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conventional chemical pesticides, are based on nature’s communication pathways and have been proven to be organic and safe,” he said.


Entomologist and researcher Gary Judd at the Pacific Agri-food Research Centre says it would be a much more efficient delivery of pheromones and the system is multi-faceted. It could be used with an iPad; at the SIR facility; or at a central computer. Someone would be notified if anything breaks down or if a codling moth is caught in a trap and where, so there would be a constant picture available of conditions throughout the orchard and an alert if something went wrong.


With such a system, he envisions SIR staff targeting resources where the traps are catching pests rather than trying to be everywhere at once.


Delivery would be by an aerosol puffer and the system would allow much more control and more efficiency than by hanging hundreds of plastic strips in orchards.


With today’s requirements for accurate and complete record-keeping on the orchard, such a wireless system would be very helpful at tracking the use of sprays.


In fact, Judd says the bar code on pesticides could provide all the information required, direct to the computer, to go with the data on applications. Retailers would need to be on board with the technology. Judd noted the technology is not entirely new; it’s being used in Washington and Oregon, mostly for codling moth.


Small test pilot projects will get underway this year, but he expects a larger-scale pilot project in 2013. “I see B.C. using a combination of technologies. In smaller blocks, it’s not efficient for pheromone dispensers,” he explained.


Because the industry is so fragmented, a mix of technologies is probably best, he added.


He can also see the grape industry making use of this technology, particularly the monitoring side of it, including the potential to use it as a thermal network in the vineyard. There is a pheromone available for apple clearwing moth as well, so that has the potential to be added to the sensor network, along with the codling moth pheromone.


The automated trapping could be used to look for Marmorated Stink Bugs and other invasive pests growers have been warned are likely to move into the area, he said.


Judd had been working with the SIR board on combination lures for codling moth and leafrollers, but he said his research indicates it does provide suppression of leafroller, but not control. It can be used to eliminate a spray though.


Data on a pheromone for the Eye- spotted Budmoth also looks good, but it’s not yet registered for use here, he said.


Use of pheromones instead of pesticides for control would be a real asset, Judd noted.


The company received $140,000 this spring from the Investment Agriculture Foundation for a one-year applied research project to address the limitations of codling moth mating disruption pheromones through the development and testing of an automated application method to increase the efficiency, coverage and control of the treatment.


In announcing the grant, an IAF news release explained that the technology, if successfully developed, could provide an effective and cost-efficient alternative for both large- and small-scale growers


in B.C. and in other fruit growing regions in Canada.


Societal and regulatory pressures have resulted in the loss of many conventional insecticides, such as those used to treat codling moth, it goes on to explain. Partly in response to this loss, codling moth mating disruption using synthetic pheromones has seen increasing use world-wide.


Unfortunately this is of little help when it comes to the type of small orchards found in B.C., as codling moth pheromone treatment is recommended for orchards larger than 40 acres.


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