Presented by Dr. Robert Orpet (Entomologist, Washington State University Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center)

Insect pest management is a major societal issue given public concern about pesticide use leading to declines in beneficial insects. In the Wenatchee Valley, a major pear growing region, entomologists have been attempting to apply principles of sustainable “integrated pest management” against the main pear pest pear psylla for 70 years.

This presentation will focus on the history of these efforts and the prospects for the future of sustainable pest management in the region. Pear psylla management in Washington has followed a cycle of crises: a new insecticides is invented that is effective against pear psylla, then the pest evolves resistance, and then pesticide use worsens the problem by killing the predators and parasitoids of the pest. The cycle repeats through the invention and loss of new active ingredients. Many researchers demonstrated that reducing use of pesticides and timing applications better can allow beneficial insects to keep pear psylla suppressed, but industry has struggled to adopt these “integrated” pest management programs. New tools, on-farm research programs, and cooperation of agricultural professionals discussed in this presentation could help end the cycle of ineffective pesticide dependence in Washington.

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