Historical biofix dates for oriental fruit moth, codling moth, and tufted apple budmoth at the Winchester AREC

Historical Biofix table for blog

Historical biofix dates for three moth pests of tree fruit at the Winchester AREC

Biofix is the calendar date on which the first sustained capture of insects from the overwintering generation occurs. At the Winchester research center, we establish biofix for three key moth pests of peaches and/or apples, 1) oriental fruit moth, 2) codling moth, and 3) tufted apple budmoth. Prior to moth emergence and flight each spring,  three pheromone-baited traps for each species are deployed in our orchards and captures are recorded daily. When at least two traps capture new moths over at least three consecutive evenings, biofix is set as the first day on which sustained captures occurred. Starting on the biofix date, daily heat until accumulations (“degree-days” or “DD”) are calculated based on developmental threshold temperatures for each species. Accumulated degree-days are used with models that predict the rate of development of eggs and larval hatch for each species. Critical points in the development of each generation of each species are predicted by the model, so that growers can time their control measures optimally. In combination, determining the biofix date and initiating degree-day models from biofix each year enable best management practices regardless of annual variations in environmental conditions that affect pest emergence and developmental rate. The accompanying table illustrates annual variations in biofix dates at the Winchester research center since 2000.

Year Oriental Fruit Moth Codling Moth Tufted apple budmoth
2000 April 1 April 29 April 29
2001 April 7 April 30 May 4
2002 March 30 April 27 May 5
2003 April 14 May 3 May 12
2004 April 16 April 30 May 6
2005 April 11 May 8 May 8
2006 April 7 April 23 May 1
2007 April 20 April 30 May 10
2008 April 10 April 25 May 3
2009 April 17 May 2 May 20
2010 April 5 April 29 May 6
2011 April 18 April 26 May 9
2012 March 20 April 14 April 29
2013 April 11 May 2 May 16
2014 April 12 May 8 May 12
2015 April 18 May 4 May 16
2016 April 11 April 25 May 2
2017 April 3 April 21 April 29
2018 April 22 May 3 Not Available
2019 April 14 TBD TBD

 

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