Developing a phenology-based management program for pear psylla
Author: Louis Nottingham
Published: 2023
Summary: Pear psylla has been the most costly pest of pear orchards in Washington since it arrived in the 1940’s, particularly in the Wenatchee River Valley, the state’s largest pear production region. Coventional pear growers here make 10-15 sprays per season to control psylla, costing about $1,500 per acre on average. Most sprays involve tank mixes of multiple broad-spectrum insecticides that dessimate natural enemy populations. This is not only expensive, but it has led to extremely high areawide populations of pear psylla in Wenatchee due to lack of biological control from natural enemies. Growers in other pear-growing regions, like Hood River, OR, use around three selective sprays for pear psylla per season, then allow natural enemies to do the rest.
