Control
- Before its use was revoked, thiacloprid (Calypso) at late blossom or early fruitlet was shown to give good control of adults and prevents further damage. From 2021, Calypso can no longer be used on apples, but it is possible that another neonicotinoid active, acetamiprid (Gazelle), may offer some control, when applied at the same stage of apple development, although this has not been fully explored.
- It is probable that other insecticides such as indoxacarb (Steward or Explicit) are also effective but the efficacy of different products has not been explored.
- Fatty acids (Flipper) has an EAMU approval on apples and is recommended to control apple blossom weevil, so it is likely that it would offer incidental control of rhynchites weevil when applied for blossom weevil.
- Sprays of other broad-spectrum insecticides that control adult weevils are also likely to be effective if applied at this time.
- Use of synthetic pyrethroid insecticides should be avoided as they are harmful to the orchard predatory mite Typhlodromus pyri and other natural enemies.
- If effective control measures are not applied, the apple fruit rhynchites weevil can build up to high levels and cause serious damage (> 50% fruits infested).
- It can be very destructive in organic orchards, where there are very few options available to control the pest.
Insecticides approved for use on apple that are likely to offer incidental control of apple fruit rhynchites weevil adults. No products have a specific label recommendation for the pest.
| Choice of insecticides – efficacy factors | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active ingredient | Trade name (examples) | Class | Recommended by the manufacturer for control of | Safety to Typhs |
| acetamiprid | Gazelle | neonicotinoid | Aphids | safe |
| deltamethrin | Decis Forte etc. | pyrethroid | Aphids, suckers, capsids, caterpillars, codling and tortrix moths, sawfly | harmful |
| fatty acids | Flipper (EAMU 3419/19) | bioinsecticide | Aphids, blossom weevil, two-spotted spider mite | unspecified but generally safe in IPDM programmes |
| indoxacarb | Steward, Explicit | oxadiazine | Codling, tortrix and winter moth caterpillars | unspecified |
| Choice of insecticides – Safety factors | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazards1 | Harvest interval (days) | Max. no. sprays | Buffer zone width (m) | ||||
| Anticholin-Esterase? | Humans | Fish & aquatic life | Bees | ||||
| acetamiprid | no | u | t | u | 14 | 2 | 20 |
| deltamethrin | no | h,i | ed | d | 7 | none stipulated | 50 |
| fatty acids | no | h,i | h | u | 0 | 8 | 20 |
| indoxacarb | no | h | ed | u | 7 | 3 | 5 |
| Key: 1d=dangerous, ed=extremely dangerous, h=harmful, i=irritant | |||||||