Scott Roskelley, a biologist finishing his masters degree at University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, was hired to move the program from screening to the extensive studies needed to prove field efficacy and promote grower knowledge of the most promising alternatives. Weber and Roskelly worked closely with a number of grower-cooperators and with Clean Sweep Consulting to intensify the evaluations. The UMass Cranberry Station and Rutgers completed the residue trials to support the registration by IR4 and BASF Corporation, while Ocean Spray continued field work with growers to define the efficacy requirements. The cranberry industry now has the tools Pyramite, late water and Trilogy neem oil to manage Southern red mite effectively. Late water is a very effective preventative tool, and with its widespread use in spring 2000, researchers expect fewer mite problems for the next year or two.
Trilogy is an inexpensive material which fills the niche of suppressing moderate populations.
Now that this effort has borne fruit, there is one less pest problem to worry about in cranberry. While growers must be aware of Southern red mite, it s no longer the threat that it used to be. And with reduced rates, even using pyridaben need not be as expensive. The label lists rates 4.4 to 8.8 ounces per acre. However, Ocean Spray research has found that the 4.4 ounce per acre rate is reliable for mite suppression even when mites are at high densities.