Cranberry Fruitworm in B.C. Tracy Hueppelsheuser British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture BC Cranberry Congress, Feb. 11, 2015
1 Acknowledgements
This project was funded in part by the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through Growing Forward 2, a federal-provincial- territorial initiative.
Additional support was provided by: Cranberry and Blueberry Grower Cooperators B.C. Blueberry Council B.C. Cranberry Marketing Commission B.C. Cranberry Growers Association E.S. Cropconsult Ltd. Ocean Spray Cranberries Cranberry Fruitworm (Acrobasis vaccinii, Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) • Internal fruit feeding caterpillar, native to North America. • Infests blueberry and cranberry in eastern North America. • Moths detected for the first time in pheromone traps in a few BC cranberry fields in 2011.
3 Pest Biology: • Major Hosts: cranberry, blueberry. • Wild and minor crop hosts recorded: – Wild vaccinium – One generation per year.
Pupae
4 life stages: Moth Larvae
Eggs 4 Life cycle: • Moth emerges in summer (June-July) and lays eggs on green fruit (July). • Larvae hatch and burrow into developing fruit (July-Aug). • Larvae will infest 3-6 fruit before exiting and searching for an overwintering site (August). • Over-winters as larvae/pre-pupae in a silken structure in soil. • Pupates in spring/early summer.
5 Cranberry Fruitworm Moth Grey-brown moth with white triangles on wings; hind triangles with two dots each. Medium size moths, 15 mm wingspan.
Note: there are moths that look similar; these tend to occur later, i.e.
in August. Sometimes girdler moths will get into fruitworm traps. 6 Cranberry Fruitworm Eggs • Very small (1mm). Cannot identify without a lens. • Laid singly or a few overlapping on the fruit calyx of green fruit.
7 Newly hatched larvae in calyx
Empty egg shell
8 Bore hole in stem end from tiny new larvae entering fruit. Unique to this pest.
9 Cranberry fruitworm larvae
• Light green/brown head • Body is green. • Grows to ~1 cm
10 Larvae exit holes and frass in cranberry fruit
Looks very different from Fireworm, which mostly feeds on foliage, and sometimes makes large
irregular holes in fruits. 11 Damage to cranberry fruit: ‘raisins’
12 Shriveled fruit in field
Heidi van Dokkumburg, 13 ES Cropconsult Ltd. Area-wide monitoring in 2014 3rd year of a multi-year project 1. Wing traps and commercial cranberry fruitworm pheromone – 97 cranberry fields (32 farms) and – 28 blueberry fields (28 farms) – checked weekly, and number of moths recorded. – traps placed near row ends, beside mixed natural trees and shrubs. 2. Fruit were collected during ripening and near harvest to look for presence of fruitworm.
14 Moth catches Blueberry 2012 & 2013
10 Very few moths were caught in traps in blueberry 9
fields (9 total moths in 2012, shown here). 8
7 In 2013, only 1 moth was confirmed (June 28) in a 6 blueberry field beside a cranberry field known to 5
caught per week per caught have fruitworm (Richmond). 4 3 2 1
Number of moths moths of Number 0 June June June June June July July July July July Aug Aug Aug Aug 4 11 18 22 29 2 9 16 23 30 6 13 20 27
15 # Cranberry fruitworm moths/trap/week in 28 blueberry fields (60 traps), 2014
0.35 19 moths total in 0.3 60 traps in peak 0.25 week, July 18: still really low in 0.2 blueberry fields 0.15
0.1
0.05
0 # cranberry fruitworm moths caught / trap trap / caught moths fruitworm cranberry #
16 # Cranberry fruitworm moths caught in blueberry fields by region, 2014
Total # moths caught Region # traps June 13 to July 11 Richmond 4 25 Ladner 6 3 East Delta 4 3 Surrey 6 0 Langley 6 0 Abbotsford 6 0 Matsqui 6 0 PoCo/ Pitt Meadows 6 0 Pitt Meadows/ Maple Ridge 6 1 Chilliwack/ Rosedale 6 0 TOTAL MOTHS CAUGHT 29 17 # cranberry fruitworm moths caught/ trap/ week in cranberry fields
2.5 2014 2 2013
2012
1.5 First moth 2014: June 9, 1 week earlier than 2013. 1 9 weeks of catch in
# Moths/per trap Moths/per # 2014: June 9- Aug 4. Peak flight: June 30-July 0.5
14.
0
June 9 June June 2 June
August4
July 14 July 21 July 28 July
July 7 July
June 16 June 23 June 30 June
August11 August18 August25
18 # moths total per week in cranberry (97 traps)
250 212 moths 2014 200 2013 2012 150 6 times more moths than in
Total Moths Total blueberry fields. 100 Number increases each year
50
0
July 7 July July 14 July 21 July 28 July
June June 16 June June 2 June 9 June 23 June 30 August 4 August 11 August 18 August 25
19 70 Total trap catch per trap over the season, cranberry fields (June 2 – August 25, 2014) 60
50
40
30
20
10
0
E
1 1
4
4 4 1 3 5 7 1 4
1 3 2 2
3 6 1 1 3 5 7 9
2 4 4 2
1 1 3 7 2 3 1 5 4 6
-
- -
-
------
- - - -
------
- - -
------
11
-
-
-
Langley 3 Langley Langley 1 Langley 2 Langley 2 Langley 3 Langley 4 Langley 6 Langley 7 Langley 9 Langley
PMMR2 PMMR3
Surrey 1 Surrey
PMMR 1 PMMR 1 PMMR 1 PMMR 1 PMMR 1 PMMR
E. Delta 2 Delta E. E. Delta 1 Delta E.
W.Delta 2 W.Delta
W. Delta 1 Delta W.
W. Delta 2 Delta W. 3 Delta W. 3 Delta W. 3 Delta W. 3 Delta W. 1 Delta W. 1 Delta W.
W. Delta 1 Delta W.
Chiliwack 1 Chiliwack
S. Richmond 2 Richmond S.
S.Richmond 4 S.Richmond
S. Richmond 1 Richmond S. 1 Richmond S. 4 Richmond S. 3 Richmond S.
N. Richmond 6 Richmond N. N. Richmond 8 Richmond N. 5 Richmond N. 5 Richmond N. 4 Richmond N. 7 Richmond N. 1 Richmond N. 1 Richmond N. 4 Richmond N. 4 Richmond N. S. Richmond 3 Richmond S.
N. Richmond 5 Richmond N. 20 South Richmond 5 Richmond South Comparing Cranberry Regions: 2012-2013
Moths: NO Moths: • East Delta • Surrey • West Delta • Langley • South Richmond • Pitt Meadows/Maple Ridge • North Richmond (only 1 • Chilliwack moth)
Same regions in 2012 and 2013
21 Comparing Cranberry Regions:
Moths: NO Moths: • East Delta • Surrey • West Delta • Langley • South Richmond • Pitt Meadows/Maple Ridge • North Richmond • Chilliwack
2014: Moths now found in: Pitt Meadows/Maple Ridge, More in North Richmond
22 Per cent of cranberry fields per region with moths
100
90 2013
80 2014 70 60 50 40 30
20 % of moth positive fields positive mothof % 10 0
23 Moth catches Summary: • First moth catch: can vary from year to year • Peak moth catch: around July 1 • More moths caught each year. • Regional differences exist
Trapping is important to see these annual fluctuations
24 Egg searches once moths are caught: • In fields with moth catches (8-12 fields/week), 200 random green fruit per field were collected until moth flight ended (June-August). • Fruit was inspected with a microscope.
We found no eggs and no damage in blueberry fields. 25 Eggs on fruit 2014
• First eggs found: June 27 in West Delta • 11 days after first moths were detected in this field. • Eggs were found: June 27—Aug 4 • Most eggs during week of June 30 • Peak eggs occurred early in moth flight
26 Moth catches and egg counts per week in cranberry fields 250 30 Peaks are 2014 moth close for both totals 25 200 eggs and moths 2014 egg totals
20
150 15
100 eggs Total Total Moths Total 10
50 5
0 0
June 16 June 23 June 30 June 7 July
June 2 June June 9 June
August11 August18 August25
July 14 July 21 July 28 July August4
27 Eggs and damage assessments from 19 moth-positive fields, 2014 0.8 % of berries with eggs 0.7
0.6 % of berries with live larvae
0.5 % of berries with bore holes
0.4 % of dead larvae
0.3
0.2
Per cent berries cent with damage Per 0.1
0
28 • First bore holes (larvae burrowing into fruit): July 7 • Sprays were done from week of June 25 to July 28, most fields 2 applications • Most larvae were dead July 7-28. • After July 28, most larvae were live (no more sprays after July 28) Is a third spray needed?
29 Sprayed cranberry fields with live or dead larvae 100 0.25 Percentage of postive fields sprayed
90
80 Percentage of berries containing dead lavae 0.2
70 Percentage of berries containing live larvae
60 0.15
50 % of berries ofberries % with larvae
40 0.1 % of fields sprayed % 30
20 0.05
10
0 0
30 Fruit damage: September 2014 • 40% of fields (with moths) checked had fruit damage (8/20 fields) • Variable damage level detected: 1/400 fruit to 1/10 fruit (0.21 – 11 %) • 3 fields out of 20 (15%) had significant (6-11%) damaged fruit. Similar to 2013. • >22 moths over the season (June-August) were caught in each of the ‘high’ fields. • No fields with only 1 moth had damage. • No damage seen in fruit-sampled fields with no moth catches
31 Field Field Total Total eggs % of berry % of berry damage # Trap damage (Week of (Week of September
September 5)
in in 2014 2014 from cranberry catches 19) Ripe damageberry assessmentsSeptember in 1 W. Delta 1-4 2 0 0 0 2 W. Delta 1-5 2 0 0 0.27
4 W. Delta 2-3 3 0 0 1.38 .
6 W. Delta 3-2 38 -- 1.34 0.35 7 W. Delta 3-4 22 3 3.33 5.71 5 E. Delta 1-4 1 0 0 0 3 E. Delta 2-2 2 0 0 0.2 8 N. Richmond 6-2 1 0 0 0
9 N. Richmond 4-3 2 0 0 0 fruitworm 10 N. Richmond 2-1 1 0 0 0 11 N. Richmond 5-2 1 0 0 0 12 N. Richmond 1-4 1 0 0 0
13 S. Richmond 4-2 27 3 3 3.5 -
14 S. Richmond 2 51 20 10.73 6.71 positive 15 S. Richmond 5-3 20 13 0 0 16 N. Richmond 8-1 1 1 0 0 17 S. Richmond 3-1 56 9 7.8 1.65 18 S. Richmond 1-1 29 4 1.17 0 fields 19 PMMR 1-3 1 0 0 0 20 PMMR 2-2 5 1 0.21 0 32 Insecticide management • Target is the egg and young larvae before they bore into the fruit. • Apply during egg laying, when 1 egg is found in 100 berries checked (per 2 acres); – Egg laying begins within a few days after moth catches begin. • Second application about 10 days after the first. – Third spray needed? • Products are available for use in B.C. Check with your packer to confirm acceptability: – Intrepid, Altachor, – Suppression ONLY: Success, Entrust (organic) – Delegate (for other caterpillars species). 33
A Reference for # of fruit Table From: http://umaine.edu/cranberries/grower- to collect: services/insects/cranberry-fruitworm/ Table Recommended (for all practices) to Determine Necessity of Additional Spraying for Cranberry Fruitworm: Number of Viable Number of Viable Eggs Needed to Eggs Needed to Number of Berries Number of Acres Trigger Spray during Trigger Spray during Checked profitable very low berry prices berry prices (< $0.30 per lb.) 0-5 200-250 1 2
6 or 7 251-350 2 4
8 or 9 351-450 3 6
10 or 11 451-550 4 8
for each additional 2 double the number add 100 berries add 1 egg acres determined at34 left Timing of sprays
• Eastern spray recommendations relate to crop stage (i.e. 50% out of bloom). However, • B.C. sprays do not need to occur until post bloom • Spray dates may vary each year, based on moth flight and egg detections – (which is driven by temperature)
35 Degree days, predictive model
• MSU model seems to be accurate for Richmond, 2014, but may not be for all regions or all years. More years of comparisons needs to be made.
• In new regions where the pest is only detected at low levels, the model may not be very accurate, i.e. Pitt Meadows.
36 Other management tools
• Biological control: some native parasitoids in eastern North America, but not enough to keep below damage thresholds. Not sure of levels in BC or western regions. – We have not confirmed parasitoids in BC. • Cultural: 30 day spring re-flood before end of dormancy (‘late water’); not practiced in all regions.
37 • For blueberries, there was no damage to fruit reported and no eggs or damage recorded during our trials. • In BC, so far, Cranberry Fruitworm seems limited to Cranberries. • Will continue monitoring and management project survey in 2015 in both crops. If it was in blueberry, this is what the damage would look like: lots of frass and webbing.
B. Cline, North Carolina J.A. Payne, USDA/ARS38 More information on Cranberry Fruitworm in
cranberries: Reminder: Timing for pest life stages is a bit later in BC than University of Maine: in eastern cranberry growing http://umaine.edu/cranberries/grower- regions. services/insects/cranberry-fruitworm/ Long Beach, Washington State University: http://longbeach.wsu.edu/cranberries/documents/cranb erryfruitwormwisconsin.pdf Michigan State University model: Isaacs, R.and C.G. Salazar. 2009. Using MSU’s cranberry fruitworm degree day model. Michigan http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/using_msus_cranberry_fruitworm_degree_day _model . 39 Next steps
1. Continue outreach and information sharing with growers, consultants, and packers. 2. Area wide trapping. Monitor in some new fields and areas if possible, in cranberries and blueberries. 3. Continue to track fruit damage in fields. 4. Refine monitoring and decision making in future years, as we gain experience and generate data.
40