Integrated apple pest management in New York State using predatory mites and selective pesticides

A 3-year demonstration study was conducted in four western New York apple orchards to evaluate current approaches of sustainable pest management in representative commercial orchards. Pests that could be tolerated were regulated by natural antagonists, including predatory mites that were introduced to supplement endemic populations, while those with lower tolerance levels were managed with a schedule of selective pesticides, e.g., insect growth regulators and horticultural mineral oil. Pesticide application decisions (timing and materials) were made on the basis of current state extension guidelines, which involved a combination of protectant and threshold-based sprays determined through timely scouting and sampling procedures. Only non-toxic or minimally toxic pesticides to the principal mite and aphid predators were applied in the orchards. By the third season, effective conservation biological control of European red mite was achieved in all orchards, and fruit quality at harvest was equal or superior to that in comparison blocks managed using the growers’ conventional practices. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.