A review on Asian walnut moth Erschoviella musculana Ershov (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

V. Bozkurt, M. Özdemir, E. Ayan, A. Özdem
The Asian walnut moth Erschoviella musculana Ershov (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is an important pest of walnut. E. musculana attacks fruits and shoots of wild and cultivated varieties of walnut, Juglans regia L. Young fruits are damaged by the pest caterpillars. They feed inside young shoots and cause them to wilt. One caterpillar may destroy several fruits. In this way, the pest reduces yields of walnuts by up to 70-80% and causes direct economic damage in commercial walnut orchards. There is a major risk for infested walnut orchards. The most important damage is observed mostly on young walnut trees of shoots and their fruits. Eggs, larvae and pupae (cocoons) may be found on wood containing bark. All stages of the life cycle can be transported with walnut fruits (inside nuts) and on walnut plants moving in trade (inside shoots), particularly plants for planting and cutting for grafting. Pest entry with plants for planting and establishment, have high probability, but there is little trade in practice. Natural spreading is also possible with flights of adult moths. The pest has two to three generations per year. Asian walnut moth is present in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Iran. It can establish in an area which has similar climatic conditions with the origin and can cause serious economic damage. Turkey has similar conditions to the infested countries and is at risk because of being a neigboring country with Iran. In the world, it is a quarantine pest and on the list of EPPO A2. In Turkey it is on the list of Annex 1A harmful organisms not known to occur in Turkey, that are subject to quarantine and that hinder import. Phytosanitary measures should be taken carefully to prevent its introduction and distribution through the uninfested areas or countries. The aim of this review is to summarize global distribution of the pest, damage status, short biology, potential risks and required phytosanitary measures.
Bozkurt, V., Özdemir, M., Ayan, E. and Özdem, A. (2020). A review on Asian walnut moth Erschoviella musculana Ershov (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Acta Hortic. 1269, 241-244
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2020.1269.31
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2020.1269.31
Erschoviella musculana, Asian walnut moth, walnut, quarantine
English

Acta Horticulturae