Integrated Codling Moth Management
Sterile Insect Release (SIR) Technique
Twenty years of research by M.D. Proverbs and colleagues established the
techniques needed for rearing, sterilizing, and releasing codling moths
as a control method for this pest. Although technically feasible
in certain situations, sterile insect release has several limitations that
govern success including geographic isolation of treated areas, mass rearing
of large numbers of moths, regional coordination, the mandatory nature
of treatment efforts, and high start-up costs for sterile insect production
and release. Sterile insect release costs, estimated from a pilot
project, were more than twice that of chemical sprays to control codling
moth. Nevertheless, recent studies have shown that a program could
be economical if only the minimum required number of moths was released,
the target eradication area treated in steps, and reinfestation prevented.
Such an approach is an obvious option under an areawide pilot project supported
by public funds, and it is proposed for possible use in sites selected
to demonstrate the potential for "pest free areas" under the APHIS guidelines.
The sterile insect release program has been started to eradicate the
codling moth from the Okanagan valley in British Columbia (Canada) by the
year 2000. This program includes about 8,000 ha of apple and pear
trees. In many orchards, the cessation of insecticidal sprays for
codling moth control should permit apples to be grown without pesticide
applications during the fruit development period, a major environmental
and economic benefit (Dick, Graham & Bloem 1992). Combining other selective
control tactics such as mating disruption with the sterile insect release
method may provide a strategy to achieve drastic suppression of codling
moth populations.
