March 1, 2026

Pest Management

Featured stories about tree fruit and grape pest management — and more — in this issue.

March 1, 2026 — Digital Issue

Extensive codling moth damage in an unsprayed research block at Washington State University’s Sunrise Research Orchard last July. A partial drape netting treatment offered effective control of codling moth and allowed natural enemies to keep secondary pests, such as woolly apple aphids, in check. (Kate Prengaman/Good Fruit Grower)

Moth block, aphid access

A mechanical nut harvester sweeps up hazelnuts in October at Sullivan Farms near Pasco, Washington. (Ross Courtney/Good Fruit Grower)

Fruit growers sweeping up an opportunity

A view of 2 Lads Winery on Michigan’s Old Mission Peninsula. Vineyards and vistas bring visitors to the peninsula every summer and fall. What those visitors can and can’t do at wineries has caused a dispute between the wineries and local government. (Courtesy 2 Lads Winery)

Wine wars on Michigan’s Old Mission Peninsula

Michigan State University entomologist Rufus Isaacs, seen here in a blueberry block at MSU’s Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center in June 2022, is studying ways to combat spotted wing drosophila in Michigan blueberries. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

Data for better spotted wing drosophila control

Jim Doornink, shown on his farm in Wapato, Washington, in 2024, is retiring from the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission after more than 40 years as a board member. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

Dual benefits of continuing education

A Deraeocoris brevis nymph crawls across a leaf in August at the U.S. Department of Agriculture laboratory in Wapato, Washington. The insect’s timing and appetite for pear psylla has made it an all-star predator in pear integrated pest management. (Ross Courtney/Good Fruit Grower)

Most Valuable Predator of pear pests

A field day participant tries to catch a whiff of garlic from cherries, blueberries and grapes treated with essential oils in May in The Dalles, Oregon. Consultants and researchers in the region believe garlic oil repels spotted wing drosophila enough to augment their management plans. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

Adjusting the IPM recipe

Michigan State University tree fruit integrator Jackie Perkins discusses changing weather and pest patterns during the Great Lakes EXPO in December. Here, she was describing a new MSU website called mifruitdecision.com, which helps growers manage climate-related pest risks. On the right is an illustration of another one of her presentation slides, the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map of Michigan, which she used to illustrate changing climate patterns. (Photo illustration by Matt Milkovich and TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

Pest control plans also shift with climate-morphosis

Good Stuff, March 1, 2026

To understand the variability in sunburn development, researchers used heat lamps to expose Honeycrisp apples to different levels of heat in a research block at the Washington State University Sunrise Research Orchard in Wenatchee in July. (Kate Prengaman/Good Fruit Grower)

Hot insights from heat stress research

Dininny: Member model

Piper Hale inspects freshly washed hazelnuts at Mount Adams Hazelnuts in November near Wapato, Washington. Hale’s cleaning machine is one stepping stone to building a certified organic hazelnut industry in Eastern Washington. (Ross Courtney/Good Fruit Grower)

Hazelnut industry a tough nut to crack

Josie and Kenny Knight, young growers from Naches, Washington

2003: This isn’t 1969, and it isn’t your dad’s codling moth

2000: Pear psylla: the real Y2K bug

1996: Beneficial insects now can be sprayed on trees

1963: Insect Resistance To Certain Insecticides