Evaluation of Fruit Bagging as a Pest Management Option for Direct Pests of Apple.

Daniel Frank

doi:10.3390/insects9040178

Abstract

Bagging fruit with plastic, paper, and two-layer commercial bags was evaluated for control of insect pests and diseases in an experimental apple orchard planted with ‘Red Delicious’ trees. Results from fruit damage evaluations at harvest showed that bagging significantly reduced fruit damage from direct apple pests compared with non-bagged control plots, and generally provided similar levels of fruit protection when compared with a conventional pesticide spray program. Of the three bagging materials evaluated, plastic bags provided numerically higher levels of fruit protection from insect pests, and two-layer commercial bags provided numerically higher levels of fruit protection from fruit diseases. Fruit quality as measured by percentage Brix was higher in non-bagged control plots than all other treatment plots. Fruit quality as measured by fruit diameter was not significantly different among treatments. Plastic and two-layer commercial bags generally required less time to secure around apple fruit than paper bags. The proportion of bags that remained on fruit until harvest ranged from 0.54–0.71 (commercial bags), 0.64–0.82 (plastic bags), and 0.32–0.60 (paper bags), depending on the year.

Highlights

Apples are an important specialty crop grown in West Virginia
The state produced over 42.6 million kilograms of apples in 2017 [1], the rising costs associated with preventing pest related problems have threatened the value of many West Virginia apples
Some estimates suggest that Northeastern apple growers may spend 24–30% percent of their production costs on pesticides [3]

Summary

Introduction

Apples are an important specialty crop grown in West Virginia. the state produced over 42.6 million kilograms of apples in 2017 [1], the rising costs associated with preventing pest related problems have threatened the value of many West Virginia apples. Because of favorable pest conditions in West Virginia and elsewhere in the Northeast, commercial apple orchards must be intensively managed, often with frequent pesticide applications. Some estimates suggest that Northeastern apple growers may spend 24–30% percent of their production costs on pesticides [3]. Many apple growers in West Virginia have expressed interest in reducing pesticide use in orchards. The use of integrated pest management (IPM) can reduce the number of pesticide applications in tree fruit orchards [4,5,6,7]. IPM practices, such as biological monitoring of pests and injury thresholds, and implementation of temperature-driven degree day or weather forecasting models for certain insect pests and diseases, can improve pesticide application efficiency and reduce the unnecessary use of pesticides. The low tolerance for damage in tree fruits, especially those marketed for fresh consumption, provides little economic incentive for growers to deviate from current chemically based control measures

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