Abstract
The advent of novel genetic methods has led to renewed interest in the sterile insect technique (SIT) for management of insect pests, owing to applications in mass rearing and in the production of sterile offspring without use of irradiation. An area-wide management programme for codling moth, Cydia pomonella, has employed the SIT and other management practices over a large area (3395 to 7331 ha) of orchards and neighbouring urban, public, or First Nations lands in British Columbia, Canada, for 25 years. This project is the first to employ the SIT for C. pomonella, and the longest-running application of area-wide techniques for its control, anywhere. It was derived from basic research and applied trials from the 1960s onwards. Many biological challenges were overcome, and lessons learnt, in transferring from small- to large-scale applications of mass rearing and the SIT, with particular regard to Lepidoptera. Research has proven essential to identifying, if not resolving, issues that threaten the implementation and success of any such programme. The major challenges encountered, and the resulting research, are reviewed, as well as future directions. Recommendations are given for application of the SIT as part of any area-wide management programme for C. pomonella.
Highlights
IntroductionThe Okanagan-Kootenay Sterile Insect Release (OK SIR) program is the longest-running application of area-wide management for codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), in the world, and the first to employ the sterile insect technique (SIT) for its control
The Okanagan-Kootenay Sterile Insect Release (OK SIR) program is the longest-running application of area-wide management for codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), in the world, and the first to employ the sterile insect technique (SIT) for its control. It is a unique creation of co-operating regional governments in the main tree fruit-growing area of British Columbia (B.C.), Canada
Services that reduce the population of C. pomonella, including host tree removal, insecticide use, release of sterile moths, pheromone-based mating disruption, tree banding, fruit stripping, legislation, mapping, public relations, and education, have been provided
Summary
The Okanagan-Kootenay Sterile Insect Release (OK SIR) program is the longest-running application of area-wide management for codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), in the world, and the first to employ the sterile insect technique (SIT) for its control It is a unique creation of co-operating regional governments in the main tree fruit-growing area of British Columbia (B.C.), Canada. We summarize the main research challenges experienced since the OK SIR program began in 1992, and the research in response to such factors, primarily from the Pacific Northwest of North America We believe this example to be valuable more generally, because new genetic techniques are being suggested for application of the SIT to many insects, often without regard to important behavioural and ecological factors. We follow Proverbs [15], who emphasised the need for improved knowledge of population processes at the time when SIT was first under consideration for many insects
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