Revisiting knockdown sprays

摘要

Advances in the field of entomology and integrated pest management are most certainly a major reason that pecan production can be profitable today. With ever-rising inflation in chemical and fuel costs, we are fortunate that so much of the biology ofnut- and foliage-feeding pests has been worked out and that economic thresholds and monitoring traps are available. Gone are the days of loading up the sprayer with a broad-spectrum insecticide and spraying blindly without knowing exactly whether we needto spray. The availability of target-specific or "bio-rational" pesticides also aids in reducing the cost of pest control, by preserving reservoirs of beneficial insects in the orchard. That being said, some pecan insects are not easily monitored nor controlled. The stinkbug/leaffooted bug complex (SB/LFB-C) is one good example of where we need better monitoring tools and threshold information.