RESEARCH & EVENTS
Almond integrated pest management : Phase 2 research in full swing
David Madge , Cathy Taylor and Paul Cunningham ( Agriculture Victoria ), and Jo Holloway ( NSW DPI ).
PHASE 2 of the Hort Innovation research program on almond integrated pest management ( IPM ) commenced during the 2022 / 23 summer and has already made significant progress . The new five-year project aims to complete research from its predecessor and further develop innovative pest management solutions for the Australian almond industry ’ s key insect pests ; almond carpophilus beetle ( Carpophilus truncatus ) and carob moth ( Ectomyelois ceratoniae ). Both pests have caused considerable losses to the industry for a decade . Phase 1 of the IPM research program , which ended in December 2022 , was a scientific collaboration between Agriculture Victoria ( lead agency ), New South Wales Department of Primary Industries , and the South Australian Research and Development Institute ( SARDI ), and this collaboration continues into Phase 2 . The focus of both projects has been to improve pest management practices on the ground through research in several key areas .
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Orchard hygiene Phase 1 demonstrated a strong relationship between the prevalence of nuts remaining in orchards during winter and carpophilus beetle damage at the next harvest , highlighting the critical role of efficient harvest and orchard hygiene in the management of this pest . Deficiencies in harvest were highlighted , with field studies indicating that many nuts appear to remain on trees due to inadequate shake , rather than to disease or physiological issues . The efficacy of different machinery for destruction or removal of mummy nuts from the orchard floor was also assessed during Phase 1 , and a benefit : cost analysis identified orchard hygiene as highly economically beneficial for carpophilus beetle and carob moth management .
New trapping technologies During Phase 1 , a commercial trap developed for masstrapping species of carpophilus attacking stone fruit was tailored to target the almond carpophilus beetle . Complex studies in chemical ecology and insect behaviour in laboratory and field trials were performed over several seasons to reformulate the trap ’ s odour-based attractant , extract and identify pheromone compounds from C . truncatus , design a new pheromone blend to suit that species , and evaluate alternative trap configurations . This research achieved an impressive 150-fold improvement in trapping efficacy . Phase 2 research over the 2022 / 23 season included a field trial to determine the appropriate trap spacing for mass trapping of the beetle , and refinements to the pheromone blend and trap configuration that are expected to more than double the trapping efficacy to over 320 times that of the original stone fruit trap . This vastly improved trap will be assessed for masstrapping of almond carpophilus beetle during the 2023 / 24
In A Nutshell - Winter 2023 Vol 24 Issue 2
The original stone fruit carpophilus trap ( pictured ) has been vastly improved to target the species damaging almonds . [ Photo : Agriculture Victoria ].
season . A similar approach in lure and trap development has been applied to carob moth traps . A series of field trials showed that a change in trap colour could increase the catch of male carob moths by at least 50 per cent . Such an improvement in trapping efficacy would increase the reliability of monitoring data for growers . Phase 1 research also began the design of synthetic attractants for female carob moth , with the aim to further improve monitoring of this pest and potentially use trapping of egg-laying females as a control strategy . Promising attractants from this lure research were refined in field trials during the 2022 / 23 season and will be further developed and tested in 2023 / 24 .
Mating disruption for carob moth The release of synthetic sex pheromones of carob moth to disrupt mating of this pest is a potentially valuable IPM tool to reduce crop infestation but has not yet shown success in Australian almonds . Phase 1 field trials identified inadequate placement and field life of the commercial pheromone dispensers as likely reasons for this . Phase 2 research plans include collaborative field trials with commercial suppliers to confirm these findings and then test the validity of this approach to carob moth management .