Organic Farmer October/November 2019

EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF NAVEL
orangeworm requires an integrated approach to
pest management. This is especially true in organic
nut crops where insecticides that are industry standards
in convention orchards are not available. This puts
added emphasis on the need for variety selection, winter
sanitation, timely harvest, and mating disruption.
Mating Disruption
Mating disruption works by using dispensers to flood
an orchard with synthetically-produced pheromone,
thus interrupting the ability of male moths to find and
mate with females. Reductions in eggs and larvae occur
if females fail to mate or if there is a delay in when
mating occurs.
There are currently two mating disruption products
registered for use in organic nut crops in California.
The first is Cidetrak NOW Meso from Trécé. The ‘Meso’
dispenser looks like a foot-long strip of rubber that
releases pheromone passively throughout the season.
The emitters are typically hung in the orchard at a rate
of 20 per acre, with the label allowing a range of 15 to
Semios pheromone dispensers include climate sensors for automatic,
in-canopy degree day tracking and pest flight predictions. Photo courtesy
of Kelly Petersen.
28. Dispensers are hung in the orchard prior to moth emergence
in the spring. Pheromone is released throughout the season for
approximately 150 to 180 days and there is no need to recover the
emitters at the end of the season.
The second product is called Semios NOW Eco from Semios.
This product releases pheromone from pressurized aerosol
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October/November 2019
www.organicfarmermag.com
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