Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:This project directly addressed Extension and research needs identified by stakeholders. Over a 5-year period (including a 1-year no-cost extension), it expanded to include fruit grower collaborators across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, facilitating on-farm research at more than 23 commercial orchards. The primary target audience comprised hundreds of small- to mid-scale fruit farmers in Massachusetts and neighboring states. The concept that certain apple cultivars are particularly attractive to specific insect pests led to the innovation of a permanent trap cropping system. This system, which is lure-free, cost-effective, and grower-friendly, allows for pest control throughout the entire season by grafting these attractive cultivars onto perimeter-row trees. The project has focused on generating research-based, data-driven insights to improve pest monitoring and management for various insect species, helping farmers enhance their pest management strategies. Over the course of the project, approximately 300 fruit growers were engaged through Extension outreach activities. Indirect contacts are estimated 500. Project outcomes have also been shared within the academic community regionally, nationally, and internationally, including presentations at the XXVI International Congress of Entomology, Helsinki, Finland (2022) and 2023 European Congress of Entomology in Crete, Greece. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Students presented at regional and national conferences, as well as at grower workshops and field days. Examples include: Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America (November 11-25, 2020; online). Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America, National Harbor, MD. (November 5-8, 2023). The PI presented at the following regional, national, and international conferences. For example: XXVI International Congress of Entomology, Helsinki, Finland (2022) European Congress of Entomology held in Crete, Greece (October 16-20, 2023). Departmental seminars given at Michigan State University (2023) and Purdue University (2024) How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In addition to the products listed (publications), we disseminated project results among growers. Below are examples of presentations given to stakeholders. Academic presentations were listed in the section titled "PRODUCTS". When the number of attendees to these meetings and workshop are added to the estimated number of readers of Extension and Newsletter articles, the estimated number of growers that have been reached pout exceeds 800. 2023 Presentation at the Massachusetts Fruit Growers Association summer meeting held at Honey Pot Hill Orchards, Stow, MA (7.12.23). Audience: 105 people. 2024 Student presentation at the Massachusetts Fruit Growers Association summer meeting held at the UMass Cold Spring Orchard, Belchertown, MA (7.10.24). Audience: 112 people. 2023 Oral presentation at the 85th Annual Northeast Tree Fruit IPM Workshop, held in Lake George, NY. Presentation title: "Using multi-cultivar grafted trees as perennial trap crops... and effective plum curculio monitoring using lures". 75 researchers and Extension educators in attendance (combining Zoom and in-person) 2021 Hands-on grafting workshop held at Sholan Orchards, Leominster, MA. Workshop participants were provided with scionwood, lures, and other educational materials and supplies. These in-person workshops featured a combination of research presentations and hands-on grafting activities. 2023 Hands-on grafting workshop, held at Poverty Lane Orchards (Lebanon, NH). The University of New Hampshire Extension (contact: Mr. Jeremy Delisle) and UMass Extension (contact: Dr. Jaime Pinero) partnered to offer two half-day grafting workshops aimed at providing apple growers tools and skills needed for them to graft multiple cultivars and to implement monitoring tools for plum curculio and apple maggot fly. Emphasis was given to grower-friendly approaches to prevention and management including organic pest management options. Workshop participants were provided with scionwood, lures, and other educational materials and supplies. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?This is the final report.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Research conducted over a 5-year period (including a 1-year no-cost extension)resulted in the training of two graduate students, the publication of one peer-reviewed article, one research article in preparation, and the creation of 18 Extension articles, posters, and oral presentations during the project's execution. Ms. Prabina Regmi completed her MS degree in 2023, while Ms. Samina Mian (both from the UMass Stockbridge School of Agriculture) is set to defend her MS thesis in the spring of 2025. Peer-reviewed article published: Regmi, P., Leskey, T.C., and Piñero, J.C. 2023. Methyl salicylate improves the effectiveness of the odor-baited trap tree approach for adult plum curculio, *Conotrachelus nenuphar* (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) monitoring and attract-and-kill. *Journal of Economic Entomology* 116: 1171-1177, https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toad110 Objective 1: Following an initial 2-year period of grafting and branch development (2019-2020), the results of the multi-cultivar grafting study obtained from 2021 to 2024 are highly promising. Significantly higher oviposition injury by plum curculio (Conotrachelus nenuphar) was consistently observed in fruit sampled at harvest from grafted trees compared to non-grafted trees nearby. The three cultivars most attractive to plum curculio are Red Astrachan, Wickson, and Yellow Transparent, followed by Ginger Gold. Similar findings were recorded for the apple maggot fly (Rhagoletis pomonella) and the rosy apple aphid (Dysaphis plantaginea) (Mian et al. 2023). Our results indicate that multicultivar-grafted trees can serve as effective "trap crops," attracting plum curculio, apple maggot fly, and potentially rosy apple aphid, as well as other insect pests (Piñero et al. 2023). This relatively long-term project also conducted relevant Extension efforts, including on-farm demonstrations with 19 grower cooperators, to encourage broader adoption of this Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy. We believe this IPM approach could become a core component of a systems-based approach to fruit production. Grafting to create highly attractive areas for pest concentration could provide a model IPM system for apples, berries, and other specialty crops. Results on Plum Curculio Injury (2021-2024): Multi-year harvest surveys showed that fruit from grafted branches and stock branches of grafted trees experienced significantly more plum curculio injury compared to fruit from non-grafted trees. Similarly, significantly more apple maggot flies were captured on unbaited monitoring spheres deployed on multicultivar-grafted trees than on non-grafted trees, with this pattern remaining consistent since 2021. In 2023 and 2024, research into rosy apple aphid focused on identifying preferred apple cultivars, quantifying populations at three different apple blocks at UMass Amherst's Cold Spring Orchard (CSO) in Belchertown throughout June 2023. Objective 2: Pest preference for specific apple cultivars has been evaluated in-situ by quantifying oviposition injury levels over a 3-year period. The most attractive cultivars to plum curculio have consistently been Red Astrachan, Wickson, and Yellow Transparent, with Ginger Gold also showing high susceptibility. For apple maggot fly, Wickson and Red Astrachan received the highest oviposition injuries. Rosy apple aphid populations were most abundant on Red Astrachan and Ginger Gold.
Publications
- Type:
Other Journal Articles
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2025
Citation:
In prep: Pi�ero, J.C., Regmi, P., Giri, A., Godoy-Hernandez. H., Delisle, J., and Bryant, H. Harnessing Multi-Cultivar Grafting for Targeted and Sustainable Apple IPM. In preparation for Agriculture, Ecosystems and the Environment.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Pi�ero, J.C., Regmi, P., and Leskey, T.C. 2023. Using the principles of ECOstacking to develop ecologically-based IPM approaches in apple agroecosystems in New England. European Congress of Entomology held in Crete, Greece (October 16-20, 2023).
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Pi�ero, J.C., Regmi, P., 2023. Methyl salicylate improves the effectiveness of the odor-baited trap tree approach for adult plum curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), monitoring and attract-and-kill. Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America, National Harbor, MD. (November 5-8, 2023).
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
EXTENSION article: Mian, S. Rull-Garza, M., and Pi�ero., J.C. 2024. Feeding Preferences of Rosy Apple Aphids for Six Apple Cultivars. Fruit Notes 89(2): 21-24.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
FACT SHEET: Swinson, M., Mian, S., Rull-Garza, M., and Pi�ero, J.C. 2023. Multi-cultivar Grafted Apple Trees. IPM Fact Sheet Series, University of Massachusetts Extension, Fact Sheet # IPM.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
EXTENSION article: Pi�ero, J.C., Regmi, P., Saadat, D., Giri, A., Leskey, T.C., and Shapiro-Ilan, D. 2021. Evaluation of Entomopathogenic Nematodes Against Plum Curculio: Effects of Nematode Species, Application Rates, and Persistence in the Soil. Fruit Notes 86: 1-4.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
EXTENSION article: Regmi, P. and Pi�ero, J.C. 2021. Response of Tarnished Plant Bug to Synthetic Aromatic Plant Volatiles. Fruit Notes 86: 29-31.
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Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:As of October 2023, this project has expanded to include 20 fruit grower collaborators in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. This means that on-farm research is being conducted in at least 20 commercial orchards. The primary target audience for this project is represented by hundreds of small- and mid-scale fruit farmers located in Massachusetts and neighboring states. This project is generating research-based information that will help fruit growers, including under-represented, low-income farmers, and beginning farmers, to improve monitoring and potential management of multiple insect pests. For the reporting period, it is estimated that 200 fruit growers were reached via Extension activities. In addition, project results have been disseminated among the academic community, including a presentation at the 2023 European Congress of Entomology held in Crete, Greece. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?2023 Oral presentation at the 85th Annual Northeast Tree Fruit IPM Workshop, held in Lake George, NY. Presentation title: "Using multi-cultivar grafted trees as perennial trap crops... and effective plum curculio monitoring using lures". 75 researchers and Extension educators in attendance (combining Zoom and in-person). 2023 Presentation at the Massachusetts Fruit Growers Association summer meeting held at Honey Pot Hill Orchards, Stow, MA (7.12.23). Audience: 105 growers attended. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?A 1-year no-cost extension was requested and it was approved by NIFA. For the last year of the project, the team will continue collecting research data. We will emphasize working withmore growers and we will promotethe use of this IPM strategy through targeted Extension activities.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1:As part of a long-term study that aims at manipulating insect pest behavior through host plant preference, wequantified the attractiveness of trees grafted with multiple cultivars to plum curculio (Conotrachelus nenuphar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)and apple maggot fly (Rhagoletis pomonella) (Diptera: Tephritidae)in various Massachusetts apple orchards. We also included an assessment of the relative attractiveness of the cultivars being evaluated to rosy apple aphid. For apple growers, rosy apple aphid, Dysaphis plantaginea. Rosy apple aphid is one of the most widespread insect pests that cause fruit deformation, leaf curling, and significant crop yield losses when left uncontrolled. We accomplished the following goals: Overall level of PC injury in grafted vs. non-grafted trees. 2023 harvest survey results indicated that fruit sampled from grafted branches and from stock branches of grafted trees received significantly more plum curculio injury than fruit sampled from non-grafted trees in 2021 and 2022; in 2023, fruits from grafted branches received the most injury. For the apple maggot fly, significantly more captures were recorded on unbaited monitoring spheres deployed on trees grafted with multiple cultivars than on non-grafted trees. This result has consistently been recorded each year since 2019. Our 2023 research with rosy apple aphid involved sought to determine which apple varieties are preferred by this insect pest. We quantified rosy apple aphid populations at three different apple blocks located at the University of Massachusetts Amherst CSO in Belchertown throughout June, 2023. Objective 2: Pest preference for particular apple cultivars has been assessed in-situ by quantifying the level of oviposition injury produced by each insect pest. Over a 3-year period, the most attractive cultivars to plum curculio have consistently been Red Astrachan, Wickson, and Yellow Transparent, followed by ginger gold. For apple maggot fly, Wickson and Red Astrachan also received more oviposition injuries. The three most attractive cultivars to rosy apple aphid were Red Astrachan and Ginger Gold. In addition, in 2023 we assessed the presence and abundance of predatory and parasitic insects. The most abundant beneficial insects and arachnids found on the leaves during week one of the data collection process were aphid predatory midges (15 total), followed by spiders (8 total counts including egg masses).
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Regmi, P., Leskey, T.C., and Pi�ero, J.C. 2023. Methyl salicylate improves the effectiveness of the odor-baited trap tree approach for adult plum curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) monitoring and attract-and-kill. Journal of Economic Entomology 116: 11711177.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Regmi, P., 2023. Evaluation of Semiochemicals for Improved Monit ed Monitoring and Management of Plum Curculio (Conotrachelus nenuphar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). University of Massachusetts Amherst. Masters Theses. 1271. https://doi.org/10.7275/33090768 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2/1271
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Mian, S., Rull-Garza, M., and Pi�ero, J.C. 2023. Determining the Feeding Preferences of Rosy Apple Aphids for Six Apple Cultivars. University of Massachusetts, Stockbridge School of Agriculture. Research report, Research and Extension Experience for Undergraduate students (REEU).
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Pi�ero, J.C., Clements, J., Greene, D., Cooley, D., Garofalo, E., Bley, M., Rull-Garza, M., and Giri, A. 2023. Massachusetts Fruit IPM Report for 2022. Fruit Notes 88(4): 1-7.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Kassoy, J., Garofalo, E., and Pi�ero, J.C. 2022. Insect pest-suppressive soils. IPM Fact Sheet Series, University of Massachusetts Extension, Fact Sheet # IPMG-002.
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:This project has reached, via research and Extension, at least 300small- and mid-scale fruit farmers located in Massachusetts and neighboring states. The research and Extension team has been able to set additional research at two commercial orchards in New Hampshire and at one commercial orchard in Maine. Therefore, project results are reaching out to growers in multiple states of the Northeast. In addition, this project is generating research-based information that will help fruit growers, including under-represented, low-income farmers, and beginning farmers, to improve the management of multiple apple pests. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In 2022, research findings hwere disseminared viaface-to-face Extension activities such as the Massachusetts Fruit Growers Association summer meeting, held at the University of Massachusetts Cold Spring Orchard, Belchertown, MA.Audience: 100 people. In addition, research results were presented at two international conferences: (1)International Congress of Entomology, Helsinki. Finland, July 17-22, 2022, and (2)2022 International IPM Symposium held in Denver, CO (Feb. 28 - Mar 3rd, 2022). Online-based dissemination of information was achieved via websites:https://ag.umass.edu/cafe/news/growing-healthier-apples-more-sustainably What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will complete the project by collecting research data for the fourth year, and we will increase efforts aimed at disseminating the findings of this research among growers
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Luring insect pests from a cash crop such as apples, and keeping them away, is the goal of every attract-and-kill pest management system. Ideally, the system would lure multiple pests simultaneously, would do so every year in a simple and inexpensive manner and would improve pest monitoring. In this project, we sought to exploit natural sources of plant odor represented by apple cultivars that have the potential to aggregate pests on selected apple trees that are grafted with six cultivars, thereby serving as perennial 'trap crops'. The main goal of this project is to evaluate the efficacy of multi-cultivar grafted apple trees as perennial trap crops for multiple pests. The first two years of the project have yielded promising results, in particular for the plum curculio and the apple maggot fly. As hypothesized, grafted trees are attracting at least twice as many pest flies as non-grafted trees. Similar results have been found for plum curculio and tarnished plant bug. Like other attract-and-kill strategies, the grafting method, if successful, would allow growers to spray a handful of trap trees on the perimeter instead of the entire orchard block. This new method is grower-friendly and inexpensive. Based on the second-year results of this long-term study, we recorded evidence supporting our hypothesis that grafted trees may be more attractive to some insect pests than non- grafted trees. Ginger Gold, one of the six cultivars selected for grafting, was highly attractive to TPB and PC, based on trapping and fruit injury data. Because tree branches were grafted in 2018 and 2019, multiple years of research are therefore needed, under multiple levels of pest pressure, before firm conclusions can be drawn concerning the relative attractiveness of grafted trees to insect pests. An additional accomplishment is the documented increased collaboration between the University of Massachusetts Stockbridge School of Agriculture and UMass Extensions, and two New England Universities: University of Maine and University of New Hampshire.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
2022 Pi�ero, J.C. Using the principles of ECOstacking to develop ecologically-based IPM approaches in apple agroecosystems in New England. International Congress of Entomology, Helsinki. Finland, July 17-22, 2022.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
2022 International IPM Symposium held in Denver, CO (Feb. 28 Mar 3rd, 2022). Poster title: (1) Regmi, P. and Pinero, J.C. Multi-Cultivar Grafting: Evaluating a Novel Low-Cost, Grower-Friendly Approach to Monitor Key Apple Pests
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Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:This project seeks to reach and support, via research and Extension, hundreds of small- and mid-scale fruit farmers located in Massachusetts and neighboring states. The research and Extension team has been able to set additional experiments at two commercial orchards in New Hampshire and at one commercial orchard in Maine. Therefore, project results are reaching out to growers in multiple states of the Northeast. In addition, this project is generating research-based information that will help fruit growers, including under-represented, low-income farmers, and beginning farmers, to improve the management of multiple apple pests. For the reporting period, it is estimated that 150 fruit growers were reached via Extension activities. In addition, three online presentations to researchers and students in Mexico, Turkey, and Australia, for a combined audience of 350, were conducted. This project was highlighted, with full acknowledgment of funding provided by NIFA, in the Good Fruit Grower magazine - July 21st, 2021 Apples, Crop management, Insects and mites, July 2021 Issue, Matt Milkovich, Pest Management: An alluring six-headed hydra (https://www.goodfruit.com/an-alluring-six-headed-hydra). Readership: unknown, but this magazine has subscribers in every U.S. state and 50 countries. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One professional development opportunity took place online, due to COVID: Virtual Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America, November 11-25, 2012. Presentation title: "How research on fruit fly behavior led to improved attract-and-kill systems for tephritid fruit flies". Audience: 45 people. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In 2021, research findings have been disseminated mostly online Newsletter articles and grower-oriented publications. One face-to-face Extension activity took place during 2021: Massachusetts Fruit Growers Association summer meeting, Clarkdale Fruit Orchards, Deerfield MA (7.14.21). Audience: 100 people. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For project year number 3,we will repeat the same studies described in this report. Increased sample sizes are expected. We will increase efforts aimed at disseminating the findings of this research among growers.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Luring insect pests from a cash crop such as apples, and keeping them away, is the goal of every attract-and-kill pest management system. Ideally, the system would lure multiple pests simultaneously, would do so every year in a simple and inexpensive manner and would improve pest monitoring. In this project, we sought to exploit natural sources of plant odor represented by apple cultivars that have the potential to aggregate pests on selected apple trees that are grafted with six cultivars, thereby serving as perennial 'trap crops'. The main goal of this project is to evaluate the efficacy of multi-cultivar grafted apple trees as perennial trap crops for multiple pests. The first two years of the project have yielded promising results, in particular for apple maggot fly. As hypothesized, grafted trees are attracting at least twice as many pest flies as non-grafted trees. Similar results have been found for plum curculio and tarnished plant bug. Like other attract-and-kill strategies, the grafting method, if successful, would allow growers to spray a handful of trap trees on the perimeter instead of the entire orchard block. This new method is grower-friendly and inexpensive. Based on the second-year results of this long-term study, we recorded evidence supporting our hypothesis that grafted trees may be more attractive to some insect pests than non- grafted trees. Ginger Gold, one of the six cultivars selected for grafting, was highly attractive to TPB and PC, based on trapping and fruit injury data. Because tree branches were grafted in 2018 and 2019, multiple years of research are therefore needed, under multiple levels of pest pressure, before firm conclusions can be drawn concerning the relative attractiveness of grafted trees to insect pests. An additional accomplishment is the documented increased collaboration between the University of Massachusetts Stockbridge School of Agriculture and UMass Extensions, and two New England Universities: University of Maine and University of New Hampshire.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Good Fruit Grower magazine - July 21st, 2021|Apples, Crop management, Insects and mites, July 2021 Issue, Matt Milkovich, Pest Management: An alluring six-headed hydra (https://www.goodfruit.com/an-alluring-six-headed-hydra). Readership: unknown, but this magazine has subscribers in every U.S. state and 50 countries.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Pi�ero, J.C., Regmi, P., and Saadat, D. 2021. Evaluating the Efficacy of Multi-cultivar Grafted Apple Trees as Perennial Trap Crops for Multiple Pests: Research Results Year One. Fruit Notes 86: 11-14.
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Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:Most growers are not using lures to monitor insect pests because they are expensive. This project seeks to reach and support, via research and Extension, hundreds of small- and mid-scale fruit farmers located in Massachusetts and neighboring states. This project is generating research-based information that will help fruit growers, including under-represented, low-income farmers, and beginning farmers, to improve the management of multiple apple pests. For the reporting period, it is estimated that 400 fruit growers were reached via Extension activities (mostly online due to COVID-19). Changes/Problems:The COVID-19 situation impacted some of our research and Extension activities. Less field research than anticipated was achieved due to lack of student support. In terms of Extension, no field days, workshops, or other types of face-to-face activities were done. Extension activities were conducted via Zoom and webinars, but it took some time to get this started. However, the delays and challenges were not considered major. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Due to COVId-19 professional development opportunities were not offered to the graduate student. The project PD could not take any professional development during 2020. Online professional development (national conferences) will be offered via online for the remainder of 2020. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?No field days, workshops, and other in-person outreach activities could be made due to COVID-19. Consequently, our efforts focused on online outputs and activities. Research findings have been disseminated mostly online Newsletter articles and grower-oriented publications. Our outreach efforts have reached approximately 200 fruit growers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For the second year of the project, grafted branches are expected to produce more fruit. We will repeat the same studies described in this report. Increased sample sizes are expected. We will increase efforts aimed at disseminating the findings of this research among growers.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
It has been shown that some cultivars are more attractive to certain pests than other cultivars. For example, the cultivars Ginger Gold and Liberty are very attractive to plum curculio, a key pest of apple, and to tarnished plant bug and European sawfly. Hence, we wanted to test whether we could manipulate insect pest behavior through host plant preference by grafting selected perimeter-row trees with multiple cultivars, thereby potentially serving as 'trap crops. In 2018, nearly 100 trees were grafted with 6 cultivars each, at 11 Massachusetts and New Hampshire orchards. Those cultivars were selected based on grower input and on published information. In 2020, we quantified the attractiveness of perimeter-row trees grafted with multiple cultivars to plum curculio, Tarnished plant bug and European sawfly in comparison to non-grafted trees. We monitored PC activity using unbaited black pyramid traps deployed near grafted and non-grafted trees. White sticky cards deployed on grafted and non-grafted trees were used to monitor Tarnished plant bug and European sawfly. Overall, the trapping devices captured more TPB and PC in grafted trees than in non-grafted trees. Furthermore, in 2020 more plum curculio and Tarnished plant bug injury was observed on Ginger Gold, one of the cultivars that was selected for grafting. Because branches were grafted in 2018 and little fruit was produced in 2020, then further research is needed over multiple years to determine whether trees grafted with multiple cultivars can be used as "trap crop" to bring multiple pests to those trees. Selected perimeter row trees were grafted in 2018 and 2019, each with six cultivars (Liberty, Red Astrachan, Yellow Transparent, Ginger Gold, Dabinett, and Wickson). Monitoring of Tarnished plant bug and European apple sawfly activity was done using unbaited white sticky cards deployed on lower branches of grafted and non-grafted tree trees at silver tip bud stage. Monitoring of plum curculio was done using unbaited black pyramid traps deployed near grafted and non-grafted trees starting in early May 2020. All insect traps were inspected once a week. Tree phenology was recorded twice a week (data not shown). Starting in early May 2020, injury the tree pest species was recorded weekly. Fresh fruit injury by plum curculio was recorded by marking the scar with sharpie, in order to avoid counting the same fruits. The level of fruit injury by all pests was recorded at harvest by sampling 20 fruits from every cultivar (except Dabinett and Wickson, being late cultivars) of grafted trees and 20 fruits from non- grafted trees. RESULTS: Tarnished plant bug and plum curculio captures using traps on grafted and non-grafted trees. During the pre-bloom period, white traps deployed on grafted trees captured 2.3 times more Tarnished plant bug than traps placed on non-grafted trees. However, results are non-significant (t-test, df= 96; P= 0.309). From bloom to petal fall, there were no significant differences in plum curculio and Tarnished plant bug captures (t-test, df=96; P= 0.687 and P=0.821 for plum curculio and Tarnished plant bug, respectively). During the early fruit development period, significantly more plum curculios were captured on grafted trees than on non-grafted trees (t-test, df= 96; P= 0.039). There were significant differences among cultivars in terms of the level of injury by plum curculio (mixed-model ANOVA F7,38 = 2.4; P= 0.034). Rootstock fruit (fruit sampled from grafted trees excluding grafted branches) followed by Ginger Gold, and non-grafted trees received the most injury by plum curculio. The least damaged cultivars across the 5-week period were Dabinett, Wickson, Yellow Transparent, and Liberty. Ginger Gold was the most attractive cultivar to Tarnished plant bug based on fruit injury recorded at harvest (ANOVA F3,19=3.731; P=0.0209). Based on the first-year results of this long-term study, we recorded evidence supporting our hypothesis that grafted trees may be more attractive to some insect pests than non- grafted trees. Ginger Gold, one of the six cultivars grafted, was highly attractive to Tarnished plant bug and plum curculio, based on trapping and fruit injury levels.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Fact sheet: Pi�ero, J.C., Garofalo, E., Schloemann, S. 2020. Apple IPM: Plum Curculio (Conotrachelus nenuphar). IPM Fact Sheet Series, University of Massachusetts Extension, Fact Sheet # #AI-007a.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Fact sheet: Pi�ero, J.C., Garofalo, E., Schloemann, S. 2020. Apple IPM: Plum Curculio (Conotrachelus nenuphar): Effective plum curculio monitoring using lures. IPM Fact Sheet Series, University of Massachusetts Extension, Fact Sheet # #AI-007b.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Regmi, P. and Pi�ero, J.C. 2020. Multi-Cultivar Grafting: Evaluating a Novel Low-Cost, Grower-Friendly Approach to Monitor Key Apple Pests. Poster presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America (online conference due to COVID-19).
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