Priority Insects for Improved 

 Chemical Control Efforts 



As shown in Table 2, growers across all farm 

 sizes combined ranked plum curculio, peach pests, 

 mites and leaftioppers as priority insect pests for 

 increased chemical control efforts. These were 

 closely followed by apple maggot and leaftioppers. 

 Of lesser priority were plant bugs, leafrollers, co- 

 dling moth, and sawflies. Of least priority were 

 aphids, pear pests, and plum pests. Growers hav- 

 ing small farms expressed essentially the same or- 

 der of priority as "all" growers did. Relative to all 

 growers, growers having large farms gave compara- 

 tively higher priority to mites; whereas, growers 

 having very small farms ranked mites as being of 

 lesser priority than plum curculio, peach pests, 

 leafminers, and apple maggot. 



Priority Insects for Improved 

 Biologically-based Control Efforts 



As given in Table 3, growers across all farm sizes 

 combined ranked mites and plum curculio, closely 

 followed by leafroiners and apple maggot, as prior- 

 ity insect pests for greater effort in biologically-based 



control. Next in priority were plant bugs and leaf- 

 hoppers, followed by peach pests, sawfly, aphids, 

 codling moth, and leafrollers. Of least priority were 

 pear pests and plum pests. Growers having me- 

 dium and large farms placed greatest emphasis on 

 mites; whereas, growers having very small farms 

 placed greatest emphasis plum curculio and apple 

 maggot. 



Conclusions 



We perceive the results of this survey to be of 

 great value in guiding the course of our future re- 

 search and extension efforts in insect pest manage- 

 ment on tree fruits in Massachusetts. The results 

 already have stimulated us to continue with vigor 

 our efforts to develop a monitoring trap for plum 

 curculio so that chemical controls can be timed bet- 

 ter, to continue to pursue our intent of developing a 

 biologically-based method of controlling apple mag- 

 got using odor-baited pesticide-treated spheres, to 

 expand our efforts to establish Typhlodromus pyri 

 mite predators in a greater proportion of Massa- 

 chusetts commercial orchards so as to enhance the 

 probability of biological mite control, and to initiate 

 research on improved chemical control of peach 



Fruit Notes, Summer, 1996 



11 



