Mating Disruption Pays To Protect Your Almond Crop from Navel Orangeworm
February 18, 2022 Money is available for the asking for almond growers who implement a mating disruption plan for Enemy No. 1: navel orangeworm (NOW).
Growers should be interested because, in some instances, they already qualify for the federal funding, says Drew Wolter of the Almond Board of California (ABC), who moderated a panel discussion on the topic at December’s annual Almond Conference held in Sacramento, CA. Most growers qualify because they’re already taking some steps to control NOW.
“It’s things you’re already doing; you might as well get that funding,” Wolter, ABC Pest Management Senior Specialist, says. “If you’re not, you’re having real problems with navel orangeworm.”
The tasks growers are already likely doing include such basic practices as winter sanitation, which involves destroying left-over mummy nuts to keep NOW from infesting orchards postharvest. Monitoring moth populations to carefully time sprays during moths’ egg-laying flights — especially during the critical hull split stage — is another important strategy many growers already employ.
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offers two programs to help growers achieve and maintain their growing goals. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) helps participants cover the cost of planning and installing conservation practices. The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) offers additional opportunities for those already meeting a baseline level of stewardship. Projects might include improving irrigation systems, planting a cover crop for bees or soil health, or integrating better pest management systems.
Besides mating disruption, examples of practices for which growers may receive funding through either EQIP or CSP include implementing honey bee Best Management Practices (BMPs) and improvements to orchard irrigation systems, as described in the Almond Irrigation Improvement Continuum.
Besides the incentives for using mating disruption, growers at the panel discussion heard the various options for employing the technique, which has proved to effectively reduce NOW populations as part of an integrated pest management (IPM) plan. In addition to the environmental benefits — the reason for the NRCS incentives — growers can reduce their insecticide sprays needed to control NOW. Representatives from four companies outlined the benefits of their respective mating disruption products — Pacific Biocontrol, Trécé, Inc., Semios, and Suterra — and urged growers to research the differences among the products, which can be considerable.
Navel orangeworm larvae is shown from a mummy cracked open in January. (Photo: Franz Niederholzer)
JEANNINE LOWRIMORE, PACIFIC BIOCONTROL
ISOMATE Mist NOW is an emitter deployed April 1 for the season and is programmed to emit during peak NOW activity. Emitters are placed high in the canopy, one per acre, taking into account the wind and topography, to create a consistent pheromone plume.
A replicated trial done on a total of eight 40-acre blocks, four using ISOMATE NOW and four using the grower standard over the last three years, showed remarkable results. In 2019, with a wet spring, minimal sanitation, a May spray of pyrethroid, and two hull split sprays, nut injury was reduced 76% from the grower standard.
In 2020, with a drier spring, strong sanitation, no May spray of pyrethroid, and two hull split sprays, nut injury was reduced 80% from the grower standard. And last year there was another dry spring with moderate sanitation. And even with a May spray only in the grower standard blocks, nut injury was reduced 25%, which is even more remarkable considering there was virtually no nut injury in the ISOMATE blocks.
Tip: “Don’t be intimidated (by the technology), growers find it’s really easy to use.”
DANIELLE KIRKPATRICK, TRÉCÉ, INC.
Product lines include PHEROCON traps for moth capture and CIDETRAK NOW MESO for control. PHEROCON NOW traps employ pheromones, featuring both male and female attractant systems. One trial in which flights of male NOW were monitored, moth catches in spring were averaging as high as 6.5 per night, but the average number of eggs counted never exceeded 0.5.
CIDETRAK NOW MESO is a passive dispenser, with the number of dispensers per acre dependent on the abundance of the NOW population, with 15 dispensers per acre recommended for low population abundance and 28 dispensers per acre for high population abundance.
Product benefits include a reduction in nut injury of 50% to 80%, resistance is unlikely to develop, there’s no possibility of mechanical failure, adoption is rapidly increasing over the last five years, and there’s no threat to workers — no preharvest interval or restricted entry interval — nor beneficial insects.
Tip: “If you need to reach the higher branches (to properly install traps), a lot of people use a pool-cleaning pole.”
ABIGAIL WELCH, SEMIOS
NOW Eco was introduced in 2019, the first organic pheromone-based aerosol for mating disruption control of NOW approved for commercial use in California. (NOW Extra is the conventional system.) It is called the “Smart” dispenser, as it reports microclimate data and device status/health every 10 minutes, and includes humidity, temperature, and pressure sensors that help inform pheromone application rates.
The company installs the dispensers at an average of one per acre. Users can log on to Semios to view track counts and degree day tracking at any time, enabling growers and PCAs (pest control advisers) to collaborate on pest management decisions using the same data that’s driving the pheromone release rate.
The dispensers releasing pheromones also provide in-canopy data, allowing users to create maps of temperature, humidity, degree days, and hull split. Pest activity is tracked using in-canopy degree days from the weather stations and automated camera traps, allowing the company to maximize pheromone release at the height of pest activity and crop vulnerability.
Tip: “This solution is completely hands off. You don’t need to install, or turn the smart dispensers on or off.”
MANDO PEREZ, SUTERRA
CheckMate NOW is a proprietary formulation that allows growers to incorporate a sprayable pheromone into their IPM program. It’s also available in two puffers, both conventional and organic. They are spaced at one per acre, with season-long release of a consistent, precise rate.
The emitters are preprogrammed so puffing is suppressed below biologically relevant temperatures, and the product is preserved until moths are active. Like other emitters, they are hung in the top half of the tree canopy in an even grid pattern throughout the orchard.
The sprayable formulation is applied like a conventional insecticide spray, but with a mating disruption mode of action. It is compatible with common chemicals, allowing a “free ride” as a tank mix with conventional inputs, but also efficient as a stand-alone. Because coverage is not critical, it can be applied at lower volumes at faster speeds. Getting done faster is something all growers can relate to, says Perez, who used to work at Wonderful Orchards.
Tip: “You’re working outside — in all kinds of weather — and you need to get results.”
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