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ViewAttendees 19

PBT

10-Minute Paper

10-min: PBT, New Approaches for Research and Pest Management

Biocontrol with benefits: Control of peachtree borer with entomopathogenic nematodes

On-Demand
On-Demand
Peachtree borer, Synanthedon exitiosa, is a major pest of peaches and other stone fruit trees in the Southeast and throughout the USA. Currently, methods of control for peachtree borer focus on the use of broad-spectrum chemical insecticides, primarily chlorpyrifos. In our previous research we discovered that the entomopathogenic nematode (EPN), Steinernema carpocapsae, provides the same level of peachtree borer control as chlorpyrifos. The nematodes can be applied effectively as preventative agents in late summer or early fall and as curative agents during the spring, whereas chlorpyrifos is only effective in preventative applications. Despite this efficacy, grower adoption of EPNs has been limited mostly due to costs. EPNs would be more attractive if the approach provided additional benefits to the growers. Preliminary and prior research indicates that EPNs targeting peachtree borer may also affect root-feeding weevils throughout the understory. Thus, the goal of this Southern SARE grant is to investigate additional benefits that EPNs can provide against these important pest and disease challenges. Our results indicate that lower rates of S. carpocapsae to control peachtree borer and that the approach also controls root-feeding weevils in peach orchards.