Winter control of psyllids in pear orchards leads to good pears in autumn

The pear psyllid is the most important pest on pear trees. It can damage pear leaves, causing blighted spots, weakening tree vigor, and reducing fruit quality and yield. It produces 4-5 generations per year. Adults are divided into winter and summer forms. Winter-form adults overwinter in the cracks of pear tree branches and trunks, with a few in weeds, fallen leaves, and soil. Integrated control should target their overwintering sites.

1. Orchard sanitation. Clear away fallen branches, fallen leaves, and weeds in and around the orchard, bury them deeply or burn them, to reduce the overwintering pear psyllid population.

2. Bark scraping. Spread plastic film on the tree tray, use a knife to scrape off the coarse, raised bark on the trunk as well as diseased spots such as rot, dry rot, and ring rot, then gather them up and bury them deeply.

3. Irrigation. When the temperature drops below freezing point, carry out irrigation in the orchard, which can drown the pear psyllids overwintering in the soil.

4. Chemical control. The key period for chemical control is from the emergence period of overwintering adults to the egg-laying period, that is, early to mid-March. Commonly used agents include 20% fenvalerate emulsion at 3000 times dilution, 10% Dagongchen wettable powder at 2000 times dilution, 0.9% Aifuding at 3000 times dilution, etc., which can also control pear fruit sawfly, pear aphid, and others.