16 



Pest Problem s 



Table 5 contains information about which pests growers perceive to be a 

 problem in their orchards. The definition of "prob lem"--whether it meant a 

 potential problem or a situation which was not being adequately control led-- 

 was left to the respondent. Most seemed to use the latter definition. The 

 choices are ranked by the percent of respondents who answered "yes." 



Table 5- Which pests are a problem on your farm? 



^Scab=apple scab; ERM=European red mite; PC=plum curcul io; TPB=tarn i shed 

 plant bug; LM=leafminers; BR=black rot; AMF=apple maggot fly; SJS=San Jose 

 scale; GAA=green apple aphid. 



Most growers reported Scab, ERM, PC, and TPB as problem pests. 

 However, the relative importance given these pests varied among regions of 

 the state. Three-fourths of the growers in the western part of the state 

 regarded plum curcul io to be a problem while less than half those in the 

 central section responded positively. The situation is almost exactly 

 reversed in the case of European red mites, the number one perceived problem 

 pest in central Massachusetts, but not widely regarded as a problem in the 

 west. The southeast, meanwhile, was apparently untroubled by tarnished 

 plant bug. While about the same number of growers considered leafminers to 

 be a problem in central (^5%) and southeastern (^46%) Mass., only about 1/3 

 of western Mass. growers considered it so. SJS was also perceived as rela- 

 tively more a problem by central and southeastern growers. We do not have 

 data to indicate whether these differences are a matter of grower attitudes, 

 or whether there is an actual difference in pest pressure among the three 

 regions. In either case, this unexpected result deserves further investiga- 

 t ion. 



Cone 1 us ion 



We are pleased to conclude from survey results that Massachusetts com- 

 mercial apple growers are highly aware of tPM, that a sizable portion have 

 adopted sound IPM practices, and that traditional Cooperative Extension 

 delivery methods are rated as very useful sources of information on pesti- 

 cides and pest control. We would like to express our appreciation to the 

 growers who participated in the survey for their time and cooperation. 



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