What CDFA’s and UC Davis’ California’s Pyrethroid Report Tells Us About the Future of Navel Orangeworm Management

California nut crop growers have included pyrethroid insecticides in their navel orangeworm integrated pest management programs for decades. A new report from the California Department of Food and Agriculture and University of California, Davis examines how important these tools are and what California agriculture could look like if they were no longer available.

For almond and pistachio growers, the report highlights one important takeaway: it is becoming increasingly important for growers to diversify their NOW management plans. Successful diversification programs include mating disruption like CheckMate® NOW-F and novel biological products like Spear® LEP.

NOW Management Requires a Diversified Approach

The report identifies navel orangeworm as the primary pest of California almonds and “arguably the most important insect pest” of pistachios. In both crops, NOW feeding directly affects yield and quality and can facilitate infection by Aspergillus fungi leading to the production of aflatoxins.

Growers understand that NOW management cannot revolve around a single tactic. Many do a combination of accepted tactics to manage their pest pressure throughout the growing season. The report describes five major components of an effective navel orangeworm management program:

1. Winter sanitation
2. Monitoring
3. Well-timed insecticide applications
4. Timely harvest
5. Mating disruption

This multi-faceted approach becomes especially important considering resistance management. The report notes that resistance to bifenthrin has been documented in NOW populations and emphasizes the value of maintaining multiple management strategies instead relying solely on a limited number of insecticide modes of action. The message is clear: protecting the long-term effectiveness of available insecticides requires the use of many effective tools in the IPM toolbox.

Mating Disruption Provides Navel Orangeworm Control Through a Unique Mode of Action

The CDFA/UC report recognizes mating disruption as an effective component of NOW management when used in combination with other integrated pest management strategies.

Mating disruption technology manages navel orangeworm using a unique mode-of-action. Unlike insecticides which rely on contact or ingestion to kill pests, pheromone-based mating disruption products interfere with mating behavior. They prevent male moth’s from locating females, reducing mating, and lowering pest populations throughout the growing season. Fewer offspring ultimately means less crop damage for growers.

The report includes CheckMate NOW-F as the representative for sprayable mating disruption products in its almond and pistachio economic analyses. Growers should note that the cost of sprayable pheromones differs significantly from season-long aerosol mating disruption solutions. This is an important distinction to make, as CheckMate NOW-F affords growers a time-targeted mating disruption option with a lower price point than aerosols.

Bring Mating Disruption Into Your Spray Program With CheckMate Now-F

CheckMate NOW-F is a microencapsulated, sprayable, pheromone formulation. It can be applied to an orchard using traditional equipment like ground rigs or backpacks, as well as novel equipment like drones. It can be applied at various times throughout the season: at spring as a mummy spray, in summer as a hull split spray, and at harvest to reduce damage in more susceptible varieties like Nonpareil. It is tank mixable with many common agrochemicals, has a four hour Re-Entry Interval, no Pre-Harvest Interval, and is MRL exempt.

California growers utilize CheckMate NOW-F on thousands of acres each growing season because it is an effective tool that complements sanitation, monitoring, timely harvest, and insecticide applications. It strengthens existing chemical programs; instead of asking a single chemistry to carry the NOW management burden, growers can attack the pest in a variety of ways.

For more information on our available pest control technologies, reach out to a member of our team here.