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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Wenatchee, Washington » Physiology and Pathology of Tree Fruits Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #130905
Title: CODLING MOTH SURVIVAL IN CHERRY: EFFECT OF CULTIVARS AND FRUIT MATURITY

Author
item Hansen, James D
item Drake, Stephen
item Heidt, Mildred - Millie

Submitted to: Journal of the American Pomological Society
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/15/2002
Publication Date: 11/18/2002
Citation: HANSEN, J.D., DRAKE, S.R., HEIDT, M.L. CODLING MOTH SURVIVAL IN CHERRY: EFFECT OF CULTIVARS AND FRUIT MATURITY. JOURNAL OF AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 56:156-163. 2002.

Interpretive Summary: Japan requires that sweet cherries from the United States be fumigated with methyl bromide to control the codling moth, a quarantine pest. However, the life cycle of the codling moth in cherries has been poorly documented. The effects of fruit maturity and the types of cultivars on codling moth survival has not been investigated. In this study, insect development from first instar to adult was examined using five cherry cultivars ('Bing', 'Cashmere', 'Chelan', 'Ranier', and 'Van'), each at two maturity levels (immature 'straw-color' and fully mature). The greatest adult emergence came from 'Chelan' cherries with 16% emergence from immature fruits and 8% emergence from mature fruits. All other cherry categories had less than 6% emergence. Adult emergence from apples used as controls was 62 to 77%. Furthermore, female adults from cherries differed from those reared in apples by weighing less and in having less eggs per individual. Larval survival in all cherries was hindered because of fungal contamination. 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: The codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) is a quarantine pest for sweet cherries, Prunus avium (L.), exported to Japan. Development of rearing techniques for codling moth on cherries would improve the disinfestation methods and increase the understanding of the pest-host relationship. Hence, codling moth development from first instar to adult was studied in the laboratory on sets of immature and mature fruits of 'Bing', 'Cashmere', 'Chelan', 'Rainier', and 'Van' cultivars. Immature apples were used as controls. Larvae developing from cherries took significantly longer to become adults than those from apples. The highest adult emergence from infested cherries was from 'Chelan' with 16% from immature fruits and 8% from mature fruits, whereas emergence was 6% from other cherry cultivars. Adult emergence from apples was 62 to 77%. Weight and fecundity of female adults from cherries were significantly less than those reared from apples. These results demonstrate that although codling moth can be reared from cherry under controlled laboratory conditions, host suitability of the fruit is poor, and postharvest disinfestation treatments for fruits intended for export need not be as severe as those for other quarantine pests.