12 



At 4 Twilight meetings in each of the 3 regions, growers were provided 

 with extensive IPM training including 2 hours at each session covering sprayer 

 calibration using the Tree-Row-Volume method. These calibration sessions 

 provided a total of about 450 grower-training-hours, all suitable for pesticide 

 applicator certification credits. A 5-page handout titled "Calibration of 

 Orchard Sprayers Using the Tree Row Volume Method" prepared by entomology staff 

 was distributed at these meetings. This information is also being incorporated 

 into a computerized expert system which should be publicly available in the 

 near future. We would like to acknowledge the support and assistance of Mr. 

 Bill Doe, Doe Ag. Sales, and Mr. Rick Clark, Orchard Equipment and Supply, who 

 provided substantial expertise in fine-tuning the calibration of several 

 diverse types of sprayers. We also would like to acknowledge the contribution 

 of the Regional Agents who assisted in presenting this material at the twilight 

 meetings . 



Fungicide, insecticide, and insect growth regulator trials were again 

 performed at the HRC and at grower sites, testing chemicals which may be or 

 presently are a component of commercial spray programs. Evaluation of pesticide 

 effects on mite predators continued as did evaluation of disease-resistant 

 apple cultivars. A commercial test block of disease-resistant cultivars planted 

 in a randomized block design was established at the Rice farm in Wilbraham. 

 This planting is intended to assess the feasibility of using no fungicides and 

 a minimum of insecticides in a commercial setting, and to define further 

 horticultural characteristics and marketability of these cultivars. 



Related Entomology research and adaptive studies continued to focus on 

 evaluation of selective, relatively non-toxic pesticides and development of 

 monitoring traps for Tentiform Leafminer, on timing of plant bug injury and 

 pesticide treatment for plant bug, and on the behavioral ecology of the Apple 

 Maggot Fly and the Plum Curculio. Other Entomology studies involved a test of 

 several visual traps for monitoring the Walnut Husk Maggot (an occasional peach 

 pest), a project to collect and identify unusual mite predators first found 

 last season in a low-spray orchard in Stow, MA, and, in cooperation with Dr. 

 Alan Eaton, University of New Hampshire, a survey to determine the distribution 

 in Massachusetts of Psylla mali , the European Apple sucker. P . ma 1 i is not 

 found as a pest in commercial orchards, but appears to be expanding its range 

 and may become a pest in commercial blocks in the future. 



Insect/Mite Pest Status and Harvest Injury, 1986 



Tarnished plant bug - TPB was once again the number one cause of insect 

 injury in the state's commercial apple orchards. In one block we visited 

 weekly, no pre-bloom insecticide was applied, and on-tree injury reached 4%. 

 However, most "dimples" were in or near the calyx, and would not likely have 

 resulted in fruit downgrading. 



Plum curculio - Extremely favorable weather in late May caused PC to 



emerge in most areas over a very short period of time, allowing some growers to 



control PC with one insecticide application. In a few locations, however, PC 

 egglaying scars were seen in late June and early July. 



Apple maggot fly - Trap captures continued this year into October in all 

 areas of the state, although overall numbers of AMF captured were not high, and 

 only one Extension-monitored block sustained any injury. Again this year peak 



