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Peach
Year-Round IPM Program
(Reviewed 3/06, updated 3/10)
These practices are recommended for a monitoring-based IPM program that enhances pest control and reduces environmental quality problems related to pesticide use.
Water quality becomes impaired when pesticides and sediments move off-site and into water. Air quality becomes impaired when volatile organic compounds (VOCs) move into the atmosphere. Each time a pesticide application is considered, review the Pesticide Application Checklist at the bottom of this page for information on how to minimize water quality problems.
This program covers the major pests of peach. Details on carrying out each practice and information on additional pests can be found in the guidelines. Links take you to information on how to monitor, forms to use, and management practices. Track your progress through the year with the annual checklist form.
| What should you be doing during this period? |
| Apply fungicide treatments as needed according
to Peach Pest Management Guidelines:
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| Manage orchard floor vegetation:
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Make an oil treatment for scales and European red and
brown mite eggs
- If you saw increasing damage from scales last year,
take a dormant shoot sample to
see if an insect growth regulator should be added to
the oil treatment.
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| Treat peach twig borer and obliquebanded leafroller with
environmentally sound material or delay treatment until bloom. |
Other pests you may see:
- Fruittree leafroller egg masses
- Armillaria root
- Voles
- Pocket gophers
- Stink bugs
- Tree borers
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| What should you be doing during this period? |
Put out pheromone traps for:
- Oriental fruit moth (February 15 in San Joaquin Valley,
February 20 in Sacramento Valley)
- Omnivorous leafroller (San Joaquin Valley—February
20)
- San Jose scale (February 25—San Joaquin and Sacramento
valleys)
Check traps and keep records
(example monitoring/degree-days
form . |
| If using mating disruption for oriental
fruit moth, place
dispensers in orchard after first moth is caught but no later
than March 5. |
Examine flower clusters
and leaves for:
- Peach twig borer
- Fruittree leafroller
- Obliquebanded leafroller
- Katydids
- Western flower thrips
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Monitor for other pests, including:
- Stink bugs
- Plant
bugs
- Known invasive pests (spotted wing drosophila,
light brown apple moth)
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When rainy conditions promote disease, time fungicide
treatment according to Peach Pest Management Guidelines:
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Monitor for diseases:
- Rust
- Monitor twig
cankers beginning late March.
- Treat with fungicide if needed according to Peach Pest Management Guidelines.
- Shot
hole
- Fruiting
structures in leaf lesions as long as weather is
wet.
- Manage if needed according to Peach Pest Management Guidelines.
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Observe the orchard for vertebrates and manage as necessary:
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If orchard floor vegetation present, manage as needed. |
| Other pests you may see:
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| What should you be doing during this period? |
Put up pheromone traps for:
- Peach twig borer (March 20 in San Joaquin Valley, April
1 in Sacramento Valley)
- Obliquebanded leafroller (April 15 in San Joaquin Valley
and Sacramento Valley)
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Monitor
shoot strikes for damage from oriental fruit moth
and peach twig borer, especially in mating disruption
orchards.
- Keep records (example monitoring
form .
- Manage if needed according to Peach Pest Management Guidelines.
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If wet weather persists, continue to monitor
for rust:
- Manage if needed according to Peach Pest Management Guidelines.
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If orchard has a history of scab:
- Treat 3 weeks after full bloom.
- Treat again 2 weeks later if scab was severe the
previous year.
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| Make fertilizer
applications at appropriate
intervals. |
Where ground
covers are present, take sweep samples for pests,
beginning from early April to early June for:
- Plant bugs (Lygus and Calocoris)
- Katydids
- Stink bugs
Manage if needed according to Peach Pest Management Guidelines. |
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Sample fruit
damage every other week after color break. |
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Monitor powdery
mildew
and treat if needed according to
Peach Pest Management Guidelines. |
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If ground cover present:
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Monitor spider mites from May through August:
- For best evaluation, conduct two 5-minute searches
and keep records (example monitoring
form ).
- Manage if needed according to Peach Pest Management Guidelines.
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Select leaf samples in July to analyze for nutrients.
Pay particular attention to nitrogen, potassium, and some
of the micronutrients such as zinc and boron.
- Take 60 to 80 mid-shoot leaves from moderately vigorous fruiting shoots.
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| If rain is predicted during the last 4 weeks before harvest,
treat for ripe
fruit rot. |
Other pests you may see:
- Armillaria root rot
- Bacterial canker
- Phytophthora root and crown rot
- Peach silver mite
- Black peach aphid
- Scab
- Verticillium wilt
- Tree borers
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| What should you be doing during this period? |
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In early harvest orchards continue to watch for:
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Remove fruit remaining in trees to reduce brown
rot inoculum
and prevent shoot death. |
| If surface water runoff is an issue, particularly near
waterways, consider the use of cover
crops or resident vegetation. |
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:
- 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.
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Wind speed over 5 mph
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Temperature inversions
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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.
- 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.
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