DETECTING & RESPONDING TO AMBROSIA BEETLE INFESTATIONS IN NEW YORK APPLE ORCHARDS

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: TERMINATED
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1004790
• Project No.: NYG-621433
• Project Start Date: Dec 1, 2014
• Project End Date: Sep 30, 2017

Project Director
Agnello, AR, M..

Recipient Organization
N Y AGRICULTURAL EXPT STATION
(N/A)
GENEVA,NY 14456

Performing Department
Geneva - Entomology

Non Technical Summary
An ambrosia beetle known as the black stem borer is a serious pest in ornamental tree nurseries and landscapes in North America. It attacks and bores galleries into the wood of trunks or limbs of apparently healthy plants and those that are stressed, dying or recently dead. In 2013, infestations of this pest were seen for the first time in commercial apple trees, in multiple western NY sites. By the end of 2013, hundreds of trees were removed in high density apple plantings during the middle of the growing season. To date, at least 20 additional infestation sites have been documented, extending as far as to Long Island, and it appears that these ambrosia beetles may have been present in the area for some years before first detected, as they are now being found in nearly every orchard showing these tree decline symptoms; several hundred trees have already been destroyed. This applied research project will assess the incidence and potential management of this emergent pest in on-farm demonstration plots using established trapping and monitoring techniques and tactics, with the collaboration and cooperation of CCE area Extension educators and private consultants, integrating their efforts with research protocols overseen by the co-PIs.This project should reduce the environmental and economic risk of ambrosia beetle damage in commercial orchards, benefitting growers, marketers, consumers and all sectors of the fruit industry. Reduction or elimination of tree decline and disease incidence should promote sustained orchard health and maintain economic fruit production levels. Outcomes from this project should be applicable to other similar production areas where ambrosia beetles are endemic pests, primarily in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states, the SE Canadian provinces, as well as in Midwest fruit producing regions east of the Mississippi. Project results will be made available to a wide variety of stakeholders and public audiences through Extension meetings, publications, and internet resources. In educational meetings each year, the NY fruit community will be informed of trial results and user-friendly methods to control ambrosia beetles in their orchards. The PI and co-PIs have direct responsibility for control recommendations in the NY Tree Fruit Pest Management Guidelines, ensuring that these results are incorporated into the printed and online references used most frequently by the state's apple growers, conventional and organic, large- or small-scale. Finally, trial results and recommended management guidelines will be posted on websites such as the NE Tree Fruit IPM Working Group and Great Lakes Fruit Workers to foster more widespread distribution of the information resulting from this work and raise awareness of pest management options that support environmental stewardship among all NYS citizens seeking pest control information.

Animal Health Component

0%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

30%

Applied

30%

Developmental

40%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
211	1110	1130	60%
212	1110	1100	20%
212	1110	1102	20%

Knowledge Area
212 - Pathogens and Nematodes Affecting Plants; 211 - Insects, Mites, and Other Arthropods Affecting Plants;

Subject Of Investigation
1110 - Apple;

Field Of Science
1130 - Entomology and acarology; 1100 - Bacteriology; 1102 - Mycology;

Keywords

apple orchards

ambrosia beetles

xylosandrus germanus

trunk borers

physiological tree stress

tree decline

disease vectors

symbiotic fungi

Goals / Objectives
Determine the occurrence, timing and distribution of ambrosia beetles infesting apple trees in the major apple production regions of NY, and characterize the impact on apple tree health associated with beetle attacks.Objectives:1 - Generate baseline information on the incidence and timing of ambrosia beetle emergence and movement from surrounding border areas into high-density dwarf apple plantings in western NY.2 - Characterize the factors responsible for apple tree susceptibility to ambrosia beetle attack; relate the type and level of damage caused to beetle captures and movement patterns.3 - Isolate and characterize bacterial and fungal pathogens from beetles and infestation sites in apples, and characterize the progression of disease and tree decline in affected orchards.4 - Conduct preliminary assessments of potential pest prediction and management tactics to prevent infestations and infections.

Project Methods
Research will be conducted in commercial orchards in Orleans, Wayne and possibly also eastern NYS counties (e.g., Ulster, Nassau, Suffolk Counties) having a history of ambrosia beetle infestations, to assess pressure and impact of naturally occurring attacks by this pest, as well as possible treatments to control them.1 - Ethanol-baited bottle traps hung on metal garden hangers at a 1-m height will be placed along the edges of orchards bordered by hedgerows and woods likely to be a source of immigrating beetles. Additional traps will be located in the orchards adjacent to previously attacked trees, to verify their attractiveness. Traps will be checked 2-3 times per week starting in mid-April, before maximum temperatures of 20°C begin to occur, and through the summer; these will be compared against heat unit accumulations using temperature probes placed in the trees. Beetles trapped will be collected, sorted and identified. Additional trapping trials will be conducted by soaking 30-cm sections of beech limbs ("loglets", 3-4 cm diam) in 15% ethanol for 3 days and placing them in infested orchards (hung, or staked onto metal poles) to serve as "trap tree" targets, and checked and replaced every 2-3 days for a 7-10-day period, to determine their utility in optimizing beetle capture rates in specific areas of an orchard.2 - Trees in selected rows of monitored orchards will be regularly inspected for evidence of infestation (e.g., sawdust "toothpicks" sticking out of trunks), flagging branches, tree decline or deficiency, and fire blight or other disease symptoms including blighted, cankered or oozing scion material. Incidence of these symptoms will be tabulated and compared against beetle captures in traps and beech loglets proximal to the inspected trees. The presence of putative fire blight ooze or fusarium mycelium on the bark surface, previously observed in 2013, will be subject to pathogen characterization.3 - Samples of affected scion material, as well as captured beetles, will be collected and subjected to standard isolation practices for fungi and bacteria. In short, scion tissues will be trimmed to six 3 mm-thick pieces from the advancing margin of infection/infestation in the cortex. Scion pieces or whole beetles will be surface sterilized by submerging them in 10% bleach (0.6% NaOCl) for 2 minutes of manual agitation. Subsequently, the bark will be removed from scion tissues and the pieces and beetles will be washed twice with sterile distilled water for 1min/wash. Three scion pieces and several beetles will be placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) amended with 50 μg/ml streptomycin sulfate to prevent bacterial growth. Three scion pieces and several beetles will be placed on Crosse and Goodman (CG) medium to select for bacteria and identify Erwinia amylovora, the causal agent of fire blight. Fungal cultures will be incubated in the dark at room temperature (24-26°C) for 1 week. Bacterial colonies will be grown at 28°C to promote the growth and recovery of E. amylovora. Colonies growing from the sections will be sub-cultured and maintained on PDA (fungi) or CG (bacteria) medium in the dark at room temperature (24-26°C) for subsequent molecular and colony morphology-based identification. Single colony bacteria cultures will be identified by morphology on CG and by PCR for the presence of pEa29, a non-conjugative plasmid present in all strains of E. amylovora. The mycelium of isolated fungal colonies will be subjected to DNA extraction, and PCR and DNA sequencing of the two internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions and the 5.8S gene in the nuclear ribosomal repeat. Fungal identity will be determined by the blast-n algorithm using NCBI sequence databases.4 - The efficacy and practicality of trunk sprays using chlorpyrifos or a pyrethroid such as lambda-cyhalothrin will be evaluated against infestations of ambrosia beetles; different timings and tactics will be tested, including: border sprays vs. single rows, trunk sprays vs. whole tree dilute sprays, and airblast sprayer vs. directed trunk application. All treatments will be replicated in randomized complete plots at each of the individual test sites. Single sprays will be applied in spring, timed before the expected start of beetle flight and infestation activity by using site-specific degree day accumulations. Treatment efficacy will be assessed by regular inspections of treated and untreated trees in affected orchard sites and recording the number of discolored, wilted, dying or dead trees in these sites, as well as the progression of symptoms in affected trees (e.g., discolored foliage, developmental delay, effects on fruit or foliage production and growth). Additional treatments using single or multiple trunk sprays of pyrethroids against the summer generation of beetles will be superimposed on some of the spring-treated trees, and resulting tree health and specific damage symptoms will be recorded to assess the efficacy of treatments against one or both of the generations occurring in NY annually.Statistical Analysis - Trap captures of adults in orchard sites vs. adjacent border areas using a repeated measures generalized mixed model with trap location as a random effect. Results of the insecticide control trials will be analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with either insecticide a.i., application timing, location (border vs. single row), or method (trunk vs. whole tree), respectively, as the main factor.

Progress 12/01/14 to 09/30/17

Outputs
Target Audience:Fruit Growers, Extension Educators, Researchers, Crop Consultants, and Media Outlets Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Through this project, we have formed new cooperative and collaborative partnerships with different sectors of the fruit industry, including the nursery sector and contract researchers. We have furthermore established ties with a broader research community by interacting with representatives of the USDA labs in both NY and also Ohio. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Presentations have been (and will continue to be) made to a range of audiences during the off-season, to inform stakeholders and colleagues of the developments being made in this area of investigation and apple pest management. The venues for these presentations include: Orchard Pest & Disease Management Conference, Portland, OR. January 2015 Entomological Society of America Eastern Branch Meeting, Philadelphia, PA. January 2016 Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN. November 2015 91st Annual Cumberland-Shenandoah Fruit Workers Conference, Winchester, VA. December 2015 Entomological Society of America Eastern Branch Meeting, Philadelphia, PA. January 2016 Orchard Pest & Disease Management Conference, Portland, OR. January 2016 Empire State Producers Expo, Syracuse, NY. January 2016. Lake Ontario Winter Fruit Schools, Lockport and Newark, NY. February 2016 Hudson Valley Commercial Fruit Growers School, Kingston, NY. February 2016 Maine Pomological Society Tree Fruit Pre-Season Meeting, Lewiston, ME. March 2016 New Hampshire Fruit Growers Association Annual Meeting, Concord, NH. March 2016 Plant Pathology & Plant Microbe Biology Departmental Seminar, Geneva. October 2016 92nd Annual Cumberland-Shenandoah Fruit Workers Conference, Winchester, VA. December 2016 Minnesota Apple Growers Association 84th Annual Upper Midwest Apple Show, La Crosse, WI. January 2017. Orchard Pest & Disease Management Conference, Portland, OR. January 2017. Entomological Society of America Eastern Branch Meeting, Newport, RI. March 2017. Great Lakes Fruit Workers Meeting, Port Huron, MI. November 2017. Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, Denver, CO. November 2017. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In 2015, we assessed black stem borer (BSB) adult occurrence and distribution in several New York apple growing regions, using ethanol-baited bottle traps placed along the edges of orchards bordered by hedgerows and woods likely to be a source of immigrating beetles. Additional traps were located adjacent to previously attacked trees, to verify their attractiveness. Traps were checked weekly starting at the end of April. Traps were placed on 14 farms in Wayne Co., 19 farms in Orleans and Niagara Counties, 11 farms in the Hudson Valley, and 9 farms in the Champlain Valley. BSB adults were captured at nearly all of the sites, and were most numerous in the western NY locations. First activity was noted in WNY on May 5, and there were higher counts along the orchard edges than in the interiors. June 2 was the peak of beetle emergence from the overwintering sites, and 1st generation adults emerged from July 6-27. On August 5, the 2nd generation adults emerged, with catch continuing into September. The efficacy and practicality of trunk sprays using chlorpyrifos and two pyrethroid products (lambda-cyhalothrin and gamma-cyhalothrin) was evaluated against infestations of ambrosia beetles on two commercial farms having documented infestations (Sodus, NY and Medina, NY). Potted 2-yr old Mutsu trees from the nursery were placed in turn into larger pots, which were then flooded to induce stress and promote ethanol production. These potted trees were placed in the rows between the orchard trees, and the trunks of the potted trees plus the orchard trees were sprayed using a handgun sprayer. Treatment efficacy was assessed for evidence of new infestations by preliminary inspection of treated and untreated trees on July 9, after termination of the first flight. A final evaluation of the potted trees was conducted on August 19; these were destructively sampled to document all occurrences of holes, galleries, adults, and brood in the treated trees. In the Preliminary Evaluations, efficacy of the handgun treatments in the potted trees was not consistent between the two sites, with the Lorsban plots tending to have lower levels of infested trees than the Warrior plots at the Sodus site, but the opposite trend occurring at the Medina site. There were no significant treatment differences in percent infested trees in the established orchard trees. Results of the Final Evaluations varied somewhat between sites. At Sodus, there was a slight trend toward lower infestations (infestation holes, presence of galleries, gallery contents) in the sprayed vs. Check treatments; however, there was no real separation among the handgun treatments. In 2016, in two Wayne Co. sites with known orchard infestations of black stem borer, Furber and Fowler, trials were set up using potted Rome Beauty nursery apple trees inside wooded areas directly adjacent to the orchard planting, similar to the previous year. On May 10, just as the adult flight was starting, trunks of the potted trees were sprayed with one of four candidate insecticides using a Solo backpack sprayer: Lorsban Advanced (chlorpyrifos, Dow AgroSciences), 1.5 qt/100 gal; Cobalt (chlorpyrifos+lambda-cyhalothrin, Dow AgroSciences), 1.3 qt/100 gal; Perm-Up (permethrin, UPI), 10 fl oz/100 gal; or Danitol (fenpropathrin, Valent), 16 fl oz/100 gal; plus a Check (unsprayed). Another identical set of 10 replicate tree groupings was also deployed at each site, with a dispenser of a commercial repellent, BeetleBlock (verbenone) hung on a pole placed in the center of each of the 5-tree groupings. Half of the treated replicates were evaluated for infestations on July 6, after the end of the first adult flight of the season, and the remaining replicates were evaluated near the end of the season, on August 19. Results of the preliminary evaluation showed no statistical differences among the insecticide-alone or insecticide-plus- verbenone treatments in the following categories of infestation: number of attack sites per tree (both sites); number of trees with empty galleries only (Fowler); number of trees with live adults or dead adults (Furber); and number of trees with brood (Fowler). Among the variables with some statistical differences: at the Furber site, significantly fewer Danitol-treated trees (with or without verbenone) had empty gallery-only infestation sites than did the Check trees and Perm-Up trees without verbenone. At Fowler, fewer live adults were taken from Danitol-plus-verbenone trees than from those treated with Perm-Up- plus-verbenone. Also, the Lorsban-plus-verbenone trees at the Fowler site had a statistically higher level of dead adults than the Checks. At Furber, the following trees had statistically fewer trees with brood than did the Lorsban-plus-verbenone trees: Danitol-plus-verbenone, and both Cobalt and Danitol without verbenone. In no case did the combination of verbenone repellent plus insecticide sprays appear to improve the control of BSB over the insecticides alone; levels of infestations were just as likely to be higher with the addition of verbenone as lower. The final evaluation of these treatments revealed similar trends. The number of attack sites per tree generally increased over levels seen in the July evaluation, with a small number of statistical differences being found. At the Furber site, Lorsban- plus-verbenone was the only treatment significantly lower than any of the others (in this case, Perm-Up-plus-verbenone and Danitol-plus-verbenone). At the Fowler site, the Perm-Up treatment had significantly fewer attack sites than the Perm-Up- plus-verbenone; all other treatments were statisically comparable. Once again, there were no cases where the addition of verbenone improved control. In 2017, potted tree trials were again set up, in three Wayne Co. sites with known orchard infestations - Furber, Hermenet, and Simpelaar. On May 11, just as the adult flight was starting, trunks of the potted trees were treated with one of eight candidate preventive trunk treatments: Lorsban Advanced (chlorpyrifos, Dow AgroSciences); SPLAT Verb (verbenone repellent, ISCA Technologies); Lorsban Advanced followed by SPLAT Verb; SPLAT "A", SPLAT "B", or SPLAT "C" (experimental verbenone-based formulations); Disrupt Micro-Flake VBN (verbenone repellent, Hercon Environmental); Lorsban Advanced followed by Disrupt Micro-Flake VBN; Blank flakes; Untreated Check. Half of the treated replicates were evaluated for infestations on July 5, after the end of the first adult flight of the season, and the remaining replicates were evaluated near the end of the season, on August 29. The preliminary evaluation revealed no infestations or injury whatsoever at the Hermenet or Simpelaar sites, and only marginal damage in two of the treatments at Furber - 1 damaged tree in the SPLAT Verb treatment, and 1 in the untreated Check. On the date of the final evaluation, only the Furber site showed measurable levels of damage in the different treatments. For the number of attack sites (holes) per tree, neither of the plain verbenone treatments (SPLAT Verb or Disrupt Micro-Flake VBN) were significantly different from the Check or the Blank Flakes treatments, and two of the experimental SPLAT formulations, "B" and "C", were the only treatments showing zero damage. Lorsban Advanced, with a low level of attack sites, was statistically comparable to SPLAT "B" and "C"; however, Lorsban in combination with either of the verbenone formulations was no better than any of the other treatments. Lorsban plus the micro-flakes actually had the highest incidence of attack sites.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Agnello, A. Ambrosia beetle (Xylosandrus germanus) infestations and management trials in high-density apple orchards. Proceedings 91st Annual Cumberland-Shenandoah Fruit Workers Conference, Winchester, VA.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Agnello, A., D. Combs, F. English-Loeb, and J. Neal. Ambrosia beetle management trials in NY apples. Proceedings 92nd Annual Cumberland-Shenandoah Fruit Workers Conference, Winchester, VA.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2018 Citation: Agnello, A., D. Combs, M. Fischer and A. Sparer. Proceedings 93rd Annual Cumberland-Shenandoah Fruit Workers Conference, Winchester, VA.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Agnello, A., D. Breth, E. Tee, K. Cox, and H.R. Warren. 2015. Ambrosia beetle  an emergent apple pest. NY Fruit Quarterly. 23(1): 25-28.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Agnello, A. M, Breth, D. I., Tee, E. M., Cox, K. D., Villani, S. M., Ayer, K. M., Wallis, A. E., Donahue, D. J., Combs, D. B., Davis, A. E., Neal, J. A., and English-Loeb, F. M. 2017. Xylosandrus germanus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) occurrence, fungal associations, and management trials in New York apple orchards. J. Econ. Entomol. 110: 21492164.

Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16

Outputs
Target Audience: Fruit Growers, Extension Educators, Researchers, Crop Consultants, and Media Outlets Changes/Problems:This year, instead of locating our efficacy trials directly in the apple plantings where infestations had been recorded, we chose to place them into the wooded areas immediately adjacent to the orchards, in order to expose the trees to higher insect populations and test the treatments' ability to prevent infestation under conditions of heavy pressure. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Through this project, we have formed new cooperative and collaborative partnerships with different sectors of the fruit industry, including private consultants, Extension educators in different fruit production regions, the nursery sector, and contract researchers. We have furthermore established ties with a broader research community by interacting with representatives of the USDA labs in both NY and also Ohio. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Presentations have been (and will continue to be) made to a range of audiences during the off-season, to inform stakeholders and colleagues of the developments being made in this area of investigation and apple pest management. The venues for these presentations include: Entomological Society of America Eastern Branch Meeting, Philadelphia, PA. January 2016 Orchard Pest & Disease Management Conference, Portland, OR. January 2016 Empire State Producers Expo, Syracuse, NY. January Lake Ontario Winter Fruit Schools, Lockport and Newark, NY. February 2016 Hudson Valley Commercial Fruit Growers School, Kingston, NY. February 2016 Maine Pomological Society Tree Fruit Pre-Season Meeting, Lewiston, ME. March 2016 New Hampshire Fruit Growers Association Annual Meeting, Concord, NH. March 2016 Plant Pathology & Plant Microbe Biology Departmental Seminar, Geneva. October 2016 Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN. November 2015? 92nd Annual Cumberland-Shenandoah Fruit Workers Conference, Winchester, VA. December 2016 What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Further assessment of these management trials will be repeated during the next year, for a clearer evaluation of potential treatment options. Although recommendations for controlling this pest are still being formulated, it is apparent that tree health - avoiding stress to the trees - remains an important factor in BSB management. Treatments using topically applied formulations of insect repellents will be incorporated into our efficacy trials, and resulting tree health and specific damage symptoms will be recorded to assess the effectiveness of treatments against one or both of the generations occurring in NY annually.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In 2016, in two Wayne Co. sites with known orchard infestations of black stem borer (BSB), Furber and Fowler, trials were set up using potted Rome Beauty nursery apple trees inside wooded areas directly adjacent to the orchard planting. The potted trees were flooded to stress them into producing ethanol, so as to attract beetles and promote new attacks. Additionally, individual ethanol lures were attached to each tree to increase their attractiveness to the beetles. On May 10, just as the adult flight was starting, trunks of the potted trees were sprayed with one of four candidate insecticides using a Solo backpack sprayer: Lorsban Advanced (chlorpyrifos, Dow AgroSciences), 1.5 qt/100 gal; Cobalt (chlorpyrifos+lambda-cyhalothrin, Dow AgroSciences), 1.3 qt/100 gal; Perm-Up (permethrin, UPI), 10 fl oz/100 gal; or Danitol (fenpropathrin, Valent), 16 fl oz/100 gal; plus a Check (unsprayed). Trees were arranged in circular 5-tree groupings in the wooded areas, which were replicated 10 times at each site. Another identical set of 10 replicate tree groupings was also deployed at each site, with a dispenser of a commercial repellent, BeetleBlock (verbenone, ChemTica) hung ~1 m high on a pole placed in the center of each of the 5-tree groupings. Verbenone, a natural terpene compound found in many plants such as pine trees, is used in the control of bark beetles such as mountain pine beetle and Southern pine bark beetle. It is produced, probably as a defensive mechanism, when the number of insects in an infested tree approaches the maximum that the tree can support, and acts as repellent to other beetles. Because it has demonstrated efficacy in related groups of bark boring beetles, as well as this species, we proposed that it might offer a higher degree of prevention than using insecticide sprays alone. Half of the treated replicates were evaluated for infestations on July 6, after the end of the first adult flight of the season, and the remaining replicates were evaluated near the end of the season, on August 19. Infestations were quantified and assessed by destructive sampling and dissection in the lab, to determine the following classes of infestation in the test trees: # of attack sites/tree, # of trees containing empty galleries, # of trees containing live adults, dead adults, and brood. Results of the preliminary evaluation showed no statistical differences among the insecticide-alone or insecticide-plus-verbenone treatments in the following categories of infestation: number of attack sites per tree (both sites); number of trees with empty galleries only (Fowler); number of trees with live adults or dead adults (Furber); and number of trees with brood (Fowler). Among the variables with some statistical differences: at the Furber site, significantly fewer Danitol-treated trees (with or without verbenone) had empty gallery-only infestation sites than did the Check trees and Perm-Up trees without verbenone. At Fowler, fewer live adults were taken from Danitol-plus-verbenone trees than from those treated with Perm-Up-plus-verbenone. Also, the Lorsban-plus-verbenone trees at the Fowler site had a statistically higher level of dead adults than the Checks. At Furber, the following trees had statistically fewer trees with brood than did the Lorsban-plus-verbenone trees: Danitol-plus-verbenone, and both Cobalt and Danitol without verbenone. In no case did the combination of verbenone repellent plus insecticide sprays appear to improve the control of BSB over the insecticides alone; levels of infestations were just as likely to be higher with the addition of verbenone as lower. Although statistical separation among treatments was not uniformly seen in these results, there was a trend (in 8 out of 10 comparisons) for the Danitol treatments to have among the lowest numerical values in the different infestation categories overall. The final evaluation of these treatments revealed similar trends. The number of attack sites per tree generally increased over levels seen in the July evaluation, with a small number of statistical differences being found. At the Furber site, Lorsban-plus-verbenone was the only treatment significantly lower than any of the others (in this case, Perm-Up-plus-verbenone and Danitol-plus-verbenone). At the Fowler site, the Perm-Up treatment had significantly fewer attack sites than the Perm-Up-plus-verbenone; all other treatments were statisically comparable. Once again, there were no cases where the addition of verbenone improved control. In the other categories of infestation, the final evaluation showed statistical differences in the following treatments: empty galleries - Danitol had the lowest incidence at Furber, and Perm-Up was significantly different than the other treatments at Fowler. For dead adults - at Furber, Cobalt-plus-verbenone had the lowest levels and Perm-Up-plus-verbenone the highest levels (perhaps a more indicative measure of efficacy?); at Fowler, Lorsban-plus-verbenone was lowest, Lorsban alone and Perm-Up-plus-verbenone were highest. For sites containing brood, Fowler had the highest numbers in the untreated Check, and the lowest in the verbenone-only plots; there were no treatment differences at Furber. There were also no treatment differences in sites with live adults at either Furber or Fowler. Many of the infestation category readings had a high level of variability, so results showing statistical differences were not always the lowest mean values.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2017 Citation: Agnello, A., D. Combs, F. English-Loeb, and J. Neal. Ambrosia beetle management trials in NY apples. Proceedings 92nd Annual Cumberland-Shenandoah Fruit Workers Conference, Winchester, VA.

Progress 12/01/14 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience: Fruit Growers, Extension Educators, Researchers, Crop Consultants, and Media Outlets Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Through this project, we have formed new cooperative and collaborative partnerships with different sectors of the fruit industry, including the nursery sector and contract researchers. We have furthermore established ties with a broader research community by interacting with representatives of the USDA labs in both NY and also Ohio. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Presentations have been (and will continue to be) made to a range of audiences during the off-season, to inform stakeholders and colleagues of the developments being made in this area of investigation and apple pest management. The venues for these presentations include: Orchard Pest & Disease Management Conference, Portland, OR. January 2015 Entomological Society of America Eastern Branch Meeting, Philadelphia, PA. January 2016 Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN. November 2015 91st Annual Cumberland-Shenandoah Fruit Workers Conference, Winchester, VA. December 2015 What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?These trials will likely need to be repeated for a clearer indication of the most effective measures to take, but although recommendations for controlling this pest are still being formulated, it appears that tree health - avoiding stress to the trees - will be an important factor in BSB management.Additional treatments using single or multiple trunk sprays of pyrethroids against the summer generation of beetles will be superimposed on some of the spring-treated trees, and resulting tree health and specific damage symptoms will be recorded to assess the efficacy of treatments against one or both of the generations occurring in NY annually. Also, we are investigating the possibility of incorporating a plant-derived repellent (verbenone) as a component of a control treatment; this substance has demonstrated efficacy in related groups of bark boring beetles, and may offer a higher degree of prevention than just insecticide sprays alone.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In 2015, we assessed black stem borer (BSB) adult occurrence and distribution in several New York apple growing regions, using ethanol-baited bottle traps hung on metal garden hangers at a 1-m height, placed along the edges of orchards bordered by hedgerows and woods likely to be a source of immigrating beetles. Additional traps were located (in the western NY orchards) adjacent to previously attacked trees, to verify their attractiveness. Traps were checked weekly starting at the end of April, before maximum temperatures of 20°C began to occur, and continuing until the first week of September. Traps were placed on 14 farms in Wayne Co., 19 farms in Orleans and Niagara Counties, 11 farms in the Hudson Valley, and 9 farms in the Champlain Valley. BSB adults were captured at nearly all of the sites, and were most numerous in the western NY locations. First activity was noted in WNY on May 5, and there were higher counts along the orchard edges than in the interiors. June 2 was the peak of beetle emergence from the overwintering sites, and 1st generation adults emerged from July 6-27. On August 5, the 2nd generation adults emerged, with catch continuing into September. The efficacy and practicality of trunk sprays using chlorpyrifos and two pyrethroid products (lambda-cyhalothrin and gamma-cyhalothrin) was evaluated against infestations of ambrosia beetles on two commercial farms having documented infestations (Sodus, NY and Medina, NY). All treatments were replicated in randomized complete plots at each of the individual test sites. Potted 2-yr old Mutsu trees from the nursery were placed in turn into larger pots, which were then flooded to induce stress and promote ethanol production. These potted trees were placed in the rows between the orchard trees, with 5 pots per replicate, and 4 replicates per treatment at each site. The trunks of the potted trees plus the orchard trees were sprayed using a handgun sprayer (Rears Nifty Pul-Tank) on May 7 and 8, before the start of major BSB flight. The treatments were: chlorpyrifos (Lorsban Advanced); 1.5 qt/100 gal lambda-cyhalothrin (Warrior II); 2.56 fl oz/100 gal gamma-cyhalothrin (Declare); 2.05 fl oz/100 gal Untreated Check (potted trees only; orchard trees in Check plots sprayed with chlorpyrifos) Grower Standard (Lorsban 1.5 qt/100 gal applied by grower using airblast sprayer) Treatment efficacy was assessed for evidence of new infestations by preliminary inspection of treated and untreated trees on July 9, after termination of the first flight. A final evaluation of the potted trees was conducted on August 19; these were destructively sampled to document all occurrences of holes, galleries, adults, and brood in the treated trees. In the Preliminary Evaluations, efficacy of the handgun treatments in the potted trees was not consistent between the two sites, with the Lorsban plots tending to have lower levels of infested trees than the Warrior plots at the Sodus site, but the opposite trend occurring at the Medina site. Damage in the Lorsban airblast (Grower Standard) treatment was low at both sites; however, because these plots were situated in a different part of each orchard (to prevent the airblast application from interfering with the handgun treatments), there was almost certainly a site variability factor introduced in regard to BSB population pressure, so it is difficult to make any reliable inference about comparative treatment efficacy as a result. There were no significant treatment differences in percent infested trees in the established orchard trees. Results of the Final Evaluations varied somewhat between sites. At Sodus, there was a slight trend toward lower infestations (infestation holes, presence of galleries, gallery contents) in the sprayed vs. Check treatments; however, there was no real separation among the handgun treatments. The Grower Standard was lower in all categories. At the Medina site, the Lorsban handgun treatment generally had the lowest infestations, with the pyrethroid products not performing as well. The Grower Standard was again lower in all categories.

Publications

• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Agnello, A., D. Breth, E. Tee, K. Cox, and H.R. Warren. 2015. Ambrosia beetle  an emergent apple pest. NY Fruit Quarterly. 23(1): 25-28.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2016 Citation: Agnello, A. Ambrosia beetle (Xylosandrus germanus) infestations and management trials in high-density apple orchards. Proceedings 91st Annual Cumberland-Shenandoah Fruit Workers Conference, Winchester, VA.