Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/466321
24 MARCH 1, 2015 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com U sing pheromones for mating disruption of codling moth is so widely accepted in the tree fruit industry that it's become auto- matic for most orchardists. But imagine where the industry would be without the technology. In the nearly 25 years since mating disruption was fi rst used in Washington apple and pear orchards for codling moth, pheromones have become the foundation of pest management programs and have allowed biological con- trol to become feasible. Passive and active release pher- omone dispensers have been developed and research has fi ne-tuned pheromone technology to be both cost effective and effi cacious. "It's been a paradigm shift," said Donald Thomson, director of research and development for Pacific BioControl Corp. of Vancouver, Washington. "Ninety percent of all apples and pears in Washington State are now treated with mating disruption of one formulation or another. That's quite a remarkable achievement." It took many hands—from growers to pest control advisors to university researchers—to move the tree fruit industry away from broad spectrum, organophosphate pesticides to mating disruption, he says. Pheromone history Use of pheromones for pest control goes back more than a century, according to Thomson. French entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre is credited with discovering in the 1870s that the giant peacock moth communicated with chemicals. Nearly 100 years later, in 1959, Adolf Butenandt of Germany determined the chemical structure of silkworm pheromone. In 1967, University of California's Dr. Harry Shorey (who would later help develop aerosol pheromone emitters) conducted some of the fi rst mating disruption trials with cabbage loopers. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the fi rst registered pheromone—which was for pink bollworm control in cotton—in 1978. Early lessons "We learned early to 'hang 'em high and hang 'em early (in the season),'" he said. Another initial learning was to think big—treat big orchard blocks and not small ones. Mating disruption reaches a MILESTONE Pest Management 1950 Major advances with pheromones -HDQ+HQUL)DEUH¼UVW observes insect chemical communication. 1870 Mating disruption of codling moth is used in 90 percent of all apples and pears grown in Washington State. by Melissa Hansen Donald Thomson Orchard plumes SOURCE: DONALD THOMPSON, PACIFIC BIOCONTROL CORP.