Towards a Knowledge-Based Decision Support System for Integrated Control of Woolly Apple Aphid, Eriosoma lanigerum, with Maximal Biological Suppression by the Parasitoid Aphelinus mali.

The woolly apple aphid Eriosoma lanigerum (Homoptera: Aphidiae) is an important pest in apple orchards worldwide. Since the withdrawal or restricted use of certain broad-spectrum insecticides, E. lanigerum has become one of the most severe pests in apple growing areas across Western Europe. At present, effective limitation of woolly aphid populations relies on a good synergy between chemical control treatments and biological suppression by beneficial arthropods, especially by its main specific natural enemy, the parasitoid Aphelinus mali (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae). To develop a knowledge-based decision support system, detailed monitoring data of both species were collected in the field (region of Sint-Truiden, Belgium) for a period of ten years (2010-2020). Aphelinus mali flights were monitored in the field, starting before flowering until the end of the second-generation flight at minimum. The seasonal occurrence of the most important management stages of E. lanigerum, e.g., start of wool production or activity on aerial parts in spring and migration of crawlers from colonies towards flower clusters or shoots, were thoroughly monitored. All obtained data were compared with historical and literature data and analysed in a population dynamics phenological model. Our outcomes showed that the emergence of first-generation A. mali adults (critical for the first parasitation activity and the basis for following A. mali generations in the continuation of the season) can be accurately predicted by the developed model. Hence, this information can be utilized to avoid insecticide sprayings with detrimental side effects at this particular moment as demonstrated by the outcomes of a field trial. In addition, the start of migration of E. lanigerum crawlers towards flower clusters or shoots is accurately predicted by the model. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that the model can be used as decision support system for the optimal timing of control treatments in order to achieve effective control of E. lanigerum with maximal biological suppression by its main natural enemy.

Tunnel entries and a killing agent uncover the importance of fly retention in Drosophila suzukii traps.

BACKGROUND: Spotted wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae), is a pest of stone and small fruits causing considerable economic losses. Current management strategies rely primarily on calendar-based spraying, owing to the poor relationship between monitoring data and damage levels, and the lack of success of mass-trapping tools. The aim of this study was to evaluate different trap models for SWD, with an emphasis on their fly-retention capacity. To this end, we examined and quantified the added value of two fly-retaining trap features; tunnel entries to impede escape and an insecticide-coated inner surface as a killing agent. RESULTS: An insecticide-coated inner surface resulted in significantly higher trap retention after 24 h in the laboratory (4.9- to 7.4-fold greater, depending on trap type) compared to a noncoated trap. Trapping efficacy was significantly improved in field trials by such a killing agent in the trap (1.2- to 4.5-fold greater). Tunnel entries significantly improved trap retention in the laboratory and field (by 1.5-fold). CONCLUSION: The outcomes of this study clearly reveal the substantial impact of the fly-retention capacity of SWD traps on their overall capture performances. It was demonstrated for the first time that an insecticide-coated inner surface as a killing agent significantly improves trap efficacy for SWD. This finding can readily be implemented in any trap model to improve monitoring and mass trapping of SWD. Also tunnel entries were shown to have a significant influence on the fly retention and, hence, substantially enhance trapping efficacy.

Olfactory Preference of Drosophila suzukii Shifts between Fruit and Fermentation Cues over the Season: Effects of Physiological Status.

Worldwide monitoring programs of the invasive fruit pest Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae), using fermentation baits like apple cider vinegar (ACV), revealed a counterintuitive period of low trap catches during summer, followed by an autumn peak. In this study, we demonstrate that ACV baited traps indeed provide a distorted image of the D. suzukii population dynamics as it is possible to capture higher numbers during this "low capture period" with synthetic lures. It was hypothesised that the preference of D. suzukii populations for fermentation cues like ACV is most pronounced during autumn, winter and spring, while the flies prefer fresh fruit cues during summer and that this seasonal preference is related to the changing physiology of the flies over the season. To test this hypothesis, the preference between fermentation cues (ACV) and host fruits (strawberries) and the effect of physiology (sex, seasonal morphology and feeding, mating and reproductive status) was investigated both in olfactometer laboratory experiments and a year-round field preference experiment. In olfactometer experiments we demonstrated that protein deprived females, virgin females with a full complement of unfertilised eggs and males show a strong preference for fermentation cues while fully fed reproductive summer morph females generally prefer fruit cues. These findings indicate that D. suzukii is attracted to fermentation volatiles in search of (protein-rich) food and to fruit volatiles in search of oviposition substrates. Winter morph and starved females displayed indiscriminating olfactory behaviour. In the field preference experiment, the hypothesised seasonal shift between fermentation and fruit cues was confirmed. This shift appeared to be highly temperature-related and was similarly observed for summer and winter morphs.

The importance of arthropod pests in Belgian pome fruit orchards.

Located in temperate, maritime climate with frequent rainfall, crop protection in Belgian orchards is dominated by fungicides. Though, the importance of arthropod pests should not be underestimated. Pcfruit, the former Research station of Gorsem, has been maintaining a warning system for fruit pests in Belgium since 1944. Therefore, various pests and beneficial's and their life cycle stages have been monitored in Gorsem and in different observation posts across Belgium, being part of a monitoring network. Although up to 3000 arthropod species are present in pome fruit orchards, about 25% can be considered as harmful and another 25% as beneficial. Out of those species, around 100 harmful and 50 beneficial organisms are omnipresent. The list of monitored species is extended yearly for upcoming or difficult to control organisms. Integrated pest management was introduced in the eighties, with the accent on using selective pesticides and saving beneficial organisms. A shift in pesticide use affected the importance of secondary pests, together with recent exceptional climatic conditions. Following many years of monitoring insects and mites and editing warning bulletins in our station, a ranking of the economical importance of different pest species is presented.

Efficacy results of insecticides against Cydia pomonella, the codling moth, in Belgium during the last decade (1998-2007).

The codling moth is an economically important top fruit pest, with its major flight from May till August. We give an overview of ten years of results of efficacy field trials against the codling moth Cydia pomonella, with a number of commonly used products (diflubenzuron, fenoxycarb, flufenoxuron, indoxacarb, granulosis virus, methoxyfenozide and tebufenozide). All trials were executed according to EPPO guidelines. Trials were performed in the Belgian fruit growing area nearby Sint-Truiden, on apple or pear. Each product was sprayed repetitively at registered dose rates to cover the whole flight period of the codling moth, as monitored with pheromone traps. Applications were repeated at strict intervals (7, 14, 21 or 28 days). We show that the different active ingredients had diverse mean efficacies, ranging from 49% to 98%. In general low mean efficacies could be attributed to high variability between trials. Maximal efficacies were indeed high (80%-100%) for all except one "product-interval" combinations, whereas minimal efficacies ranged from 0% to 92%. Belgian fruit growers can thus choose from a large set of active ingredients for resistance management, but have to take variability in efficacy into account. The best and most constant efficacies were reached with Cascade 100 DC (flufenoxuron) at a dose rate of 44 to 50 g a.i./ha leaf wall area and with an application interval of 14 or 21 days.