development of mite predators and other beneficial organ- 

 isms were established (see Fruit Notes 41:Mar-Apr. 1976 for further 

 information on mite predators) . Extensive programs for precisely 



