Good Fruit Grower

December 2015

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62 DECEMBER 2015 Good Fruit Grower www.goodfruit.com exception is Joe's Place Farms, an 80-acre diversifi ed farm in Vancouver, Washington. Joe Beaudoin of Joe's Place has experienced stinkbug damage in peaches, apples, and some vegetables for the last three years. National effort Some 50 scientists from multiple disciplines across the country have been working on a host of issues related to the pest, which fi rst showed up in the U.S. in the mid 1990s. Dr. Tracy Lesky, scientist with U.S. Department of Agriculture in West Virginia, leads the national research project that is in its fi fth and fi nal year. The research is part of the Specialty Crop Research Initiative and funded through the Farm Bill. A major component of the project is to develop traps so growers can monitor populations and develop control strategies. As a result of the research effort, pheromone lures are commercially available from several compa- nies. Traps have also improved in design. Dr. Peter Shearer, entomologist for Oregon State University, leads the West Coast component of the national project. Shearer, based at OSU's Mid Columbia Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Hood River, said refi nements have been made to trap designs but timing of when traps catch the most bugs is still a weakness. With most traps, Shearer says, the majority of stinkbugs are caught in the fall. However, spring is the preferable time because the overwintered adults are not as robust and more vulnerable to sprays than stinkbugs caught in the fall. Traps alert growers to the presence of brown mar- morated stinkbug, but growers need to know what the trap numbers mean, he explains. Researchers are work- ing to match the numbers found in traps to damage in orchards so they can determine thresholds that would trigger spray decisions. "The threshold number for brown marmorated stinkbug probably won't be a single, universal number," said Shearer, who believes that economic thresholds will likely be different for nymphs caught versus adults and will probably vary by crop. "For instance, peaches are susceptible all season long, while apples become more susceptible as the season progresses." "It's not time for Northwest growers to hit the panic button yet, but growers need to be on the lookout for the pest." —Betsy Beers PHOTOS BY TJ MULLINAX/GOOD FRUIT GROWER Dr. Betsy Beers, Washington State University entomologist, prepares to take a photo of a brown marmorated stinkbug. PLAY Watch a video of how to look for brown marmorated stinkbug in your orchard or vineyard at goodfruit.com/media. PLAY Watch a video of how to look for brown marmorated stinkbug in your orchard or vineyard at goodfruit.com Ross Courtney, Associate Editor TRUSTED More growers come to us for their news than anywhere else. Ross Courtney ASSOCIATE EDITOR The essential resource goodfruit.com

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