Pear Insects Lab

Pest management is one of the top production challenges to a sustainable pear industry in Washington State, the nation’s top producer of pears. The Pear Insects Lab is developing pest management strategies that are more cost-effective by integrating pesticides, biocontrol, and cultural tactics. We work with growers and consultants to run research projects on commercial farms, collect data, share the evidence, and help implement solutions.

Our vision is to build integrated pest management (IPM) guidelines that are effective, increase understanding of how IPM works, and drastically reduce pear psylla through areawide IPM adoption.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Evidence of IPM effectiveness in pear

Since 2022, our team has collected weekly pest data from standard orchards paired with orchards trialing IPM guidelines. We sample a few organic orchards too. Our flagship resource is Pear Entomology Weekly, an e-mail newsletter sharing weekly scouting data, pear psylla phenology information, and practical IPM guidelines for the Wenatchee Valley, Rock Island, and Yakima. You can easily sign up for Pear Entomology Weekly using this link: https://mailchi.mp/wsu/pew.

What have we found?

• In 2022, the first year of implementation, the IPM program had similar pear psylla damage as conventional orchards on average, and the IPM program costed a little less. These findings were covered in articles in Good Fruit Grower, WSU Fruit Matters, and a recorded public presentation.
• In 2023, there was less pear psylla everywhere. Very little damage occurred in summer and the IPM program is poised to have less damage and less pesticide costs than conventional orchards as the third generation of pear psylla develops. Findings are being shared in Pear Entomology Weekly and WSU Tree Fruit Matters.

Figure 1 (below). Average pear psylla adults per tray, eggs per leaf, nymphs per leaf, and natural enemies of pear psylla (Campylomma, Deraeocoris, Trechnites, ladybugs, and lacewings) per beat tray at 7 conventional, 7 phenology-IPM program, and 3 organic Wenatchee region pear orchards in 2022 and 2023. The y-axis scales differ between years. Insect illustrations by T Kent.