Hail netting: an economically competitive IPM alternative to insecticides for Midwest apple production.

ABSTRACT: Apple orchards are highly managed agricultural ecosystems where growers typically rely on insecticides to minimize the risk of pest-related fruit losses. Apple growers practicing integrated pest management require cost-effective alternatives to conventional insecticides for control of major pests such as codling moth (Cydia pomonella L.) and apple maggot (Rhagoletis pomonella Walsh). Exclusion netting has been shown to effectively control multiple insect pest species, limit fruit damage and reduce the use of insecticides while also conferring consumer and environmental benefits. In this study, partial budgeting was applied to explore the financial efficacy of using a hail netting (DrapeNet^®) system as a sustainable pest management strategy for Midwest U.S. apple (<

SUBMITTER: DiGiacomo G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10926452 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature