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Entomology Commons

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Agriculture

Utah Pests

Articles 1 - 12 of 12

Full-Text Articles in Entomology

Plum Curculio (Conotrachelus Nenuphar), Kate V. Richardson, Marion Murray Jan 2024

Plum Curculio (Conotrachelus Nenuphar), Kate V. Richardson, Marion Murray

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Plum curculio is a brown weevil (beetle with a snout) native to eastern North America, where it is a major pest of pome and stone fruits. It was detected in Box Elder County, Utah, in the early 1980s, and this population remains the only known infestation in western North America, where it is occasionally found in residential and wild fruit trees. Plum curculio is a quarantine pest in western North America (U.S. and Canada), and fruit grown in infested counties is restricted from being exported. Thus, it is a threat to Utah’s fruit industry and requires ongoing monitoring and management …


Gambel Oak Care, Shawn Olsen, Debbie Amundsen, Shital Poudyal Sep 2021

Gambel Oak Care, Shawn Olsen, Debbie Amundsen, Shital Poudyal

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Gambel oak is commonly called scrub oak, but other common names are Rocky Mountain white oak and Utah white oak. The scientific name is Quercus gambelii, after William Gambel, an American naturalist. This fact sheet reviews Gambel oak's usability in the landscape, its care, growth requirements, diseases and pests, and maintenance.


Using Degree Days To Time Treatments For Insect Pests, Marion Murray Mar 2020

Using Degree Days To Time Treatments For Insect Pests, Marion Murray

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Insecticides that are applied for a perennial insect pest based on a calendar date often result in poor insect control and a waste of resources. Insect activity varies from year to year depending on weather. For example, in Logan, Utah, eggs of the apple pest codling moth began hatching on May 15 in 2005, May 5 in 2006, and April 30 in 2007.


Codling Moth In Utah Orchards, Marion Murray, Diane G. Alston Jan 2020

Codling Moth In Utah Orchards, Marion Murray, Diane G. Alston

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Codling moth (Order Lepidoptera, Family Tortricidae) is the most serious pest of apple and pear worldwide. In most commercial fruit producing regions and home yards in Utah, fruit must be protected to harvest a crop. Insecticides are the main control tactic. There are new insecticides available, many of which are less toxic to humans and beneficial insects and mites than earlier insecticides. For commercial orchards with more than 10 acres of contiguous apple and pear plantings, pheromone-based mating disruption can greatly reduce codling moth populations to allow reduced insecticide use.


The Backyard Orchardist – Fruit Pests: Apple, Marion Murray, Diane G. Alston Jan 2020

The Backyard Orchardist – Fruit Pests: Apple, Marion Murray, Diane G. Alston

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Fire blight is caused by a bacteria called Erwinia amylovora. Some varieties of apples are very susceptible to this disease, such as Jonathan, Jonagold, and Gala. Blossoms, terminal twigs, and sometimes entire limbs or trees are killed.


The Backyard Orchardist – Fruit Pests: Peach And Nectarine, Marion Murray, Diane G. Alston Jan 2020

The Backyard Orchardist – Fruit Pests: Peach And Nectarine, Marion Murray, Diane G. Alston

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Shothole is a common fungal disease in Utah. It attacks dormant leaf buds, blossom buds, leaves, fruit, and twigs. The first visible lesions occur on young leaves as small, round, tan spots that eventually fall out, leaving round holes.


The Backyard Orchardist – Fruit Pests: Pear, Marion Murray, Diane G. Alston Jan 2020

The Backyard Orchardist – Fruit Pests: Pear, Marion Murray, Diane G. Alston

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Fire blight is caused by a bacterium called Erwinia amylovora. Pears are very susceptible to fire blight. Blossoms, terminal twigs, and sometimes entire limbs or trees are killed. Environmental conditions favoring infection are warm, rainy days during bloom.


The Backyard Orchardist – Fruit Pests: Plum, Marion Murray, Diane G. Alston Jan 2020

The Backyard Orchardist – Fruit Pests: Plum, Marion Murray, Diane G. Alston

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Caused by a soil-borne, fungus-like organism (Phytophthora), crown and root rot occurs worldwide on almost all fruit trees. This pathogen is present in most soils, but only causes infection under optimal circumstances— high soil moisture or standing water, and susceptible host tissue. Once trees are infected, there is no cure.


The Backyard Orchardist – Fruit Pests: Cherry, Marion Murray, Diane G. Alston Jan 2020

The Backyard Orchardist – Fruit Pests: Cherry, Marion Murray, Diane G. Alston

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This fact sheet describes diseases and insect pests of cherry in order of importance. Shothole attacks dormant leaf buds, blossom buds, leaves, fruit, and twigs (fruit infections are less common on cherry. Other diseases described are crown rot and root rot, gummosis, perennial canker, and powdery mildew, Insects include western cherry fruit fly, spider mites, black cherry aphids, flathead borers, pear sawfly, and speckled green fruitworm.


Peach Twig Borer Mating Disruption, Marion Murray, Diane G. Alston Dec 2019

Peach Twig Borer Mating Disruption, Marion Murray, Diane G. Alston

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Mating disruption became commercially available in the early 1990s, and was adopted by many Utah growers about a decade later. Use of this pest management technology can be daunting due to high up-front costs and monitoring requirements; however, after two to three seasons of use, the cost of mating disruption is the same or even less than conventional pest management.


Cat-Facing Insects, Diane Alston, Michael Reding, Marion Murray Oct 2010

Cat-Facing Insects, Diane Alston, Michael Reding, Marion Murray

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There are a number of insects with the piercing-sucking feeding habit that can cause deformity and catfacing type injury to pome and stone fruits, including lygus bug, stink bug, and boxelder bug. Cat-facing injury is caused by puncture feeding in flower buds and fruit. The result is unsightly dimpling, deformity, and scarring of fruit. The name “cat facing” comes from the distorted fruit shape that resembles the puckered cheeks of a cat. In addition to the insects discussed in this section, some aphids and the campylomma bug can inflict similar injury.


Coryneum Or Shothole Blight, Kent Evans, Erin Frank, Jaydee Gunnell, Mike Pace, Maggie Shao May 2008

Coryneum Or Shothole Blight, Kent Evans, Erin Frank, Jaydee Gunnell, Mike Pace, Maggie Shao

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In Utah, there are typically three generations of corn earworm (CEW) each year. The first generation of adults either come from overwintering pupae (southern and central Utah), or migrate into northern Utah. The adult moth is tannish brown with a 1 1/2 inch wingspan. The front wings are marked with a distinct dark spot in the center and darker bands near the outer margins. The hind wings are lighter tan, with a dark band along the outer margins. The male moths have green eyes. Moth flight occurs primarily on warm, overcast evenings. Moth populations can be monitored using pheromone or …