Minor Use Screening Trials for Weevils

Title: Minor Use Screening Trials for Weevils (2020 and 2021)

Principal Investigator: Arlan Benn, IPM Consultant, E.S. Cropconsult Ltd.

Duration:

• April 1, 2020 to October 31, 2020
• April 1, 2021 to October 31, 2021

Project Summary:

Weevils are an important root pest that contribute to plant decline in numerous blueberry fields in the Fraser Valley.  Chemical control of weevils is via night spray applications that target adult weevils as they emerge in spring and early summer to reproduce. Chemical control options have decreased due to loss of registration of highly effective chemistries.  Identification and evaluation of new chemical options for control of weevils is a key priority for the BC blueberry industry.  This project includes field evaluations of new potential chemical options in comparison with positive and negative controls.  In 2020, a first round of trials was used to compare three new potential chemistries against two standard products and a no-treatment control.  In 2021, one of the three new potential chemistries trialed in 2020 as well as two other potential control options will be compared against standard products and a no-treatment control.

Objective:

To screen potential weevil control chemistries against standards to identify targets for pursuit of minor use registrations