Apple - Summary of Losses from Insect Damage and Costs of Control in Georgia 1995

Summary of Losses from Insect Damage and Costs of Control in Georgia - 1997

II. Apple Insects

D. L. Horton, J. D. Dutcher, and H C Ellis

In 1997 Georgia produced and utilized 25 million pounds of apples. Georgia apples sold for an average price of $0.142/lb. The total value of the 1994 crop was $3.6 million.* There are an estimated 360,000 bearing trees in Georgia* (Ferree personal communication).

Chemical control applications directed at San Jose scale, rosy apple aphid, plant bugs, leafminers, leafhopper, codling moth, mites and leafroller species accounted for the bulk of control costs. Insect pressure ranged from average to severe. Leafroller damage, primarily from tufted apple budmoth (TABM), is becoming increasingly problematic in Gilmer and Fannin counties. TABM resistance to organophsphate insecticides seems to vary from mild to severe, but it is becoming common, impacting ca 1000 acres. Mites were sporatic, but sometimes severe. Control costs indicate only estimated cost of material.

^*Georgia Farm Report. 1998. Volume 98, Number 2.

Estimates of Losses and Control Costs

Rank	Insect	Cost of Control	Damage	Total
1	Leafrollers¹	$130,000	$105,000	$235,000
2	Codling moth	115,000	9,000	124,000
3	Plant bugs	32,000	3,000	35,000
4	European red mites²	26,000	4,000	30,000
5	Aphids³	13,000	5,000	18,000
6	San Jose scale	10,000	6,000	16,000
	Total	$326,000	$132,000	$458,000

¹Primarily tufted apple budmoth.
²Primarily the rosy apple aphid.
³Primarily the European red mite, with some two-spotted spider mite.

Information Pertaining to Control of Major Apple Insect Pests in Georgia in 1997

Insect	No. Units Needing Control	No. Units Treated	No. of Unit Applic.¹	Avg. Cost Per Units Treated	Yield Loss on Units Treated²	Yield Loss on Units Untreated²
Leafrollers	360,000	360,000	3.0	$0.12	750,000	0
Codling moth	360,000	360,000	4.0	.08	62,000	0
Plant bugs	360,000	360,000	1.0	.09	25,000	0
Aphids³	193,000	289,000	1.0	.09	27,000	0
European red mites⁴	126,000	108,000	1.0	.12	37,000	1,000
San Jose scale	385,000	327,000	1.0	.03	45,000	0

¹Excluding application costs.
²Yield units expressed in pounds.
³Primarily the rosy apple aphid.
⁴Primarily the European red mite, with some two-spotted spider mite.


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