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INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF APPLE PESTS IN 

 MASSACHUSETTS - 1978 RESULTS: INSECTS 



K. I. Hauschild and R. J. Prokopy 

 Department of Entomology 

 University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003 



In 1978, the United States Department of Agriculture Extension 

 Service made monies available for the study of integrated pest 

 management (IPM) on major crops grown in the United States. We 

 applied for and received such a grant to study integrated manage- 

 ment of apple pests in Massachusetts. Although apples rank 6th in 

 economic importance of agricultural crops in this state, pesticide 

 usage ranks highest. 



Reduced spray programs have been discussed in previous issues 

 of Fruit Notes [41(1), 41(2), 41(3), 42(3) and 43(3)1. The major 

 objective of our IPM program was to utilize data obtained from trap 

 captures of pest adults and other methods (such as sampling leaves 

 for mites and observing leaf and fruit clusters for aphids and their 

 predators) to better time, and hopefully decrease, the number of 

 spray applications aimed against fruit and leaf pests while main- 

 taining fruit quality. 



METHODS 



During the growing season of 1978, we scouted 24 orchards in 

 the four major fruit growing counties (Middlesex, Worcester, Hamp- 

 den and Franklin) in Massachusetts. Eight orchards were in the IPM 

 program, wherein we told the growers when and what materials to 

 spray. Eight were check orchards in which the growers sprayed their 

 usual program with whatever materials they wished to use. Four 

 were abandoned orchards which we used to observe presence and rela- 

 tive numbers of insect pests. Four were alternate-middle vs. every- 

 middle spray orchards. (We will discuss the 1978 results of the 

 alternate vs. every-middle program in the next issue of Fruit Notes .) 



Every week 10 trees in a 10-acre block in each IPM and check 

 orchard were scouted for beneficial and pest insects. We looked at 

 45 leaf clusters and 45 fruits from all parts of each tree for aphids, 

 aphid predators, other leaf and fruit pests and any injury. Later 

 in the season (from mid-June to harvest) we took leaf samples which 

 we brought back to the lab and brushed for predator and leaf-feeding 

 mites [see Fruit Notes 43(4) ]. We also used visual traps to monitor 

 tarnished plant bug and European apple sawfly adults in all orchards 



[see Fruit Notes 43(1) and 43(2)], pheromone (sex odor) traps for 

 codling moth and leafrollers, and unbaited sticky red spheres, 

 sticky j,red spheres baited with ammonium acetate (a food mimic), and 

 Zoecon AM Standard baited yellow rectangles for apple maggot flies 



[see Fruit Notes 41(5) and 41(6)]. In the IPM orchards, decisions 



We would like to thank Ted Bardinelli, Kevin Beswick, Victoria 

 Ciarcia, Sylvia Cooley and Thomas Luippold for their assistance 

 in this program, as well as the MFGA and participating fruit 

 growers . 



