worm, as well as first-generation adults, eggs, and 

 larvae of codling moth, lesser appleworm, and sev- 

 eral species of leafrollers. Later generations of these 

 lepidopteran pests were managed culturally 

 through removal (in 1980) of all apple, pear, haw- 

 thorn, and quince trees within 600 feet of the or- 

 chard perimeter to create a host-free zone suffi- 

 ciently broad to discourage immigration of females. 

 In addition, dropped apples were removed on a 

 weekly basis from mid-August through harvest to 

 prevent within-orchard lepidopteran pest buildup. 



Apple maggot flies were managed behaviorally 

 by capturing females on unbaited red wooden 

 spheres, 3.5 inches in diameter and coated with 

 Tangletrap™. They were hung at the rate of 1 to 2 

 per tree (depending on fruit load) from early July 

 through harvest. The Tangletrap coating was not 

 replenished after traps were hung. Insects and 

 debris were removed twice (at monthly intervals) 

 before harvest. 



Foliar pests such as mites, aphids, leafminers, 

 and leafhoppers were suppressed biologically 

 through the action of beneficial predators and para- 

 sitoids that developed in the absence of pesticide use 

 from June onward. 



Disease management . Disease control occurred 

 primarily through the high level of resistance of all 

 4 cultivars to apple scab, and the moderate to high 

 level of resistance to cedar apple rust, powdery 

 mildew, and fireblight. There was, however, no 

 obvious resistance to the summer diseases sooty 

 blotch and flyspeck. Neither of the latter perma- 

 nently scar or deface fruit. Rather, toward harvest, 

 they appear as dark blotches or spots on the fruit 

 surface, which were removed completely during my 

 normal practice of cleaning the surface of each 

 harvested apple with a damp cloth before packing 

 apples in boxes for sale. 



Weed management . Beginningin 1985, orchard 

 understory growth was controlled through mulch- 

 ing with hay under the tree canopy and periodic 

 mowing. In late April, about 3/4 bale of hay was 

 spread annually beneath each tree, extending about 

 a foot from the tree trunk to the perimeter of the 

 canopy. The mulch effectively prevented growth of 

 understory plants beneath the canopy, conserved 

 soil moisture, and provided nutrients to the tree. 

 Remaining mulch was removed in late August to 

 prevent establishment of overwintering mice be- 

 neath it. Alleys between the trees were mowed 5 

 times at monthly intervals, beginning in May. 



Vertebrate pest ma nagement . Beginning in 

 1984, mice were controlled culturally(l) through 



mowing alleys between trees (as just described) to 

 deprive mice of protective plant growth, (2) through 

 the absence of plant growth beneath the tree canopy 

 during autumn and winter as a consequence of 

 mulching from April through August, and (3) 

 through use of mouse guards around tree trunks. 



Beginning in 1985, deer were repelled from 

 feeding at developing branch terminals and flower 

 buds by hanging a bar of scented soap (Cashmere 

 Bouquet R ) in each tree in June. 



In 1989, flocking birds (particularly crows, blue- 

 jays, and starlings) were repelled from alighting on 

 the trees and pecking into the fruit by suspending 

 Scare-Eye R balloons (Pest Management Supply Co., 

 Amherst, MA) 3 to 4 feet above the uppermost tree 

 foliage at 44-foot intervals. The balloons were 

 emplaced in mid-August (when the first bird-pecked 

 fruit were seen) and removed in late September 

 (near the end of harvest). The 44 foot distance 

 between balloons was based on a preliminary trial in 

 1988 using a single balloon; bird damage to fruit 

 averaged 1.5% at 22 feet from the balloon, 11.7% at 

 44 feet and 20.6% at 66 feet. 



To evaluate effectiveness of this pest manage- 

 ment approach, at 3-week intervals during the grow- 

 ing season, foliar populations of spider mites, 

 aphids, leafminers, and leafhoppers were assessed 

 on a presence/absence basis by examining 10 termi- 

 nal shoots or 10 leaves on each of 10 randomly 

 selected fruiting trees. Comparison was made be- 

 tween insect and disease injury levels on harvested 

 fruit within the orchard versus levels on 4 unman- 

 aged trees 600 to 800 feet away. Samples consisted 

 of 25 to 30 randomly selected fruit per tree. On all 

 trees, only fruit acceptable for marketing as U.S. 

 Fancy grade were assigned to the "pest-free" cate- 

 gory. For vertebrate pests, comparison was made 

 between damage levels before and after manage- 

 ment procedures were employed in the orchard. 



Results 



For all 5 years combined, an average of 94.7% of 

 the fruit sampled in the orchard at harvest was free 

 of insect injury compared with 0% fruit free of insect 

 injury in the unmanaged trees (Table 1). In the 

 orchard, plum curculio (2.5%), tarnished plant bug 

 (1.1%), and apple maggot (0.6%) accounted for about 

 80% of the total insect injury. On the unmanaged 

 trees, plum curculio (95.4%), apple maggot (91.6%), 

 and codling moth (47.8%) were the principal causes 

 of insect injury. 



For all 5 years combined, average peak popula- 



10 



Fruit Notes, Fall, 1990 



