Growers like to use earwigs for the control of pear psylla and woolly apple aphid. In particular as result of the use of pesticides, earwigs are in recent years hardly found in orchards. PPO and PRI have therefore tested the side effect of virtually all products applied in apple and pear cultivation on earwigs.
Part of the pesticides were found to have a postponed or not directly lethal effect, such as reduced feeding, paralysis, reduced activity or reduced fertility. These effects may have serious consequences for the orchard population because earwigs only have one generation per year and are thus not easily recovering from a calamity. The results of the study will be made available to growers in 2010 and will be used for designing, together with growers, an integrated control schedule for pear psylla and woolly apple aphid with a minimum effect on earwigs.
Project description on KennisOnline:
Geïntegreerde beheersing van appelbloedluis en perenbladvlo in grootfruit (Integrated control of woolly apple aphid and pear psylla in top fruit)
Flyer:
Innovatieve geïntegreerde fruitteelt(Innovative integrated fruit cultivation)