Berries Peasize EL31.

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Berries Peasize EL 31 is a critical time to asses the level of light brown apple moth (LBAM) in your vineyard.

LBAM insecticides Avatar®, Entrust®, Proclaim® & Success® all have a with-holding period of peasize (EL 31). In most vineyards berries have grown past Peasize 7mm (EL 31). For Chardonnay, Shiraz, Merlot and Sangiovese in the warmer parts of McLaren Vale, only the biological insecticide BT’s can be used now.

Vineyards in the Adelaide Hills are 2 weeks away from the Berries Peasize cut off.

Predatory Shield Bug.
Above: A good guy- predatory shield bugs feed on caterpillars. Click here for more beneficial insect pictures. Beneficial insects can be your most effective tool in controlling LBAM in the lead up to harvest. A ‘hungry’ predator population will eat apple moth and keep them from eating berries.

Comments

Unknown said…
The agriculture literature and experience of growers in Australia and New Zealand confirm that natural predation is the primary control for LBAM, which often needs no chemical treatments at all. Growers were concerned that perhaps LBMA has no natural predators in California. LBAM is a generalist insect and because of this has hundreds or thousands of predators, which include ants, spiders, beetles, flies, mosquitoes, wasps, birds, bats, etc. Also, according to researchers at UC Berkeley there are more direct parasitoids against LBAM in California than there are against any other Tortricids native to California. The worst thing a grower can do is to apply scheduled treatments in hopes of obviating quarantines. Hard pesticides kill the predators and create a problem of LBAM where none or little would otherwise exist. One day USDA will realize this when they actually read the literature and talk with real LBAM experts. Until then, unfortunately, California farmers get the short end of the stick.—Roy Upton
December 22, 2009 at 6:33 AM
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