Navel Orangworm: the Arch-Nemesis

A reminder of the seriousness of Navel Orangeworm in nut crops. David Haviland is a UCANR farm advisor and Kern County. He specializes in Integrated Pest Management control of Navel Orangeworm.

“We know it's the arch-nemesis every year, that each of you deal with, and we do know that it requires an integrated approach. So anyone listening that thinks there's a silver bullet to Navel Orangeworm, there is not,” said Haviland. “You really do need to do sanitation, be monitoring, using insecticides, and an early to timely harvest. So in the pistachio industry, a double shake helps satisfy that.”

“And then mating disruption. It’s a tool. But really, it's all of these combined. And there's this adage, you know, you have to spend money to make money. I'll let you know that really does apply for Navel Orangeworm. You can't just put your head in the sand and pretend that this pest is going to go away. If you do, you have the potential to have some significant damage to your crop,” said Haviland.

Haviland said there’s a big incentive to control Navel Orangeworm to have less damage in the crop when you deliver it to the huller, big premiums can be available.

“As damage comes down, you qualify for premiums. And I mean, it is amazing when you get a two, three, four, five cent per pound premium on an orchard because of lower damage. And you multiply that by 3,000 pounds per acre, it adds up really, really fast,” Haviland said.