Optimizing pest management in fruit cultivation

Description

Tree fruit growers in temperate regions have faced challenges in managing the complex of arthropod pests present in these systems because of increasing pesticide regulatory restrictions, public concerns about food safety and environmental quality, and resistance to older pesticides by key pests. Growers are attempting to adopt newer tactics such as reduced-risk (more selective) pesticides and increased reliance on sampling and monitoring techniques plus pheromone-based mating disruption, but these are more expensive and require more time and precise use patterns. In addition, most previous integrated pest management protocols were designed for management programs based on the use of older conventional pesticides. As this chapter shows, a more current and practical approach stresses a basic understanding of pest biology and development, which can be used in predictive models to support the effective use of more selective crop protectants and other sustainable tactics, such as mating disruption and biological control.

Table of contents

1 Introduction 2 Arthropod biology 3 Population monitoring 4 Chemical communication 5 Organic tree fruit production 6 Case studies 7 Where to look for further information 8 References