Description of the Pest
Navel orangeworm and carob moth have similar behavior and look almost identical. Adult moths have a snoutlike projection at the front of the head. Moths can have silver and black forewings and legs or wings can be cinnamon brown and black.
About two nights after emergence, females begin laying eggs next to wounds or rotten spots in the fruit. Newly hatched larvae are reddish orange and later vary from milky white to pink with a reddish-brown head capsule. Distinguish both navel orangeworm and carob moth larvae from similar looking caterpillars such as oriental fruit moth by looking for a pair of crescent-shaped markings on the second segment behind their head. Pupae are light to dark brown, encased in a woven cocoon in the fruit or calyx. There are three to four adult flight periods per year. The larvae overwinter in old fruit, either in trees or on the ground.
The pupal stage is the best time to differentiate the carob moth from the navel orangeworm. Carob moth pupae have a raised dark ridge near the head and two short spines on each abdominal segment, which are lacking in the navel orangeworm.
Damage
Navel orangeworm and carob moth rarely attack healthy pomegranate fruit, but if numbers are high, such as for orchards near almonds or pistachios, damage can be serious. So far, damage has only been reported in early varieties such as Early Foothill. In adjacent Wonderful orchards, only occasional damage has been noted.
Moths prefer to lay eggs on damaged fruit; larvae typically enter through cracks, rotten spots, or wounds caused by other pests such as omnivorous leafroller. However, larvae hatching from eggs laid on the seam where two calyx petals touch have been observed entering the calyx. Feeding inside the calyx sometimes leads to rot.
Navel orangeworm and carob moth produce more silk and frass than leafrollers and may be found with more than one worm in the same feeding tunnel. Neither navel orangeworm nor carob moth is common in pomegranates.
Management
Remove unharvested fruit from the trees and disc into the soil to reduce overwintering moth numbers and prevent populations from establishing.
Monitor flights with pheromone lures. Egg traps can also be used; place them out in the orchard the first week of April.
- Use black egg traps baited with almond presscake filled half- to three-quarters-full. Change bait every 4 weeks.
- Place 1 trap per every 10 acres, for at least 4 traps per orchard. Choose trees that are at least 5 trees in from the edge of the orchard. Hang traps at head height on the north side of trees.
- Monitor traps, counting and recording egg numbers. Remove eggs as you monitor.
In orchards with high moth numbers or a history of damage, apply an insecticide during egg hatch before fruit ripening. Use an insecticide with a long residual during hatching, activity against adult moths, or both.
Pesticides and Natural Enemy Releases
Not all registered pesticides are listed. The following are ranked by their IPM value, with the most effective and least harmful to natural enemies, honey bees, and the environment listed at the top of the table. When choosing a pesticide, consider information related to water and air quality, resistance management, and the pesticide's properties and application timing. Use PestManage to compare summarized management options for different pests in the same crop. Always carefully read the label of the product being used and take all necessary precautions when handling pesticides.
| Rank | Active ingredient | Example trade name | Group | Group Order | MoA 1 | Amount per acre | REI (hours) ‡ | PHI (days) ‡ | Comments | Selectivity 2 | Bees 3 | Predatory mites 4 | Predators 5 | Parasitoids 5 | Residue duration 6 | Leaching(fish) 7 | Adsorbed runoff(fish) 8 | Solution runoff(fish) 9 | Leaching(human) 10 | Solution runoff(human) 11 | Last updated 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
various products # | Application Timing Varies (See UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines and Label) | 8 |
11A |
Label rates | 4 | 0 | Least harmful to natural enemies. Bacill... | narrow | low | low | low | none | — | — | — | — | — | 12/2018 | ||
|
|
Altacor | Application Timing Varies (See UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines and Label) | 8 |
28 |
3–4.5 oz | 4 | 1 | — | narrow | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 12/2018 | ||
| Lannate SP | Application Timing Varies (See UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines and Label) | 8 |
1A |
1 lb | 48 | 14 | Disruptive to natural enemies of mealybu... | broad | high | high | high | moderate | — | — | — | — | — | 12/2018 | |||
|
|
Intrepid 2F | Application Timing Varies (See UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines and Label) | 8 |
18 |
8–16 fl oz | 4 | 7 | — | narrow | low | low | low | none | very low | low | low | very low | low | 12/2018 | ||
|
|
Delegate WG | Application Timing Varies (See UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines and Label) | 8 |
5 |
6–7 oz | 4 | 1 | Highly toxic to bees. Do not spray direc... | broad | low/moderate | moderate | moderate/high | moderate 13 | low | low | low | very low | low | 12/2018 | ||
|
|
Entrust # | Application Timing Varies (See UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines and Label) | 8 |
5 |
1.25–2.5 oz (0.45–0.83 oz/100 gal) |
4 | 7 | Highly toxic to bees. Do not spray direc... | narrow | low | moderate | low/moderate | short | very low | low | low | very low | low | 12/2018 |
Legend
- ‡ a b Restricted entry interval (REI) is the number of hours (unless otherwise noted) from treatment until the treated area can be safely entered without personal protective equipment. Preharvest interval (PHI) is the number of days from treatment to harvest. In some cases, the REI exceeds the PHI. The longer of the two intervals is the minimum time that must elapse before harvest.
- * a Permit required from county agricultural commissioner for purchase or use.
- # a b Acceptable for use on certified organic crops. Check with your certifier to confirm before application.
- 1 ↩ Group numbers for insecticides and miticides are assigned by the Insecticide Resistance Action Committee (IRAC). Insecticides with unknown modes of action are assigned mode-of-action group numbers (MoAs) that begin with UN. Rotate pesticides with a different mode-of-action group number, and do not use products with the same mode-of-action group number more than twice per season to help prevent the development of resistance. For example, the organophosphates have a group number of 1B; insecticides with a 1B group number should be alternated with insecticides that have a group number other than 1B.
- 2 ↩ Range of insect and mite groups affected by a pesticide. Broad means the pesticide affects most groups of insects and mites; narrow means the pesticide affects only a few specific groups.
- 3 ↩ Risk of harm to honey bees. For more information, see Bee Precaution Pesticide Ratings.
- 4 ↩ Risk of harm to predatory mites. Toxicities are generally to western predatory mite, Galendromus occidentalis. Where differences have been measured in toxicity of the pesticide-resistant strain versus the native strain, these are listed as pesticide-resistant strain or native strain.
- 5 a b Risk of harm to parasitoids and general predators. Toxicities are averages of reported effects and should be used only as a general guide. Actual toxicity of a specific insecticide depends on factors including the application rate, environmental conditions, and the life stage and species of a parasitoid or predator.
- 6 ↩ Length of time residue affects natural enemies. Short means hours to days; moderate means days to 2 weeks; and long means many weeks or months.
- 7 ↩ Risk of harm to fish from leaching, based on USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Windows Pesticide Screening Tool (WIN-PST).
- 8 ↩ Risk of harm to fish from adsorbed runoff, based on USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Windows Pesticide Screening Tool (WIN-PST).
- 9 ↩ Risk of harm to fish from solution runoff, based on USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Windows Pesticide Screening Tool (WIN-PST).
- 10 ↩ Risk of harm to humans from leaching, based on USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Windows Pesticide Screening Tool (WIN-PST).
- 11 ↩ Risk of harm to humans from solution runoff, based on USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Windows Pesticide Screening Tool (WIN-PST).
- 12 ↩ Date information was last updated in the UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines.
- 13 ↩ Residual is moderate if solution is between a pH of 7 and 8.
UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines: Pomegranate
UC ANR Publication 3474
W.J. Bentley (emeritus), UC IPM and Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Parlier (emeritus)
D. Carroll, Bio Ag Services, Inc., Fresno
D.R. Haviland, UC IPM and UC Cooperative Extension Kern County
K.E. Tollerup, UC IPM and Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Parlier
V.M. Walton, Horticulture, Oregon State University (filbertworm)
Acknowledgement for Contributions to Invertebrates
E.E. Grafton-Cardwell (emeritus), Lindcove Research and Extension Center, Exeter and Entomology, UC Riverside
