Enhancing the biological control of leafroller pests in caneberries with proper pesticide timing

摘要

The orange tortrix (Argyrotaenia franciscana Fernald) is a leafroller that has been a principle contaminant in machine harvested caneberries since the advent of broad spectrum pesticides in the 1950's. Many fields however experience little or no riskof orange tortrix larval contamination, and this is believed to be due to normally very low endemic populations that are held in check by natural enemies. Our goal for this project is to study and better understand the development and phenology of the leafroller pests and their natural enemies, particularly the parasitic or parasitoid wasps, so that selective and, if required, broad spectrum pesticides can be used without triggering long-term build-up of the leafrollers.