West Coast Nut September 2019

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pest control advisors should begin
scouting for adult LFB in March. If LFB
are present in the orchard, they are
more likely to be found on the sunny
side of the tree. No lures or attractants
are available to monitor for LFB
presence, Tollerup said, but observing
adults, and finding signs of feeding on
nuts would indicate a need for control.
Pistachio growers and pest control
advisors should look for adult LFB in
April and May when they move into
orchards to feed and lay eggs. There
is no economic threshold for LFB
in pistachio, Tollerup said. If adults
are observed in the trees, growers
or managers will have to decide if
the numbers warrant a pesticide
application.
The most effective control materials
for LFB are pyrethroids due to their
residual activity. Tollerup said these
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products, if applied correctly, could
provide control. Other management
strategies include removal of host
plants if possible. Removal of weedy
areas that serve as a food source during
winter months can also help keep LFB
numbers down.
Both pest control advisor Justin
Nay and University of California
Cooperative Extension (UCCE) specialist
Houston Wilson agreed that almond
and pistachio blocks with a history
of LFB infestations are most likely to
have recurring infestations. This year
appears to be a light year for LFB, Nay
said. Infestations that were found were
in the blocks in areas that get them
almost every year. Total amount of nuts
lost for his growers was very small, with
the worst blocks losing less than one
percent.
In April a few of the almond blocks
Nay watches had enough LFB to justify
a treatment, but the total was only
a small fraction of blocks under his
supervision. Blocks were in both the
north and south and in areas that get
LFB every year.
Nay’s pistachio blocks were just starting
to meat fill in early July, and it was
too early for LFB to move into that crop.
Research
Wilson has been part of a research
effort to find an effective trap and
attractant for LFB to improve monitoring.
This information can fill a critical
gap in control as predicting population
densities and overwintering survival
early in the season can assist with
control efforts.
While use of pyrethroids has been
an effective control measure, resistance
to that material has built in navel
orangeworm and growers are using
more targeted pesticides that are not as
effective as pyrethroids on LFB.
He said the hanging panel trap is
currently being used as a platform to
test various types of lures. Lures are
both pheromone based and host plant
volatile based.
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West Coast Nut September 2019