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How to Manage Pests

UC Pest Management Guidelines

| More pests | More crops | About guidelines |

Kiwifruit

Leafrollers

Scientific Names:
Omnivorous leafroller: Platynota stultana
Fruittree leafroller: Archips argyrospila
Obliquebanded leafroller: Choristoneura rosaceana
Orange tortrix: Argyrotaenia citrana

(Reviewed 3/07, updated 3/07)

In this Guideline:

Description of the pests
Damage
Management

DESCRIPTION OF THE PESTS

Omnivorous leafroller is the most common and damaging of the leafrolling caterpillars. Omnivorous leafroller caterpillars may differ in body color from cream to brown with light brown to black head capsules and resemble other tortricid species, except that they have white, slightly convex and oval tubercles at the base of each bristle on the upper side of the abdomen. Orchards may be infested with omnivorous leafroller moths that develop on host plants outside the orchards. Omnivorous leafroller has four to six generations per year depending on climatic conditions.

Fruittree leafroller, obliquebanded leafroller, and orange tortrix may also attack kiwifruit. Fruittree leafroller is a minor pest of kiwifruit that only has one generation per year. Overwintering eggs hatch in spring, and larvae can be found feeding on leaves until about June. The larvae are dark green caterpillars with black heads. Adult moths appear in June or July and lay the overwintering eggs. Obliquebanded leafroller may be the most common leafroller found in the Sacramento Valley. It has two generations per year in the Sacramento Valley. Larvae are green to tan-colored caterpillars. Orange tortrix is mostly found in the cool, coastal regions where it has two to four generations per year. The larvae vary in color but are generally yellow tan to light brown.

DAMAGE

Omnivorous leafroller and the other leafrolling caterpillars directly damage fruit by scarring the surface when they feed.

MANAGEMENT

Closely examine blossoms and vegetative shoots in the orchard during prebloom and bloom for the presence of caterpillars, webbed leaves, or feeding damage. If present, or if leafroller damage was evident in previous harvest, a postbloom treatment is justified. This postbloom treatment is often sufficient to keep leafrollers under control for the remainder of the season.

Decisions to treat summer generations of the omnivorous leafroller should be based on the presence of caterpillars observed from periodic visual inspection of the vines, not from moths caught in traps. No correlation exists between pheromone trap catches of adult moths and damage.

Biological Control
Various parasitic wasps and tachinid flies attack leafroller eggs, larvae, or pupae.

Organically Acceptable Methods
Applications of Bacillus thuringiensis are acceptable in an organically certified crop.

Common name

Amount/Acre

R.E.I.+

P.H.I.+

(trade name)

(hours)

(days)

When choosing a pesticide, consider information relating to impact on natural enemies and honey bees and to the environment.

BACILLUS THURINGIENSIS ssp. KURSTAKI #

(various products)

Label rates

MODE OF ACTION: A microbial (Group 11.B2)¹ insecticide.

COMMENTS: Apply at end of hatch. Most effective on small caterpillars at low rates. Repeat low application rate in 5–10 days or high rate will be required on large larvae. Does not disrupt natural enemies.

CRYOLITE

(Kryocide)

6–8 lb

(Prokil Cryolite) 96

6–8 lb

MODE OF ACTION: An inorganic (Group 9A)¹ insecticide.

COMMENTS: Ground application only in up to 200 gal spray/acre. No more than 4 applications/season at 15- to 30-day intervals.

ESFENVALERATE*

(Asana XL)

9.6 fl oz

MODE OF ACTION: A pyrethroid (Group 3)¹ insecticide.

COMMENTS: For use when severe damage is occurring. Only effective when temperature is above 75°F. Do not exceed 7 applications/season or spray at less than a 7-day interval.

+	Restricted entry interval (R.E.I.) is the number of hours (unless otherwise noted) from treatment until the treated area can be safely entered without protective clothing. Preharvest interval (P.H.I.) is the number of days from treatment until the orchard can be harvested. In some cases the R.E.I. exceeds the P.H.I. The longer of these two intervals is the minimum time that must elapse before harvest may take place.
#	Acceptable for organically grown produce.
¹	Modes of action are important in preventing the development of resistance to pesticides. Rotate chemicals with a different mode-of-action Group number, and do not use products with the same mode-of-action Group number more than twice per season. For example, the organophosphates have a Group number of 1B; chemicals with a 1B Group number should be alternated with chemicals that have a Group number other than 1B. Mode of action is assigned by IRAC (Insecticide Resistance Action Committee). For additional information, see their Web site at http://www.irac-online.org/.

PUBLICATION

UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines: Kiwifruit
UC ANR Publication 3449
Insects
J. K. Hasey, UC Cooperative Extension, Sutter-Yuba counties
R. A. Van Steenwyk, Insect Biology, UC Berkeley
Acknowledgment for contributions to insect section:
W. H. Olson, UC Cooperative Extension, Butte County
R. H. Beede, UC Cooperative Extension, Kings County

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