South Africa is a known exporter of subtropical fruit (avocado, litchi and mango). The main production areas for subtropical fruit in South Africa are parts of Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal. The avocado and litchi industries are export orientated while the majority of mangoes produced are processed. The main export markets are the European Union and the United Kingdom. Subtropical fruit production is susceptible to various insect pests that significantly contribute to yield losses. Twenty years ago mainly broad spectrum insecticides (organophosphates and pyrethroids) had been registered for control of pests and progress was made in adopting eco-friendlier management approaches. The lowering of maximum residue levels for pesticides on food products by importing countries provide new challenges for growers. Here, details are provided on the important insect pests of subtropical crops and the current management strategies use for controlling these pests. An integrated pest management strategy should aim to use interventions that lower maximum residue levels. A challenge that still remains is the sucking bug complex on avocado and more environmentally friendly strategies used for suppression need to be developed. An effective trapping system to monitor adult sucking bugs coming into the orchards will be important for effective management. Challenges that still remain are the litchi moth, Cryptophlebia peltastica (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) on litchi, and the citrus thrips, Scirtothrips aurantii Faure (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) and the mango seed weevil, Sternochetus mangiferae (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) on mango. The development and testing of mating disruption products, attract and kill products, and biological control products for litchi moth is important. Biological control products also need to be tested against citrus thrips on mango. The mango industry needs to find more environmentally safe suppression methods that can be used with sanitation to manage mango seed weevil as it is a pest of phytosanitary concern. The set of economic thresholds for the important pests also need some attention. The use of botanical pesticides has not yet been tested on a large scale and could possibly contribute to the control of pests in the future.

READ HERE

August 17 (1-3 PM)

Live Seminar and Hybrid Zoom Topic

Avocado Varieties Discussion

Speakers:

Mary Lu Arpaia - UC Riverside Extension Specialist/Plant Breeder

Avocado Varieties: Current status and crystal ball gazing towards the future

Consuelo Fernandez - Brokaw Nursery R&D Manager

Performance of Commercially Available Rootstocks and Future Availability of New Ones

Nathan Lurie and Panel

Grower Speakers on Avocado Variety and Rootstock Field Performance

NOTE: Seminar is In Person and Zoom (Hybrid)

To attend in person:

669 County Square Dr.

Ventura

To join the zoom meeting:

Click here to Register

California Avocado Growers Seminars Series 2022

from CA Avocado Society/CA Avocado Commission/University of CA Cooperative Extension

June 15 (9 - 11 AM)

Seminar/Webinar Topic

Heat Mitigation Around the World

Dealing with Hot Times in the Avocado Orchard: What is done by others to mediate Heat.

World wide Speakers:

Click here to register for the June Seminar/Webinar

Don't Let Your Trees Look Like This!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are all kinds of pollinators in an avocado orchard, not just honeybees. In fact, there is a whole range of native bees that also pollinate the trees. There are nearly 1,600 native bee species in California, and over 30 have been identified in avocado orchards in Ventura County alone .

Another pollinator group is comprised of the Diptera order – flies. This order includes hoverflies and houseflies. Flies can be better at cross-pollinating avocado than honeybees because they move randomly through an orchard between different cultivars, visiting male and female flowers. The effectiveness of flies as pollinators varies between species, but there can often be more than 20 types in an orchard. This means it is likely that some good pollinators will be present, and that pollination can occur whenever the female flowers are open.

In the aforementioned Ventura avocado study, hoverflies are the most common flower visitor.

Housefly

Hoverfly