Ok, a bit provacative here but: many of us have some European Apple Sawfly pressure. With a huge bloom currently underway, I'm wondering about using these guys to do some thinning for me. Of course the question is , in their exuberance, will they overdo it. But, if we're supposed to thin 90% of the fruit anyway, what are the odds they would overthin?? I know, par of the answer is that 'it depends on your EAS pressure' . In my case, having managed it for a long time, the pressure is low-moderate. Put white sticky cards out there at pink, caught some but not tons, no more than 8 per trap.
If I could come up with a metric, i.e. trap threshold of i.e. up to 8 catches per trap is the perfect thinning population, more than than = maybe need to spray 'em instead.
This is kind of tongue-in-cheek but am also seriously wondering. For those of you who DON'T manage for EAS, how many of you lose a huge % of your crops due to this insect, in a big EAS year?
If I could come up with a metric, i.e. trap threshold of i.e. up to 8 catches per trap is the perfect thinning population, more than than = maybe need to spray 'em instead.
This is kind of tongue-in-cheek but am also seriously wondering. For those of you who DON'T manage for EAS, how many of you lose a huge % of your crops due to this insect, in a big EAS year?