Effects of dormant insecticide treatments on the San Jose scale (Homoptera: Diaspididae) and its parasitoids Encarsia perniciosi and Aphytis spp . ( Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae )

Abstract

Populations of the San Jose scale (SJS), Quadraspidiotus perniciosus (Comstock), and its parasitoids, Encarsia perniciosi (Tower) and Aphytis spp. were monitored with double-sided sticky tape and pheromone traps in an almond orchard. A total of 1.21 ha plots within the orchard were treated during winter dormancy with several insecticides, including horticultural mineral oil alone, oil combined with the organophosphate diazinon at different dilution rates, and oil combined with the pyrethroid esfenvalerate in a completely randomized block design. Higher volume diazinon applications (3750 and 1870 l ha 71 ) proved effective against SJS crawlers, as did esfenvalerate. The higher volume applications had greater deposition on Kromecoat 1 cards placed in the top of the tree canopy, where SJS is most abundant. The lower-volume (935 l ha 71 ) application of diazinon provided control of first-generation crawlers similar to the other diazinon applications, but it was generally less effective in controlling subsequent generations. All insecticide treatments were associated with a reduction of parasitoid numbers, especially the esfenvalerate application.

Susceptibility of Aphelinus certus to foliar‐applied insecticides currently or potentially registered for soybean aphid control

“…Mineral oil is moderately harmful to the parasitoid Trichogramma cacoeciae Marchal,53 but harmless to Coccidocenoides peregrines Timberlake54 and A. certus . However, in the field, mineral oil application can reduce the number of parasitoids within the sprayed areas55 and was found to have a low selectivity ratio against soybean aphids relative to natural enemies 25. Future work should determine the effect of mineral oil application on A. certus in the field.…”

Pest management and other agricultural practices among farmers growing cruciferous vegetables in the Central and Western highlands of Kenya and the Western Himalayas of India

“…In addition to D. semiclausum, in Himachal Pradesh, the existing local parasitoids D. fenestralis (Halmgrew) and Cotesia plutellae (Kurdjumov) have also been shown to provide high levels of parasitism of P. xylostella larvae (Devi and Raj 1995;Devi et al 2004). However, the current use of pyrethroids, organophosphates, and other broad spectrum insecticides by farmers in the Kenya highlands and the Kullu valley disrupts any potential biological control of insect pests by parasitoids and other natural enemies (Raj and Kanwar 1990;Barwal 2001;Badenes-Perez et al 2002). Trap cropping is another pest management practice accessible to farmers in Table VII.…”

Evaluation of MAK All Season Horticultural Mineral Oil (HMO) Against Major Insect Pests of Apple in Kashmir

“…the yield of the plant. Different HMO's have been tested for the control of San Jose scale (Badenes et al, 2010), while as insecticides have also been used for the management of San Jose scale (Singh et al, 2001). Taking a note of the severity of the pests the experiment was undertaken to test the efficacy of the product, its phytotoxicity, and impact on quality apple yield and effect on natural enemies in the apple ecosystem of Kashmir Valley.…”