Assessing the economic impact of fungicide resistance in horticultural corps

The aim of this project is to determine the combined impact on fungicide efficacy of rain and the appearance of new leaves to more accurately identify how long treatments remain effective.

Acquiring the knowledge needed to develop an attract-and-kill treatment to control current and future stinkbug populations in Québec apple orchards.

Exclusion nets have proven to be effective against nearly all of these insect pests, which means that it’s possible to develop apple growing practices in Québec that are not only neonicotinoid free, but also devoid of all pesticides (including acaricides, given that mite problems are a consequence of broad-spectrum insecticide use). Although the net exclusion microsystem studied in Québec since 2012 has demonstrated its effectiveness in controlling insect pests, some issues remain to be studied before it can be unreservedly recommended. Among these are the handling times for the nets, i.e., installation/removal and opening/closing, and the system’s profitability and durability over the long haul for various cultivars.