Scaffolds 00 index

(Art Agnello ama4@nyseas.cornell.edu, Entomology, Geneva)

Although Labor Day is now behind us, we're not quite finished with some of those last niggling pest concerns for the season, particularly a couple that can cause unnecessary fretting but could be easily taken care of with a final judicious spray while you're waiting for the late apples to color.

Pearleaf Blister Mite

This is a sporadic pest of pears that shows up in a limited number of commercial pear orchards, and is a fairly common problem in home plantings. The adults are very small and cannot be seen without a hand lens; the body is white and elongate oval in shape, like a tiny sausage.

Pearleaf blister mites

The mite causes three distinct types of damage. During winter, the feeding of the mites under the bud scales is believed to cause the bud to dry and fail to develop. This type of damage is similar to and may be confused with bud injury from insufficient winter chilling. Fruit damage is the most serious aspect of blister mite attack. It occurs as a result of mites feeding on the developing pears, from the green-tip stage through bloom, causing russet spots. These spots, which are often oval in shape, are usually depressed with a surrounding halo of clear tissue. They are 1/4-1/2 inch in diameter and frequently run together. A third type of injury is the blistering of leaves; blisters are 1/8-1/4 inch across and, if numerous, can blacken most of the leaf surface. Although defoliation does not occur, leaf function can be seriously impaired by a heavy infestation.

Pearleaf blister mite leaf damage

The mite begins overwintering as an adult beneath bud scales of fruit and leaf buds, with fruit buds preferred. When buds start to grow in the spring, the mites attack developing fruit and emerging leaves. This produces red blisters in which female blister mites then lay eggs. These resulting new colonies of mites feed on the tissue within the protection of the blister, but they can move in and out through a small hole in its center. The mites pass through several generations on the leaves but their activity slows during the warm summer months. The red color of the blisters fades and eventually blackens. Before leaf fall, the mites leave the blisters and migrate to the buds for the winter.

A fall spray is recommended sometime in early October, when there is no danger of frost for at least 24-48 hr after the spray. Use Sevin 50 WP (2 lb/100), or 1-1.5% oil plus either Diazinon 50WP (1 lb/100 gal) or Thiodan 50WP (1/2-1 lb/100 gal). A second spray of oil plus Diazinon or Thiodan, in the spring, just before the green tissue begins to show, will improve the control.

Borer Clean-up

Lesser peachtree borer adults are still flying, and although they're on the way down, a post-harvest trunk spray of Lorsban or Thiodan will do a good job of preventing the last hatchlings of the year from getting established in your peach and cherry trees for next season.

end of this issue

scaffolds index