Author
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Hansen, James D |
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Submitted to: Journal of Economic Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 10/23/2001 Publication Date: 11/25/2001 Citation: Hansen, J.D. 2001. Effect of cold treatment on survival and development of codling moth (Lepidoptera: Tortricdiae)in cherry. Journal of Economic Entomology. 1:208-213. Interpretive Summary: Japan requires that sweet cherries from the United States be fumigated with methyl bromide to control the codling moth, a quarantine pest. Because the fruit is perishable, it is held at cold temperatures during processing, transit, and storage. If it can be shown that cold storage contributes to the elimination of larvae, this information can be used to develop a control strategy called the Systems Approach to replace the fumigation. In this study, 'Bing' cherries from organically-grown and conventionally-produced orchards were infested with first instars of the codling moth and held in cold at 3.3 deg C for different periods up to two weeks, then the insects were allowed to develop. There was little difference in the results between the organic and conventional cherries. Cold storage had no effect on larval survival until seven days. However, larval survival of all treatments was hindered because of fungal contamination and larval development seemed impeded even when apples replaced rotten cherries as the food source. The maximum survival among the treatments was 11%. These observations suggest that sweet cherries are a poor host for codling moth and that further examination should be done to determine if host status can be used in the Systems Approach for quarantine security. Technical Abstract: 'Bing' cherries, Prunus avium L., were obtained from an organic orchard and a conventional commercial orchard. The two groups were examined separately in replicated tests with each fruit initially infested with a first instar codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). To simulate commercial postharvest holding conditions, the treatments were 0 (control), 1, 2, 4, 7, 10, and 14 days cold storage at 3.3 deg C. The fruits were examined three or more times to determine larval survival, life stage, fruit condition, fungal presence. First instars were affected by cold storage only for durations 7 or more days. Many larvae were not found in deteriorating cherries. When infested, both cherry groups quickly deteriorated but sooner with the organic cherries. The rate of development was estimated from the surviving larvae, which was not different between cherry groups. The last instar and pupal stage had high mortality, and emerging adults (less than or equal to 11% of the original cohort) were about a third the size of normal moths. Perhaps poor nutrition was responsible for these observations. |
