NOW Monitor
How to use NOW Monitor in 2007
2007 is the first year these pheromone lures will be commercially available. There is still much to be learned from the information these lures will provide. We urge PCA’s and growers using NOW Monitor to go slowly and understand what information these lures can provide.
Our ultimate goal, as providers and users of these lures, is not to catch NOW male moths in a sticky trap. Our ultimate goal is to have better information about the generation timing and population dynamics of the NOW moth so as to improve control techniques for the insect.
In 2007 we encourage PCAs and Growers to:
1 - Still use the egg traps as you have been in past years.
Compare the egg trap catches with the NOW pheromone lure catches.
2 - Keep the NOW traps up all season long (changing the lures every 30 days) to determine the overall pattern of generations and population dynamics of this insect in specific orchards.
3 - Check the traps once per week to keep a running count of the NOW flights.
4 - Also note the situation of each orchard as it starts the 2007 season.
Was the orchard heavily, medium or lightly infested at harvest in 2006?
Were the mummy nuts effectively cleaned up in the winter of 2006-2007?
Are adjacent orchards a source of infestation? Remember NOW Monitor will not pickup NOW females flying into your orchard.
Learn to use NOW Monitor in 2007. But rely on the methods you have been using for years to make control decisions for NOW. Use NOW Monitor for 1 or 2 years before making the switch 100% (if you ever make the total switch) to NOW Monitor.