Tarnished Plant Bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de
Beauvois) on Apple
I. Introduction: Tarnished plant bug (TPB)
is
covered in more detail in the Peach
section.
Details specific to apple are included here.
II. Injury: Feeding in apple that occurs before bloom
usually
results in buds abscising early and
is rarely a problem. If feeding occurs after fruit set, fruit
deformation will result (Plate 32). Injury
usually consists of a discrete dimple, a deeply sunken conical
area, in
the side of the fruit. In some
orchards this is the most important insect damage to fruit at
harvest.
III. Monitoring: A white visual trap (Plate 33) is
available for
monitoring the TPB on apple.
These sticky 6x8 inch (15.2x20.3 cm) traps are set out at silver
tip
and checked weekly. Traps should
be placed near the edge of the block, at one per 3-5 acres
(1.8-2.4
ha). Hang traps at about 2 feet
(0.6 m) in height, from an outer branch. There should be an area
of
about 12 inch (30 cm) radius cleared
of foliage. Ground vegetation nearby is desirable, but it should
not
obscure the trap. Remove traps at
petal fall. Massachusetts research supports an economic injury
level of
2.4 adults per trap by tight
cluster, or 4.1 per trap through late pink.
This is taken primarily from a chapter by L.
A.
Hull, D. G. Pfeiffer & D. J. Biddinger on apple direct pests,
reprinted with permission from Mid-Atlantic Orchard Monitoring
Guide,
published
by
NRAES, 152 Riley-Robb Hall, Ithaca, New York 14853-5701.
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