Wide area mating disruption of Oriental Fruit Moth Grapholita molesta busck. (Lepidoptera: tortricidae) in Victoria

To improve the protection of orchards against Oriental Fruit Moth (OFM), a strategy of Wide Area Mating Disruption (WAMD) has been employed. Experiments to test this concept were conducted over 800 hectares of orchard in the Murray-Goulburn Valley, Victoria, during the 1997-98 season. The trial area was saturated with OFM pheromone by treating every fruit tree with Isomate OFM Plus. This included not only peaches and nectarines but also pears, apples, apricots and plums in which mating disruption was not normally used. A large area was used to ensure that any edge effects and migration of mated OFM females would not cause a problem in interpreting the results. The area was closely monitored for OFM throughout the season. More than 230 food traps for OFM monitoring were placed in the area and shoot tip and fruit damage assessments were made. Preliminary results showed a reduction of damage to shoot tip and fruit in the peach blocks surrounded by pears with mating disruption compared to the control - peaches with mating disruption surrounded by pears with chemical control.