This area illustrates some of the impact that Oregon State University Extension Service has had in the lives of Oregonians during the past year. Now in the fourth year of a five-year effort, the Coddling Moth Areawide Management Program seeks to minimize the use of synthetic pesticides and maximize the use of natural controls. Synthetic pesticides have unwanted side effects when used to control damaging insects such as codling moth, San Jose scale, pear rust mite, pear psylla, and various spider mite species. Synthetics kill good, or desirable, insects along with the bad ones. Bad insects develop resistance to the pesticides and return in greater numbers.
Synthetics pose risks to farm workers and the environment.
Integrated pest management cuts pesticide use, lowers production costs Synthetic pesticide use can be cut by as much as 77-80 percent with an integrated pest management approach. Orchards in the project exhibited little or no mid-season damage by spider mites that cause leaf injury and defoliation to 15 percent of the conventional orchards. Fruit injury by pear psylla was reduced to 0.1 percent in the program, compared to conventional orchards, which have reached as high as 40 percent. Overall downgrading of project fruit from pest damage was 1.53 percent compared to 3.3 percent for fruit from conventional orchards. Integrated pest management combined with other production techniques may receive a premium on world markets.