Nantucket Pine Tip Moth Control in North Carolina, 1985

Two formulations of Zectran, using 2 application rates of each t'ormulation, were evaluated for efficacy in controlling Nantucket pine tip moths in Christmas tree plantings of Virginia pine. Dimethoate was used as a standard. A plantation of 4-yr-old trees in Sampson County and one of 2-yr-old trees in Wake County were selected as test sites. Using a randomized block design, 5 blocks of 25 trees each were selected for each treatment. (At the Sampson County site there were 7 blocks per treatment and 5 control blocks.) The trees were sprayed on 18 Jun in Sampson County and 19 Jun in Wake County, 10 days after peak pheromone trap catch of adults, with a hand pump sprayer to the point of runoff. The trees in the Sampson County plantation were about 4 ft tall and required 5 gal of spray for 50 trees. At the Wake County plantation 5 gal covered 125 trees. Both sites were evaluated on 23 Jul, 5 wk after treatment. Only the 9 center trees of each block were used in the evaluation. The dead terminals were counted on treated and untreated trees.