News release, July 1, 1999, effective immediately.
For media inquiries, contact Caroline Booth Lara, Communications Specialist, (580) 224-6379.
  email: cblara@noble.org

Second Battle Against Casebearers Begins

Pecan producers who found a problem this spring should be gearing up their spraying equipment for the second phase of the battle against pecan casebearers.

Scott Landgraf, pecan and soil specialist at the Noble Foundation in Ardmore, said the first generation appearing in late May was not large in most area orchards.

"Generally, entries of the worms was two percent of the clusters or less," Landgraf said. Because that first round of casebearers was not at a threshold level justifying their control in most pecan orchards, the "escapes" could do significant damage with the upcoming generation, he added.

Producers should be out and spraying their trees between July 5 and July 10, Landgraf urged. Those dates are approximately 40 to 45 days after the first generation of casebearer eggs was found. Because scouting for the worms is more difficult now with larger nutlets, Landgraf suggests looking for the pests may not be worthwhile.

Besides casebearers, pecan producers should be on the lookout for other pests as well, including shuck worm and leaf feeders such as the web worm or walnut caterpillar. All of these caterpillar pests can be controlled with biological pesticides such as Confirm or Javelin, which won't harm beneficial insects.

Landgraf warns against using more harsh pesticides which could kill beneficial insects and result in an outbreak of aphid populations.

Each orchard owner and manager should determine the needs of their orchards before making a decision to apply pesticides.

"If you have a large nut set and no indication of leaf feeders, it may not be necessary to make a pesticide application for this casebearer population," Landgraf said. "There is no always-correct way to approach this opportunity for insect control. It requires a management decision.

"The decision may be to not spray. However, where you have a low nut set or leaf feeders become abundant, an insecticide application may be necessary," Landgraf said.

For more information about casebearers, call Landgraf at the Foundation at (580) 223-5810, or check out the Oklahoma State University website at http://www.dasnr.okstate.edu/pecan.

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(FYI — The Noble Foundation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization headquartered in Ardmore, Okla. The Foundation conducts agricultural and plant biology research; provides grants to numerous other charitable and educational organizations; and assists farmers and ranchers through educational and consultative programs.)