Ecological solutions for pest control in apple orchards

Apple cultivation is a cornerstone of Moldova’s export sector and serves as a hallmark of the country. This crop allows to showcase key quality indicators, including size, color, taste, and high yields. These results are achieved through several important technological processes, one of the most crucial being integrated pest and disease management.
Apples are particularly susceptible to a variety of pests, such as the codling moth, oriental fruit moth, and summer fruit tortrix. Controlling these pests with chemical solutions, primarily insecticides, requires multiple treatments. This can result in exceeding acceptable residue limits for active substances, ultimately increasing the cost of the final product due to the high expenses associated with plant protection products and application equipment.
Therefore, the main objective in apple production is to find solutions that offer long-term protection against pests, are competitively priced, and require fewer treatments. Such solutions can be found in the Eco Center brand’s portfolio, which specializes in monitoring traps with pheromone lures and mating disruption.
Mating Disruption Solutions help us combat key pests such as:

• Cydia Protect® – codling moth;
• Grapholita Protect® – oriental fruit moth;
• Orana Protect® – summer fruit tortrix.

The MD dispenser contains pheromone, ensuring a uniform release of the pheromone composition. This makes it a reliable and eco-friendly method for controlling pest insects. The dispenser saturates the environment with high doses of synthetic pheromone, disrupting the mating behavior of pests by disorienting them and impairing the males’ ability to locate females. Consequently, females lay unfertilized eggs that do not hatch into larvae. By installing 300 dispensers per hectare before the first generation of pests emerges, this method provides effective protection against these insects.
Mating disruption is highly demanded because:

• It only need to be installed once per season;
• It remains effective for 4-6 months;
• It leaves no residues;
• It has highly efficient;
• It does not affect non-target organisms (e.g., beneficial insects).

The effectiveness of mating disruption is monitored using Delta traps, which are installed at a density of 2-4 pieces per hectare. These traps allow us to track pest population dynamics and detect potential outbreaks.
For more details on the advantages of using Eco Center products, visit: www.ecocenter.md