How to control fruit borers? A full analysis of efficient control methods

Fruit borers are insects of the family Tortricidae in the order Lepidoptera. There are many species, and their hosts are mainly peach, plum, apricot, crabapple, cherry, cotton, and so on. The larvae are usually cylindrical, and the pupae are long spindle-shaped and brown. The larvae bore into fruits or pods and feed on the fruit flesh or bean seeds, making them pests of fruit trees and legume crops. Let us take a look at the control methods for fruit borers below!

Physical control

1. Many pests are phototactic. Installing black light lamps in orchards can trap and kill many pests, such as the peach fruit moth, peach pyralid moth, cotton bollworm, and so on.

2. For trapping and killing with sugar-vinegar liquid, use 1 part sugar, 4 parts vinegar, and 16 parts water, then add a small amount of trichlorfon. Prepare this sugar-vinegar liquid and put it in bowls, hang the bowls on trees to attract adult insects to feed and kill them, such as the peach fruit moth, peach pyralid moth, cotton bollworm, and so on. Rotten fruit can also be placed in a vat to make fruit vinegar for use.

3. During the occurrence period of the cotton bollworm, insert branches of poplar, willow, and tree of heaven around the orchard, several branches per bundle. Adult cotton bollworms crawl into the bundles, and they can be captured and killed in the early morning.

Chemical control

1. Once fruit borers have bored into the fruit, they cannot be controlled, so grasping the accurate control period is the key to managing these pests. For the peach fruit moth, peach fruit borer, peach pyralid moth, and others, sex pheromone lures can be hung in the orchard, and the number of trapped insects should be checked every day. Generally, 1 lure is enough for a 15-mu orchard. When the number of trapped adults increases sharply, check egg-bearing fruits once every 3 days. When the rate of egg-bearing fruits reaches 1%, chemical control can be carried out.

2. The main types of pesticides for controlling fruit borers are pyrethroid pesticides, such as 20% fenvalerate, 2.5% deltamethrin, 10% cypermethrin, 20% methomyl, 2.5% kung fu, or 21% fenpropathrin at 2500-3000 times dilution. If spider mites occur at the same time, methomyl and kung fu can be applied to control both.

3. For the peach fruit borer, from emergence from the overwintering cocoon in the soil to forming the pupation cocoon on the ground, ground control can be carried out. Apply 25% phoxim microcapsules at 0.5 kg per mu plus 150 kg of water and spray under the tree canopy, then shallow hoe it into the soil, or use 4% dimethoate-malathion powder at 0.25 kg per large tree, which can kill the emerged larvae. Generally, apply the pesticide again after 15 days.

Biological control

1. Predatory natural enemies of fruit borers include green lacewings, ladybugs, flower bugs, spiders, ground beetles, ants, and so on, all of which can prey on the above pests.

2. Parasitic natural enemies of fruit borers include Trichogramma, which can parasitize the eggs of many species, ichneumon wasps that parasitize the pear fruit borer, and braconid wasps that parasitize the peach fruit borer. For picked fruits infested by the pear fruit borer, dissect and inspect them. If there are many parasitic wasps, the infested fruits should be kept, covered with a gauze net, and after the natural enemies emerge, release them so they continue to destroy the pests.

3. When natural enemies occur in large numbers, do not apply broad-spectrum pesticides. Use other control methods as much as possible or avoid applying pesticides during the occurrence period of natural enemies, so as to give full play to the role of natural enemies in controlling pests.

Manual control

1. In winter, scrape off the coarse bark of tree trunks to eliminate the peach fruit moths and some peach pyralid moths overwintering in the bark. In August, tie grass rings around tree trunks to attract larvae to enter for overwintering, and burn them in winter.

2. Clear the orchard in winter, sweep up fallen leaves and weeds, and dispose of various crop straws, sunflower heads, and so on by burning them to kill pests such as the peach pyralid moth overwintering inside.

3. Combined with pruning, cut off the infested buds where the pear fruit borer overwinters. From the larval damage period on fruits until before adult emergence (before wheat harvest), thoroughly pick off all pear fruit borer-infested fruits and dispose of them. This is the key measure to eliminate the pear fruit borer.

4. At any time, pick off and collect fruits damaged by various fruit borers. In May and June, when the peach fruit moth damages peach shoots, promptly cut off the infested shoot tips and burn them.

5. Plant tree species rationally. The peach fruit moth has the habit of transferring hosts, preferring peach shoots in the early stage and pear fruits in the later stage. Therefore, when planning an orchard, try not to mix-plant or place peach and pear adjacent to each other.