UGA Extension agents, USDA collaborators and pecan growers across 14 pecan-growing counties in Georgia are monitoring for pecan nut casebearer again this year. We started on April 12th using pheromone-baited traps (Figure 1). Agents and entomologists are checking traps each day until moths are captured for two consecutive days. The first date of consistent captures is what we refer to as the biofix date.
With a high crop load last year, we did not recommend spraying for nut casebearers as they help in thinning out the crop. This year’s crop will likely be much lighter and may benefit from spraying. We still only spray after scouting for presence of eggs and larvae on nutlets. For those with previous infestations and for those who choose to spray for prophylactic reasons, the best time to spray – using caterpillar materials such as Intrepid, Intrepid Edge and Dimilin – is 10-14 days after onset of sustained moth activity.
The initial (biofix) dates of regular moth flight activity across all these sites are reported via an online map along with the spray decision window:
Pecan Nut Casebearer Risk Map
Check the legend on the upper right corner of the map, and once biofix is established at a site, click or tap on the site to check for the spray decision window for that site. Continue to check the map for updates in the monitored sites (Figure 2).
Thanks to our grower and county agent collaborators: Derrick Bowen (Tatnall County), Scout Carter (Ware County), Michasia Dowdy (Brooks County), Shane Curry (Appling County), Joshua Grant (Crisp County), Pamela Halliday (Tift County), Jeremy Kichler (Colquitt County), James Morgan (Daugherty County), Tucker Price (Cook County), Ben Reeves (Berrien County), Andrew Sawyer (Dodge County), Buck Paulk and Dr. Ted Cottrell. Thank you also to Joe LaForest (Bugwood) in assisting with online mapping and for Trece Inc. for providing trapping supplies.
Written by: A. Acebes, A. Sawyer
