INTEGRATED PEST AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND: PROGRESS, CHANGES AND CHALLENGES SINCE 2004

A three-year integrated pest and disease management research programme financed by the New Zealand government and citrus growers ended in 2005. We give an overview of the key results and the changes and challenges since then. The Australian citrus whitefly Orchamoplatus citri (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) was first detected in New Zealand in 2000 and spread to all growing areas by 2006. It has resulted in significant orchard management changes, including additional insecticide sprays. Its phenology, economic importance and chemical control strategies are outlined. The prospect for biological control using imported parasitoids identified from field surveys in Australia is described. In lemons, the focus has been on the citrus flower moth Prays nephelomima (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae), which causes rind spotting and yield reduction, mainly on ‘Yen Ben’ lemon. The pest's phenology, susceptibility to insecticides, and the response to mating disruption trials using 500 to 1000 dispensers per hectare containing the female sex pheromone, are described. Further work is planned using lure-and-kill techniques. Citrus disease research has focused on understanding the disease cycle and control of anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides), a pre-harvest disease of Satsuma mandarins.