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COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • MARCH 2019 Rose stem girdler poses threat to caneberries


Okanagan case, US spread underscores need for vigilance


by RONDA PAYNE ABBOTSFORD – The rose


stem girdler, a beetle known to bore into fruit canes and impact plant health and yield, isn’t seen too often in BC – at least not yet. The pest is an issue in


Oregon and parts of Washington, which means it’s just a matter of time before it enters Lower Mainland caneberry fields. Knowing how to spot the pest and the damage it does will limit losses, according to Tom Peerbolt, co-founder and senior consultant with Peerbolt Crop Management in Portland, Oregon. “Some [Oregon and


Washington] growers have seen this type of damage before, but just didn’t know what it was,” he explains. “It can be severe one year, then just about disappear. I suspect that’s what you’re going to see.” As its name implies, rose


stem girdler attacks roses but also cane fruit like raspberries and blackberries. Thorns seem to provide some protection as thornless varieties are more susceptible to infestation. BC Ministry of Agriculture entomologist Tracy Heuppelsheuser saw rose stem girdler damage on an Okanagan raspberry plant in 2013, but she’s received no


reports of it to date in the Lower Mainland. “The insect and damage has not been reported in the Fraser Valley coastal area to my knowledge,” she says, but notes that it’s no reason for complacence. “We should be watching for it.” Peerbolt’s advice is to


“watch your baby plants.” Younger plants are most susceptible and can actually be killed by the boring insect, while older, more established canes are less susceptible. They may experience reduced vigour, however. Beetles feed on leaf edges, which generally doesn’t harm the plant or yields, but the adult insects lay eggs on the canes. The larvae hatch and bore into the cane to feed in a spiral pattern which often causes girdling in the form of a gall around the cane. “[The damage is] very


distinctive,” Peerbolt says. “If you get this on a cane, you’re not going to mistake it – these girdle marks.” The larvae stop eating in


late summer and burrow 15 to 30 cm above the gall to pupate. Swelling and plant damage


is more severe in younger canes as the pest kills growth above the girdle, which typically appears in the middle to upper section of the plant. Adults usually


The evidence of rose stem girdler is unmistakable. Raspberry and blackberry growers should be watchful for its appearance in BC. BC MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE PHOTO


emerge from the canes in June and repeat the pattern of laying eggs. “It comes out of last year’s


floricane and goes into the primocane,” Peerbolt explains. In 2018, he started what he


calls the “first real work” on the pest with field surveys to find out when it emerges and when to spray for it. The work indicated that growers should spray when adults emerge in the spring; otherwise, larvae burrow in the cane and can’t be reached.


When Peerbolt was


studying the pest, it was hard to find. Researchers expected to find larvae at the gall or in the burrowing area above the gall where canes were broken and dying. While some were found, the number was less than expected. “Most canes with galls


didn’t have larvae in them,” he says. “Why? We’re not sure yet. We do know that if you scout in the fall, it’s very easy to spot these galls. It’s possible that the hosts we are planting


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right now are more attractive to them.” He recommends spraying


an insecticide right after the adults emerge. In blackberries, this is right after bloom. Peerbolt has applied for a


grant to study rose stem girdler in Washington to give growers additional insight into its behaviour. “It’s very possible you could


suffer economic losses just due to lack of knowledge,” he says.


TOURS npg 43


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they go, she advises interested farmers to start by closing their eyes and imagining the end-to-end experience – from maps and promotion to signage, parking, washrooms, payment methods and so on. She says human


experiences happen in five stages – anticipation, travel to, on site, travel from and recollection. The most memorable of these are the first and the last. For farmers, it means concentrating on marketing in a unique way, and then creating an experience that visitors talk about, share with others, perhaps through social media, to amplify marketing efforts and remember years later.


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