Oriental fruit moth
(Grapholitha molesta)
Regularly occurring in Europe, it is deemed to be a dangerous pest, mostly has three, sometimes four generations a year. The evolution of the fourth generation, swarming in September and wintering afterwards, is weather dependent.
Food plant:
Polyphagous pest, primarily apple, pear, quince, apricot, peach, nectarine, cherry, sour cherry, plum, mirabelle, greengage, almond
Detriment:
The caterpillars of the first generation enter the top of the young sprouts, the chewed sprouts wilt and gum. The larvae of the further generations attack the fruit itself. The caterpillars chew the surface of the fruit and the part around the seed inside. The damaged fruit can also gum.
Lifestyle:
It winters as a caterpillar in a silk casing made in to the cracks of the tree barks. The swarming of the first generation usually starts mid-April. The swarming of the second generation is expected from mid-June, the next ones are from the end of July and the end of August. The swarming of the summer generations usually merge into one another. The moths fly in the afternoons and evenings, they lay their eggs on to leaves, to the end of the sprouts and on the fruits.
Recommended protection:
It is recommended to start the protection 14-20 days of the start of swarming, and 7-10 days of mass swarming, when mass hatching of the larvae takes place. Chemical protection is the most effective at the time of peak swarming and mass hatching.
Pheromone trap placement:
Trap placement is recommended from mid-April. Replace the dispenser and the sticky boards in every 6-7 weeks, preferably not around the time of peak swarming.
Check the traps twice a week. Count the number of moths captured in the particular period and note the number. The swarming dynamics are visible from the data and the time of intervention is definable. Should the trap capture too few moths, even at peak swarming time, it refers to low infection. In this case the moths can be captured by placing some further traps in smaller gardens and the population can be controlled without spraying, so that we can preserve our environment.
Empirical swarming curve of the oriental fruit moth in Central-Europe:
The introduced empirical swarming curve was prepared by using data of many years, however the swarming may be different depending on the weather and the microclimate of the arable land, therefore the thorough observation of swarming is also important.