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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Byron, Georgia » Fruit and Tree Nut Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #299156
Title: Managing pecan nut casebearer in the Southeast

Author
item Cottrell, Ted

Submitted to: Georgia Pecan Growers Association
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/27/2013
Publication Date: 3/27/2013
Citation: Cottrell, T.E. 2013. Managing pecan nut casebearer in the Southeast. Georgia Pecan Growers Association. https://www.georgiapecan.org/conference.da.

Interpretive Summary: The pecan nut casebearer (PNC) can be a serious pest of developing pecan fruit in some pecan production areas. It is important for growers to determine when to take control action or if there is a need for control action. PNC pheromone traps are an excellent tool to assist in the scouting process of determining when/if a treatment application should be applied. In the southeastern U.S., PNC trap capture (low or high) in orchards did not relate to future PNC damage to developing nut clusters. Pecan growers should use PNC pheromone traps to document first flight of adult PNC and then begin scouting for PNC oviposition and determining when/if a treatment application is needed. Using a scouting program for PNC management will save pesticide, fuel and labor costs by preventing unnecessary treatments.

Technical Abstract: The pecan nut casebearer (PNC), Acrobasis nuxvorella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) can be a serious pest of developing pecan fruit in some pecan production areas. Determining when to take control action or if there is a need for control action is paramount for growers to prevent exceeding the economic injury level for this pest. PNC pheromone traps are an excellent tool to assist in the scouting process of determining when/if a treatment application should be applied. Here we showed that PNC trap capture (low or high) in orchards did not relate to future PNC damage to developing nut clusters. Pecan growers should use PNC pheromone traps to document first flight of adult PNC and then begin scouting for PNC oviposition and determining when/if a treatment application is needed. Using a scouting program for PNC management will save pesticide, fuel and labor costs by preventing unnecessary treatments.