Western Flower Thrips

Saturday Mar 21, 2026

Western flower thrips feeding causes bloom distortion and poor fruit set. Egg-laying punctures create "pansy spot" on some cultivars. Adults can be sampled using either beating trays or blue sticky cards.

Most Effective Strategies for Control of Obliquebanded Leafroller

Sunday Mar 15, 2026

Timing is everything when it comes to effective pest management. Knowing when a pest is susceptible to which kind of pesticide is the key for successful control.

Monitoring Adult Codling Moth

Sunday Mar 15, 2026

Adult codling moth (CM) are monitored with traps baited with either CM pheromones or a mixture of pheromones and an attractant (Combo D/A lure). Pheromone traps should be placed in the upper 1/3 of the tree canopy before first apple blossoms open or by 100 DD since January 1 whichever comes first. If you are not using mating disruption...

Introducing the WSU Pesticide Spray Record Evaluator

Sunday Mar 01, 2026

At some point, many of us have heard from a grower or friend that "it's been a really bad year" for the control of a certain insect pest or "it's so bad we're going to need to pull this orchard out of organic management." While there are many causes for flare ups of a pest population, it begs the questions, 'when were treatments applied?' and 'which treatments in the spray program had the greatest effect on the pest population'?

Oriental Fruit Moth Management in Washington Orchards

Sunday Mar 01, 2026

While Oriental fruit moth (OFM) has been a concern for Washington stone fruit growers for decades, infestations of this pest have only been noted in organic apple orchards in the lower Yakima Valley over the past few years. In 2017, damage from this pest showed up with a vengeance in several Washington orchards, most notably in sweet cherry and organic apple orchards in and around the south-eastern edge of Yakima County. While significant losses were noted in organic apples, the economic impact of the damage identified in cherry is currently unclear.