A sporadic pest identified as Oxycarenus annulipes is the focus of a new Hortgro-funded project. By Jenny Underhill. In the 2022–23 harvest season, two farms observed infestations of Lygaied bugs belonging to the genus Oxycarenus. The farms, located near Paarl…
What have we learnt about sap-sucking insects in apple and pear orchards? By Anna Mouton. The order Hemiptera contains more than 80 000 insect species that use their piercing-sucking mouthparts to extract bodily fluids from other organisms. Some, such as bedbugs,…
Know the difference between fruit-piercing and fruit-sucking moths and how to protect your fruit against them. By Anna Mouton. Mention moth pests and many growers will immediately think of either codling or false codling moths. But fruit-piercing moths in the…
Ethyl formate shows promise as a postharvest treatment for mealy bugs on pome fruit. By Anna Mouton. Mealy bugs are considered phytosanitary pests by some markets and aesthetically unacceptable by nearly all consumers. But a shrinking arsenal of preharvest pesticides…
Growers must adopt a strategic approach to overcome this ancient pest. By Anna Mouton. Mealy bugs co-evolved with vascular plants over millions of years, and modern mealy bugs comprise more than 2 000 species exploiting a vast range of hosts. Despite…
Growers can’t eradicate thrips, but the right interventions at the right time can reduce the risk of fruit damage. By Ilyaas Rhoda. Western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) were first detected in South Africa during the late 1980s after spreading from…
Are surging populations of antestia bugs in pome- and stone-fruit orchards responsible for fruit defects? By Rae Oelofse. Damage, including puncture wounds, sunken areas, brown spots, and distortion, is rising in pome and stone fruit. The defects are not visible…
Some areas are seeing this orchard-floor dweller moving up and damaging fruit. By Carin Smith. Cenaeus carnifex, commonly known as the red bug due to its colour, is indigenous to South Africa and ubiquitous in orchards, usually on the orchard…
How is the Netherlands responding to the threat of this globally invasive pest? By Anna Mouton. Entomologist Dr Karin Winkler is a researcher at Wageningen University and Research. She is based at the Fruit Research Centre in Randwijk, where she…