Comparison of pheromone-mediated mating disruption and conventional insecticides for management of tufted apple bud moth (Lepidoptera : Tortricidae)

Large-plot studies were used to compare pheromone-mediated mating disruptio n and conventional insecticide applications for management of tufted apple bud moth, Platynota idaeusalis (Walker), in North Carolina in 1993 and 1994 . Pheromone trap catches were reduced in mating disruption blocks, and trap s placed in the lower stratum of the canopy had a higher level of trap capt ure reduction compared with traps placed in the upper stratum. First-genera tion tufted apple bud moth exposure to either pheromones for mating disrupt ion or insecticides affected second generation pheromone trap catches in th e lower and upper canopy. More second generation male moths were caught in pheromone traps placed in the upper compared with the lower canopy in block s treated with pheromones for mating disruption during the first generation , whereas the opposite was true in blocks treated with insecticides during the first generation. Despite reduced trap catches in pheromone-treated blo cks, egg mass densities were not reduced in these blocks compared with inse cticide-treated blocks. Furthermore, fruit damage was not significantly dif ferent between mating disruption blocks and conventionally treated blocks i n orchards with relatively low populations of tufted apple bud moth, but da mage was greater in mating disruption blocks in orchards with higher moth d ensities.