Pest Management Options: Codling Moth Mating Disruption
Codling moth mating disruption works best in large, contiguous areas of orchard or isolated locations (minimum 5 to 10 acre blocks). Dispensers should be placed in the orchard at bloom. Ideally, a biofix (first moth flight) for each orchard should be determined by hanging a pheromone trap in a nearby, non-mating disrupted site. It is impossible to get an accurate biofix within an orchard that has been historically using mating disruption due to the low moth population. The biofix date is used to determine the timing for supplemental sprays.
Monitor codling moth using large plastic delta traps with a sticky liner and lure. High load codling moth lures must be used because the high concentration of pheromone in disrupted orchards masks traps with the standard lures. Traps should be used according to the following guidelines:
- hang traps at Red Delicious bloom
- hang in upper third of tree canopy
- one trap/10 acres (minimum 2 traps per orchard), plus traps in hot spots
- check traps once/week, and count and remove moths, or keep a running tally for each generation or since the last insecticide spray
Characteristics of common mating disruption dispensers
| Brand | Type | Rate | Cost(approx) | Effectiveness | Notes |
| Isomate-CM Flex | hand-appliedloops | 200-400/acre | $100/acre(at 400/acrate) | very effective | hang high in tree |
| Isomate CM Mist | aerosoldevice | 1/acre | --- | effective onblocks 30-35 acres or greaterand with lowCM pressure | hang high on mounted posts or intree; requires addition of hand-applied dispensers on outer rows; |
| CheckmateCM-XL | hand-appliedclips | 200/acre | $100/acre | somewhat effective | hang high in tree |
| CheckmateCM-OPuffer | aerosoldevice | 1/acre | $120/acre | effective onblocks 30-35 acres or greaterand with lowCM pressure | hang high on mounted posts or intree; requires addition of hand-applied dispensers on outer rows;distributer will map where productswill hang |
Lure types for monitoring pests in mating disrupted orchards
| Lure Name | Longevity | Threshold toApplySupplementalSpray | Notes |
| 1x lure(standard lure | 30 or 60 days | --- | this lure should not catch any moths in a successful MD orchard; only use if you suspect MD failure; canuse this lure in non-MD site to get biofix |
| 10x;Mega lure | 21 days | not determined | this lure has a high load of pheromone |
| TreceCM-DACombo | 60 days | 10 moths(cumulative) | this lure captures males and femlaes; trap catches will be highter than 10x lure |
| Trece DA | 60 days | not determined | this lure captures females; not recommended |