In today’s Almond Matters, brought to you by Valent, controlling mites in orchards is going to require good monitoring and early action on behalf of growers. Left unchecked, mite populations can grow extremely quickly as temperatures begin to heat up. Larger operations in particular will want to pay close attention to any mite issues that may need to be addressed.
“Going in early with a product like Zeal is really good,” said Todd Burkdoll, Field Market Development Specialist for Valent USA. “The one thing about it is that you need to go in early when you’ve got time to do it and you’re not rushed to get good coverage. I really want to emphasize the coverage aspect of using any miticide really, but particularly Zeal because it’s a contact material.”
The key to controlling mites before their numbers become overwhelming is making a timely and effective application to prevent populations from getting out of control. Burkdoll explained that when growers report a lack of control after an application it typically means that there was not adequate coverage of the material. Getting an early start to mite control programs will allow growers to take their time making an application to ensure the material is as effective as possible. Preventing mites from establishing large populations will make control methods much more successful.
“If you can find a female mite, she’s fertile and she’s probably laying eggs or has already laid eggs; that’s the time to spray. You don’t want to wait until you see whole leaves that are all stippled up with feeding and webbing; you’re way behind the eightball there,” said Burkdoll. “The first sign of any live mite out there is when you want to apply because guaranteed there’s eggs out there that have been laid and there’s nymphs that are getting ready to come on and you want to take them out early.”
Listen to the segment below.