SIR board grows, fees unchanged


Orchardmonitoring still essential for codling moth control program. By Judie Steeves


A


s the Sterile Insect Release program moves into


maintenance mode throughout the Okanagan, Similkameen and Shuswap, there will be some changes to how it operates—but no increase in grower fees for the coming year. That’s the word from Cara


McCurrach, general manager of the SIR program, who noted that the most important thing now is for growers to continue monitoring for codling moth throughout the orchard and throughout the year, in order to deal quickly with any increase in populations. In terms of wild moth captures, there’s now little difference in the numbers in the three zones of the program, she said, and there’s good control overall.


It will always be necessary to maintain some level of control to keep numbers low, but in zones two and three next year there won’t be any sterile moth releases, except in a control block, to see how the two methods compare. Instead, mating disruption with pheromone lures will be used to confuse the moths and disrupt mating. The lures will also contain a leafroller mating disruption pheromone to add value to the program, noted McCurrach. This is the final year of a three-year pilot project coordinated by Gary Judd, entomologist and researcher at the Pacific Agri-food Research Centre, using the multi-lure instead of sterile insect technology. The intention is to find the most cost-effective way to maintain control of the codling moth throughout the area, explained McCurrach. SIR program staff will be hanging mating disruption lures in orchards in late March and early April, and they’ll be keeping track of monitoring traps, but there won’t be any releases of sterile moths in most areas of the central and northern part of the Okanagan in the coming year.


There are also four new voting members of the SIR board, including three orchardists, each representing one of the three zones. The fourth new


16


member represents the Central Okanagan Regional District, which contributes more to the cost than the other three regional districts because of its size.


Grower Brian Mennell represents the


southern zone, while Fred Steele represents zone two and Dave Dobernigg represents zone three in the north. West Kelowna Coun. Duane Ophus is the second representative of CORD.


Board chairman Kevin Flynn of the Columbia Shuswap Regional District said he’s always felt it was unfair that growers, while represented on the board, had no vote, even though they contribute 40 to 45 percent of the cost of the program.


Board members have also asked the province to change legislation governing the program to prevent a regional district from withdrawing. Members of the North Okanagan Regional District have discussed trying to leave, but it couldn’t continue as an area-wide program if partners within the connected valleys were permitted to


withdraw.


The program was started in 1992, with an investment by all three levels of government and growers in the rearing facility where moths are irradiated to render them sterile, and in operation of the program. The sterilized moths are then released in orchards—after growers have used other techniques such as mating disruption and chemicals to lower wild populations—to mate ineffectively with the few remaining wild moths. Codling moth is a non-native pest that can be devastating to pomme fruits such as apples and pears. If growers have questions about spraying or the program, call the program staff (and leave a message) toll-free at 1-800-363-6684 or at 469- 6187 in the central Okanagan; or go to www.oksir.org Program staff want to gather growers’ e-mail addresses so alerts and information can be forwarded electronically. Send your e-mail address through the SIR website, where you can click on “contact’ on the left.


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