This past May, unusual shipments arrived at the University of New Hampshire:
coolers of apple blossom clusters. The clusters contained beneficial mites,
known as Typhlodromus pyri, feeding on the pollen within. The final destinations
for these mites were the orchards of four growers who are participating
in a biological control program.
State IPM Coordinator Alan Eaton and New England Fruit Consultant Glen Morin
obtained the mites and blossoms from scientists at New York's Agricultural
Experiment Station as part of a seven-state collaboration. Growers in the
region have agreed to "seed" their orchards with the beneficial
T. pyri, which feeds on the pestiferous European red mite.
Imported clusters are attached to existing branches with paper clips,
twist-ties,
even clothespins, at the rate of 50 per tree. If predatory mites (below)
can become established in orchards in the Northeast, they will take the
place of some miticide spraying, controlling harmful mites that feed on
the juices of apple leaves. As registration of miticides decreases and the
European red mite develops resistance to remaining miticides, sustainable
management is more necessary than ever before.
Participating growers have been educated about how to make their orchards
ideal homes for T. pyri. For example, they have avoided harsh chemical
pesticides
that kill predators. Seeding mites has been successful in Massachusetts
and New York, and is being tried this year in those states plus Vermont,
Maine, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. It could soon be a valuable addition
to New Hampshire's Apple IPM Program.
State IPM Coordinator
Alan T. Eaton
University of New Hampshire
Plant Biology
Spaulding Hall
Durham, NH 03824
603 862 1734; alan.eaton@unh.edu
return to IPM in the Northeast Region 1996 Report, Table
of Contents