Tuesday, July 1, 2008

UMass Video Fruit Advisor, July 1, 2008: Lorsban trunk spray for peachtree borer

5 comments:

FarmerMo said...

No mating disruption twist ties?

Jon Clements said...

I had another clip with that in, but said they should be hung earlier in the month. Now I am wondering, seems adult emergence does not really get going until about now. (It is drawn out, from late June through July.) Plus, I am not convinced they work unless every peach block is disrupted throughout the farm -- at UMass CSO we have not done that to date. Plenty of borer infestation evident. I think unless you are convinced it is working very well for you, trunk spray(s) are still warranted. (You have to do apples for dogwood borer anyways.) But I agree it is an option, and deserves mention. JC

FarmerMo said...

Good answer. So does that mean that if a neighbor chooses to spray trunks rather than use ties, that mated insects may fly over the stone wall and lay eggs on my trees' trunks and thus negate the option?
Also, I was not aware that dogwood borer attacked stone fruit.

Jon Clements said...

Yes, based on what I know about these pests, mated peachtree borer adults from adjacent non-disrupted peach orchards could fly into your orchard and lay eggs. That is why mating disruption works best on larger, more isolated blocks of peaches where you can be assured of complete mating disruption and shut down of egg laying.

Regarding dogwood borer, yes, that is in apples only, not peaches. I also recommend treating apple trees with Lorsban for dogwood borer, particularly with dwarfing rootstocks, burrknots, and exposed rootstock shanks.

FarmerMo said...

One last question. Do you always drive?