Pest management in orchards

Biological insecticide for Codling & Oriental fruit moth

Organic Crop Protectants (OCP) has announced that their long awaited product, Grandex® Biological Insecticide, will be APVMA registered this season.

Apple and pear growers
IPM–focused apple and pear growers, and organic producers will be happy to hear that Grandex Granulosis virus will soon be in reseller fridges as a new and improved biological control tool for the management of not just Codling Moth but also Oriental Fruit Moth.
This is great news for producers who encounter both highly damaging pest species.
Stone fruit growers
Stone fruit growers will also be happy to know that they will be able to use Grandex as an IPM–friendly tool to manage OFM, so combined it makes Grandex a utility product to have on hand and in stock.
Insect virus technology
Grandex is from the same stable as Madex®—developed by the world leader in insect virus technology—Swiss company, Andermatt Biocontrol.
Grandex was developed in response to reduced sensitivity of CM to Madex in Europe. Andermatt were able to screen for and isolate a more virulent strain of the Cydia Pomonella Granulosis Virus which successfully dealt with the resistance problem and opened up the efficacy window to include OFM.
Application
Like all biological products, Grandex requires the user to closely monitor for flights using OCP’s lures, and apply the product at the first signs of egg laying.
This is done in an attempt to infect the larvae with Grandex as they chew through the egg casing and when they first feed.
Grandex has very good rainfastness and is pH stable up to pH 8.5 making it a utility biological tank mix with other conventional chemistry.
Dose rates are low at only 100mL/ha and the product comes in two convenient pack sizes of 200mL and 1L to meet both ends of the market.
Precision IPM & Insect Tech™
OCP have been working for some time on developing what they call a Precision IPM approach to CM, OFM and LBAM control in pome and stone fruit.
They are calling the package Insect Tech™. The Insect Tech offering is precision based IPM including Open Scout® and MyTraps® software that allows users to easily log, record and report scouting trips and keep cumulative recording of trap data on a geo-grid.
The software is supported by the Z-Trap® smart trap technology that detects and records moths remotely, allowing users to know exactly when flights are taking place rather than waiting days, sometimes weeks before a physical scouting report hits the desk.
“We are very focused on adding precision to the scouting function,” said Gary Leeson, Managing Director of OCP.
“It will allow growers and IPM practitioners to spend less time in the field logging data and reporting results.
“This allows more time to focus on precision decision making in the area of spray timing and better spray selection.
“Automating part of the IPM scouting and reporting function makes a lot of sense in areas where frequent monitoring of pest populations is critical to minimise pest damage and for the use of products like Grandex where timing of application is important.”

For information on Grandex and Precision IPM, call your nearest OCP representative Freecall 1800 634 204
visit www.ocp.com.au

See this article in Tree Fruit September 2015

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