Scaffolds and Crop Development R U I T U N a July 31, 2000 VOLUME 9, No
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Update on Pest Management scaffolds and Crop Development R U I T u N A July 31, 2000 VOLUME 9, No. 20 Geneva, NY PLEASE DON'T They are also very expensive. EAT THESE DAISIES This regular annual article used (Dave Kain & to state that the four most common Art Agnello, botanicals available for use in fruit Entomology, crops today were rotenone, pyre- Geneva) thrin, sabadilla and ryania. Unfortu nately, for those who found them use ❖ ❖ Naturally occuring pesticides ful, sabadilla and ryania are no longer on that are derived from plants or plant parts are the list due to voluntary cancellation of their commonly referred to as “botanicals”. Botani- registrations. To round out the article, we’ll sub cals have been around for quite a while. Along stitute information on a few, newer, natural ma with arsenicals and other inorganic pesticides, terials that, while not technically botanicals, kind they were pretty commonly used before the of fit the category. Information on these products advent of the synthetic, organic pesticides ren appears in the 2000 Tree-Fruit Recommenda dered them “obsolete”. From time to time they’re tions (pp. 24-26). re-examined for various reasons and may be familiar. Botanicals are of interest to those ROTENONE Rotenone is derived from the root concerned with pest management for a variety of of various plants of the Derris or Lonchocarpus reasons. They are generally less toxic to the species from Southeast Asia, Central and South applicator than many synthetic pesticides. They America. It is available as at least 118 formu may be acceptable in the organic market where lated products from a large number of manufac synthetic pesticides are not. Because, in general, turers. It is synergized by the addition of pipero- they break down quickly, they may also be of use nyl butoxide (PBO), which is another botanical near harvest, when control is needed but other materials may not be applied because of PHI continued... restrictions. Rapid degradation also means they are less likely to become environmental prob lems. Botanicals, however, are not without IN THIS ISSUE- concerns. They are usually broad spectrum poisons that can be hard on beneficial insects. GENERAL And, unlike “biological” pesticides like B.t.’s, ♦♦♦ Botanical insecticides insect growth regulators and pheromones, they INSECTS are somewhat acutely toxic to humans and other Dock sawfly mammals. The fact that they break down rapidly in the environment, while an advantage in some PEST FOCUS respects, also means that sprays need to be: INSECT TRAP CATCHES • timed precisely to coincide with pest events, • applied at lower thresholds and, possibly, UPCOMING PEST EVENTS • applied more often. 1 scaffolds No. 20 July 31, 2000 material. Rotenone is expensive compared with up to and including the day of harvest. synthetic insecticides, but is moderately priced for a botanical. It is the most commonly mentioned of Pyrethrin is relatively non-toxic to humans the botanicals in pre-synthetic literature and is at and other mammals, although the dust produces least somewhat effective against a large number of allergy attacks in people who are allergic to insect pests. These include: pear psylla, strawberry ragweed pollen. The acute oral LD50 is 1200- leafroller, European com borer, European apple 1500 mg/kg. It is toxic to fish, but “relatively” sawfly, cherry fruit fly, apple maggot, cranberry non-toxic to honey bees. fruitworm, raspberry fruitworm, pea aphid (which is similar to rosy apple aphid), European red mite AZADIRACHTIN (Neem) Azadirachtin is de and two-spotted spider mite, codling moth, plum rived from the seeds of the neem tree, Azadirachta curculio, Japanese beetle and tarnished plant bug. indica, which is widely distributed throughout Unfortunately, it is also toxic to ladybird beetles and Asia and Africa. The observation that the desert predatory mites. But, it is non-toxic to syrphid flies locust did not eat the leaves of the neem tree, and that feed on aphids, and to honeybees. Rotenone is another, closely related species, led to the isola rapidly degraded by sunlight, lasting a week or less. tion and identification of azadirachtin in 1967. Since then, azadirachtin has been shown to have Of the botanicals mentioned here, rotenone is repellent, antifeedent, and/or growth regulating the most toxic to humans and other mammals. The insecticidal activity against a large number of acute oral LD50is from 60-1500 mg/kg. In small insect species and some mites. It has also been doses it may be irritating or numbing to mucous reported to act as a repellent to nematodes. membranes. It is highly toxic to fish, having been Neem extracts have also been used in medicines, commonly used as a fish poison. It is also toxic to soap, toothpaste and cosmetics. birds and pigs. The most common commercial formulations PYTRETHRIN (Pyrethrum) This compound is of neem available for N.Y. tree fruit is Neemix produced in the flowers of Chrysanthemum (W. R. Grace & Co.), which lists leafminers, cinerariaefolium and is the forerunner of the syn continued... thetic pyrethroid insecticides. There are not nearly as many commercially available formulations of scaffolds this chemical as there are for rotenone, but it is is published weekly from March to September by Cornell available as an emulsifiable concentrate, in combi University— NYS Agricultural Experiment Station (Geneva) nation with rotenone, or alone as a wettable powder, and Ithaca— with the assistance of Cornell Cooperative Exten from at least a couple of sources. Pyrethrin is the sion. New York field reports welcomed. Send submissions by 3 pm Monday to: least expensive of these four materials. Depending on the rate used, it may be less expensive than many scaffolds FRUIT JOURNAL synthetic insecticides. It is also synergized by PBO. Dept, of Entomology NYSAES, Barton Laboratory Pyrethrin is labelled against a large number of pests. Geneva, NY 14456-0462 An addendum to the label for one formulation of Phone: 315-787-2341 FAX: 315-787-2326 pyrethrin showed it to be moderately to highly E-mail: [email protected] ornell.edu effective (61-100% control) against the following Editors: A. Agnello, D. Kain pests of fruit: grape leafhopper, potato leafhopper, leaf curl plum aphid, blueberry flea beetle, blue This newsletter available on CENET at: news:// newsstand.cce.cornell.edu/cce.ag.tree-fruit berry thrips and blueberry sawfly. It is also effec and on the World Wide Web at: tive against cranberry fruitworm. It is quickly http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/scaffolds/ broken down in the environment and may be used 2 scaffolds No. 20 July 31, 2000 mealybugs, aphids, fruit flies, caterpillars andpsylla, aphids, leafminers and mite populations — were and Align (AgriDyne), which includes some minor unaffected by the garlic sprays. The fruit pests — leafrollers on the label. Azadirachtin has shown plum curculio, tarnished plant bug, obliquebanded good activity against spotted tentiform leafminer in leafroller and internal lepidopterans — were also tests in past years, but the formulation that was not affected by the biweekly sprays. However, the available at that time was somewhat phytotoxic. In garlic did not have any effect on the population Dick Straub’s insecticide trials in 1992 with another density of the predators T. pyri or Aphidoletes azadirachtin product called Margosan-O, the insec aphidimyza. ticide showed good activity against STLM and leaf- hopper. Margosan-O is no longer available for fruit Although not technically botanical insecticides, the crops. In laboratory tests by Jan Nyrop’s lab, toxic following materials are unique, natural products that ity to the predatory mite Amblyseius fallacis was kind of fit the category: very low. Field trials against OBLR by Harvey Reissig last year were not encouraging. ABAMECTIN (Agri-Mek) is a natural fermentation product containing a macrocyclic glycoside, used Azadirachtin is relatively short-lived and mam on apples and pears as as an acaricide/insecticide. malian toxicity is low (rat oral LD50 >10,000). It When used as currently recommended, it controls can be used up to and including the day of harvest Europeand red mite and pear psylla, and aids in the and reentry is permitted without protective clothing control of spotted tentiform leafminer. Abamectin is after the spray has dried. It is toxic to fish and aquatic toxic to bees and predator mites on contact, but the invertebrates. foliar residue dissipates quickly, making it essen tially non-toxic to these species after a few hours PIPERONYL BUTOXIDE (PBO) PBO is a syner (low bee-poisoning hazard). gist (in this case, a material that when added to a pesticide increases the activity of its active ingredi INSECTICIDAL SOAPS (M-Pede) are concentrates ent) of both rotenone and pyrethrin. It is also a made from biodegradable fatty acids and are contact botanical product, being derived from Brazilian insecticides that can be effective against such soft- sassafras. Acutely, it is very safe, having an acute bodied arthropods as aphidds, mealybugs, and psyl- oral LD50 of greater than 7,500 mg/kg, but it may be lids. They can provide suppression of pear psylla chronically toxic in high doses. when used in a seasonal spray program, but the residual period is short. Uniform drying conditions GARLIC (Guardian) A 10% formulation of garlic is are required to prevent droplet residues on the fruit registered on apples and a number of apple pests are surface. They have a low bee-poisoning hazard. on the label. In 1995, Guardian (supplied by THUMBS-UP Sales Co., Chesterland, OH) was SPINOSAD (SpinTor) is a mixture of spinosyn A applied in six sprays at two-week intervals, starting and spinosyn D molecules, anaturally derived group at petal fall, and compared with a 3-spray Imidan of toxicants from a species of Actinomyces bacteria program.