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- Author or Editor: E. G. Rajotte x
- HortScience x
Abstract
‘Delicious’ and ‘Golden Delicious’ apples (Malus domestica Borkch.) were sprayed with a high-con version corn syrup consisting of 38–40% glucose, 28% maltose, 10% maltotriose, and 22% higher sugars plus, strawberry flavoring, red dye, and a preservative (Beelure) designed to increase plant attractiveness to honey bees. No difference was found between the number of foraging bees or the percentage of bees collecting pollen on sprayed versus unsprayed trees or in fruit set. Bees were not attracted to non-floral foliage in sprayed blocks.
Chemical rates for commercial apple orchards are derived from replicated single-tree spray studies based upon dilute (>3740 l/ha) amounts of carrier to standard trees and are not adjusted to tree size. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a season long pest management program where rates had been reduced to 60% of standard recommended rates on trellised apple trees. The experimental unit consisted of 4 trellised rows of apples planted in 1976. The cultivars in the study were `McInstosh', Golden Delicious, and spur and nonspur `Delicious'. Treatments were full rate (100), 60% of the full rate (60) and a control (0). Disease and insects damage was monitored periodically throughout the season and damage was assessed at harvest on the spur `Delicious' and `Golden Delicious' fruit. During the experiment it was discovered that the orchard used had developed resistance to benomyl resulting in some apple scab present even in the 100 treatment. There was a reduction in the level of scab however in the 60 and the 100 trt compared to the 0 trt. At harvest the major diseases observed in the 0 trt blocks was sooty blotch and flyspeck. Insect damage was minimal. Results from the study suggest that pesticide rates may be reduced by 40% with little impact upon fruit quality.
Apple orchards are highly diversified and complex ecological and economic systems. Production is affected by a wide range of insects, diseases, weeds, and mammalian pests. The incidence of these pests is often dependant upon climatological effects; and the microclimate within orchards. An expert system, a form of artificial intelligence, has been developed and commercially released to apple growers that utilizes weather data to make recommendations regarding production decisions. Users of the system are instructed on how to establish a weather station, and to collect, and input weather data from the farm. The information is utilized to calculate disease infection periods and pesticide residues to arrive at a control recommendation. Other weather dependant modules include the scheduling of trickle irrigation as well as water application rates during a frost. An interactive demonstration of the system will be presented to the group.