Seasonal occurrence of apple heliodinid moth (Stathmopoda auriferella) and its control by environmentally-friendly measures in organic kiwifruit orchard

• Published in: Acta horticulturae no. 1001; pp. 121 - 127
• Main Authors: Ma, Kyungcheol, Cho, Younsup, Yi, Somi, Cho, Hyesung, Jeong, Byeongjoon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: International Society for Horticultural Science 01.01.2013
• Subjects: Actinidia chinensis; Actinidia deliciosa; Azadirachta indica; Cinnamomum aromaticum; field experimentation; flight; fruit set; kiwifruit; light traps; moths; orchards; pests; plant damage; plant extracts; Sophora flavescens; trapping
• ISSN: 0567-7572
• DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2013.1001.12

Apple heliodinid moth (AHM, Stathmopoda auriferella) is one of the most serious pests in organic kiwifruit orchards in Korea. Several organic cultural practices (light trapping, natural plant extracts, fruit bagging and fruit thinning) were applied for the control of AHM in commercial organic kiwifruit orchards in Haenam at the south-west end of the Korean peninsula. Flight peaks of the adult AHM population were observed twice a year, in early to mid-June and early to mid-August. These seasonal occurrences determined timing of control measures (May-September). Fruit damage caused by AHM differed significantly between green (Actinidia deliciosa ‘Hayward’) (48.2%) and gold (A. chinensis ‘Haegeum’) (9.8%) kiwifruit. Comparisons of light traps showed that a bluish-black light attracted 27.8 to 53.8% more AHM adults and resulted in 8.5% less fruit damage compared with a whitish-orange light in a ‘Hayward’ orchard trial. Some formulas of natural plant extracts provided good control of AHM. Among them, three formulas from Sophora flavescens, Cinnamomum cassia and Azadirachta indica, and a BT liquid showed over 80% control in field trials. Early fruit bagging and thinning right after fruit set were also effective on the reduction of the kiwifruit damage by AHM.