Pear: Year-Round IPM Program

Year-Round IPM Program

(Reviewed 11/12, updated 11/12)

These practices are recommended for a monitoring-based IPM program to reduce the risks of pesticides on the environment and human health.

When a pesticide application is considered, review the Pesticide Application Checklist at the bottom of this page for information on how to minimize the risks of pesticide use to water and air quality. Water quality can be impaired when pesticides drift into waterways or move off-site. Air quality can be impaired when pesticide applications release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the atmosphere.

This year-round IPM program covers the major pests of pear. Track your progress through the year with the annual checklist form. Details on carrying out each practice, example monitoring forms, and information on additional pests can be found in the Pear Pest Management Guidelines.

Dormancy to delayed-dormancy

Special issues of concern related to environmental quality: dormant sprays, drift, and runoff.

Mitigate pesticide effects on air and water quality.

What should you be doing during this period?

Take beating tray samples for pear psylla adults.

Examine dormant spurs for

European red mite eggs
Pear rust mite and pearleaf blister mite
Pear psylla eggs if sampling in February

Manage if needed according to the Pear Pest Management Guidelines.

Also, note the presence of predatory mites.

Examine shoots for San Jose scale and pear scab lesions.

Look under bark for mealybugs.

Manage orchard floor vegetation:

North Coast: Eliminate weeds and ground cover before bloom in areas where frost and russeting are likely.
Delta: Mow resident vegetation or cover crop before bloom.

Monitor orchard temperatures and protect from frost, which can favor blossom blast.

Bloom (red bud to petal fall)

Special issues of concern related to environmental quality: drift, and runoff from rain.

Mitigate pesticide effects on air and water quality.

What should you be doing during this period?

Examine flower clusters for

Pear psylla eggs and nymphs
European red mites
Pear rust mites
Caterpillars (green fruitworm, obliquebanded leafroller)

Western flower thrips
Mealybugs (grape, obscure)
Western boxelder bug eggs, nymphs, and adults

Manage if needed according to the Pear Pest Management Guidelines.

Place pheromone traps in the orchard for

Codling moth in late March for mating-disruption and conventional orchards
Consperse stink bug in early April
Obliquebanded leafroller in late April

Check traps and keep records (example monitoring form PDF).

If using mating disruption for codling moth, place pheromone dispensers in orchard at biofix.

When weather conditions promote disease, time fungicide and antibiotic treatments as needed according to the Pear Pest Management Guidelines:

Pear scab
- Check leaves and emerging fruit for pear scab lesions 7 to 10 days after an infection period to assess the effectiveness of treatment.
Fire blight

Watch the orchard for vertebrates and manage as necessary:

Gophers
Ground squirrels
Voles at the base of young trees

In cold, wet weather note the presence of blossom blast.

Fruit development (petal fall to harvest)

Special issues of concern related to environmental quality: runoff from irrigation and drift.

Mitigate pesticide effects on air and water quality.

What should you be doing during this period?

Take weekly samples.

Examine leaves for

Aphids
European red mites and eggs
Katydids or feeding damage
Pear psylla eggs and nymphs
Pear sawfly (pearslug) eggs and larvae
Pearleaf blister mite damage
Twospotted spider mites and predatory mites

Examine fruit for

Codling moth larva or damage
Katydid damage after June 30
Mealybugs (grape, obscure) at the calyx
Obliquebanded leafroller larva or damage
Pear rust mites at the calyx
Plant bug damage (western boxelder bug, lygus bugs, stink bugs)

Manage according to the Pear Pest Management Guidelines.

Continue to monitor for codling moth:

Continue monitoring traps.
Monitor fruit on the tree for damage at 800 to 900 degree-days from biofix.
Check fallen fruit on the ground in early July.

Manage if needed according to the Pear Pest Management Guidelines.

Check cover crops and weeds for

Plant bugs (lygus bugs, stink bugs)
Katydid nymphs

Manage if needed according to the Pear Pest Management Guidelines.

Continue monitoring weather conditions during rattail bloom for fire blight.

Manage orchard floor vegetation:

Mow, cultivate, or apply a a postemergence herbicide to manage ground cover.
Survey for escaped winter weeds and emerging annual and perennial summer weeds.
Keep records (example late-spring weed survey form PDF).

Note the presence of Armillaria root rot (oak root fungus).

Harvest

What should you be doing during this period?

Check fruit for damage caused by

Codling moth
Katydids
Mealybugs (grape, obscure)
Obliquebanded leafroller
Pear rust mite
Pear scab lesions (primary or secondary)

Pearleaf blister mite
Plant bugs (western boxelder bug, lygus bugs, stink bugs)
San Jose scale
New or unusual damage or pests

Continue checking codling moth traps through mid-September in mating-disruption and conventional orchards.

Postharvest

Mitigate pesticide effects on air and water quality.

What should you be doing during this period?

Check top shoots for

European red mite
Pear psylla nymphs and eggs
Pear rust mite
Pear sawfly (pearslug)

Pear scab lesions on leaves
Pearleaf blister mite damage on leaves
Predatory mites Webspinning spider mites

Sample fruit left on trees for codling moth and codling moth damage.

Manage orchard floor vegetation:

Survey winter annual weeds and keep records (example late-fall weed survey form PDF).
Manage weeds in rows with pre- or postemergence herbicides or nonchemically.
Consider seeding a cover crop by mid-October.

Pesticide application checklist

When planning for possible pesticide applications in an IPM program, review and complete this checklist to consider practices that minimize environmental and efficacy problems.

Choose a pesticide from the UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines for the target pest, considering
- Impact on natural enemies and honey bees
- Potential for water quality problems using the UC IPM WaterTox database
- Impact on aquatic invertebrates (For more information, see Pesticide Choice publication. PDF)
- Chemical mode of action if pesticide resistance is an issue (For more information, see Herbicide Resistance: Definition and Management Strategies. PDF)
Before an application
- Ensure that spray equipment is properly calibrated to deliver the desired pesticide amount for optimal coverage.
- Use appropriate spray nozzles and pressure to minimize off-site movement of pesticides.
- Avoid spraying during these conditions to avoid off-site movement of pesticides.
  - Wind speed over 5 mph
  - Temperature inversions
  - Just prior to rain or irrigation (unless it is an appropriate amount, such as when incorporating a soil-applied pesticide)
  - At tractor speeds over 2 mph
- Identify and take special care to protect sensitive areas (for example, waterways or riparian areas) surrounding your application site.
- Review and follow labeling for pesticide handling, personal protection equipment (PPE) requirements, storage, and disposal guidelines.
- Check and follow restricted entry intervals (REI) and preharvest intervals (PHI).
After an application
- Record application date, product used, rate, and location of application.
- Follow up to confirm that treatment was effective.
Consider water management practices that reduce pesticide movement off-site.
- Consult relevant publications:
- Consult the Department of Pesticide Regulation Groundwater Protection Program (GWPA) Web site for pesticide information and mitigation measures.
- Install an irrigation recirculation or storage and reuse system. Redesign inlets into tailwater ditches to reduce erosion. For more information, see
  - Reducing Runoff from Irrigated Lands: Tailwater Return Systems (PDF)
  - Reducing Runoff from Irrigated Lands: Storing Runoff from Winter Rains (PDF)
- Use drip rather than sprinkler or flood irrigation.
- Limit irrigation to amount required using soil moisture monitoring and evapotranspiration (ET). (For more information, see Reducing Runoff from Irrigated Lands: Understanding Your Orchard's Water Requirements (PDF))
- Consider using cover crops.
- Consider vegetative filter strips or ditches.
Consider practices that reduce air quality problems.
- When possible, reduce volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions by decreasing the amount of pesticide applied, choosing low-emission management methods, and avoiding fumigants and emulsifiable concentrate (EC) formulations.
- Use the Department of Pesticide Regulation calculators to determine VOC emission rates from fumigant and nonfumigant pesticides.

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