Managing orchard pests.

This chapter provides information on the various economically important insect and arthropod pests causing damage to cherry production, such as Rhagoletis indifferens, Drosophila suzukii, Choristoneura rosaceana, Tetranychus urticae and Caliroa cerasi, among others. Notes on their life cycle, damage and management methods are also presented.

Sweet cherries

This book contains 12 chapters focusing on the current trends in sweet cherry production, cherry flowering, fruiting and cultivars, sweet cherry rootstocks, planning a new cherry orchard, orchard establishment and production, the fundamentals of sweet cherry pruning, various sweet cherry training systems, management of the orchard environment, fruit ripening and harvest and management of orchard pests, pathogens and disorders. The promising future of cherry production is also discussed.

Identification Process of Selected Graphic Features Apple Tree Pests by Neural Models Type MLP, RBF and DNN

In this paper, the classification capabilities of perceptron and radial neural networks are compared using the identification of selected pests feeding in apple tree orchards in Poland as an example. The goal of the study was the neural separation of five selected apple tree orchard pests. The classification was based on graphical information coded as selected characteristic features of the pests, presented in digital images. In the paper, MLP (MultiLayer Perceptrons), RBF (Radial Basis Function) and DNN (Deep Neural Networks) neural classification models are compared, generated using learning files acquired on the basis of information contained in digital photographs of five selected pests. In order to classify the pests, neural modeling methods were used, including digital image analysis techniques. The qualitative analysis of the neural models enabled the selection of optimal neuron topology that was characterized by the highest classification capability. As representative graphic features were selected five selected coefficients of shape and two defined graphical features of the classified objects. The created neuron model is dedicated as a core for computer systems supporting the decision processes occurring during apple production, particularly in the context of apple tree orchard pest protection automation.

Using IPM-CPR as a Management Program for Apple Orchards

We have demonstrated how management of key orchard pests including the insect invasive species Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) can be accomplished using a systems-level approach termed IPM-CPR (Integrated Pest Management-Crop Perimeter Restructuring) in apple. We conducted on-farm comparisons of IPM-CPR to standard management program for managing H. halys, Cydia pomonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), Grapholita molesta (Busck) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), and Lygus lineolaris Palisot de Beauvois (Hemiptera: Miridae) in commercial apple orchards in 2014, 2016, and 2017 in New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia. The presence and abundance of key pests and fruit injury at harvest were used as a measure of success of the program. We compared the amount of insecticide applied for each management program. In majority of instances, there were no differences in the IPM-CPR and the standard management program in terms of H. halys numbers in baited pyramid traps and stink bug injury at harvest. Damage from C. pomonella and G. molesta in the IPM-CPR treatment was significantly lower than the standard management program in 2014 and 2017. Amount of active ingredient used was on average 62.1% lower in the IPM-CPR treatment compared with standard management program. Despite a reduction in insecticide use, there were minimal impacts on beneficial insects. Overall, IPM-CPR in apples successfully managed key orchard pests, including H. halys, and used significantly less insecticide than a standard insecticide-based management program and could be adopted as a systems-level approach for pest population reduction.