Lobesia Botrana Alert

Symptoms:

Symptoms appear as tiny sawdust piles scattered around fruit clusters.

Who Am I?

European grapevine moth is an important pest of grapes and several deciduous trees. The larvaes feed on berries which makes the crops vulnerable to gray mold (Botrytis cinerea) and other fungi. Direct feeding can cause 100% yield losses.

Control Measures

Monitoring: At least once a week, inspect your fields closely and look for the presence of moths and symptoms on fruits.

Male mating disruption techniques: Use specially designed devices, such as synthetic sex pheromones, that are intended to disrupt the mating process by confusing males. This can result in a significant reduction of the insecticide applications needed.

The following are a few generic names of products found throughout large parts of the world and are frequently used against European grapevine moths: Methoxyfenozide, chlorantraniliprole, cypermethrin, indoxacarb, and spinetoram.

Spinosad-based products and bacillus thuringiensis

Careful thought should be taken when planning to use any of the above chemical marked in red. In some cases, the existing moth caterpillars population can rapidly develop a resistance to insecticides. Therefore, rotation between products based on different active ingredients is crucial. If caterpillar populations remain unchanged after a single application of one of the chemicals marked in red, future applications won’t just be inefficient; they’ll likely wipe out the presence of any beneficial insects within the field close surroundings and thus make the matter even worse.

*Names marked in red are considered to be highly poisonous to beneficial insects.

*Names marked in green are considered to be organic and IPM (integrated pest management) compatible.

*Names marked in red are considered to be highly poisonous to beneficial insects.

*Names marked in green are considered to be organic and IPM (integrated pest management) compatible.

Caution and careful notice should be taken when using any plant protection products (insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides). It is the grower’s sole responsibility to keep track of the legal uses and permissions with respect to the laws in their country and destination markets. Always read the instructions written on labels, and in a case of contradiction, work in accordance to the product label. Keep in mind that information written on the label usually applies to local markets. Pest control products intended for organic farming are generally considered to be less effective in comparison to conventional products. When dealing with organic, biologic, and to some extent a small number of conventional chemical products, a complete eradication of a pest or disease will often require several iterations of a specific treatment or combination of treatments.

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