Abstract: Codling moth (CM) is a key apple pest that growers must control to produce marketable crops. Without effective control growers can face major crop loss. There are several control options for CM, including insecticides, mating disruption, and virus. However, the efficacy of these tactics as stand-alone controls has diminished and managing this key pest has become quite challenging. Currently effective control is accomplished buy 4-5 pesticide applications per season. Over time we have seen this pest develop resistance to conventional pesticides. Reducing possible over use of these chemistries is key to preserving of our remaining pesticides. Sterile Insect Release (SIR) has been successfully used to control CM in British Columbia, where their rearing facility produces 1.5 million sterile moths per day. Over the last two years we have looked at ways to optimize this tool by investigating release patterns, and the number, or ratio of sterile to wild, needed for control.
