Need to control Black
Scale?
Admiral Advance is a new product for the control of black scale
in olives. It is an
unconventional insecticide in the sense that it acts as an insect growth
regulator that removes the pest from the grove by disrupting its life cycle and
not killing it rapidly like traditional insecticides do.
In
practice, this means that female scales may remain on the trees for a period
after treatment, however this is of no consequence because they would have been
sterilised by Admiral and no viable offspring are being produced.
At
the other end of the equation, use Admiral on a commercial scale in olives (and
other crops) has shown that the duration of control given by Admiral most often
exceeds one season.
Since
the product has become available, the majority of olive growers using Admiral
have reported that no sprays were required in the subsequent season following
the initial application and after all scales were removed from the trees.
This
observation has significant cost benefits for olive growers!
ABOUT
Black scale is a common pest of olives that is found in all parts of Australia. Black scale is referred to as a soft scale and is believed to have originated from South Africa. Adult females can be up to 5 mm in diameter and hemispherical in shape. They congregate on the twigs and leaves of olive trees. Crawlers are typically wind dispersed.
Black scale has one or two generations per year. As the scale feeds, they excrete a sweet, sticky, 'honeydew'. This excreted sticky liquid can cover the leaves of the entire tree. A fungus known as sooty mould grows on the honeydew and multiplies until the entire tree may be covered.
The black deposit of honeydew and sooty mould prevents photosynthesis leading to leaf drop, die-back and eventually tree death. The presence of scale and honeydew also attracts ants which tend and protect the scale from parasitoid wasps and predatory insects such as lady beetles and lacewings.
Insect Growth Regulator is a new and innovative product now available to olive growers for the control of black scale. Admiral has a unique mode of action which targets the development and reproductive cycles of black scale. The active ingredient in Admiral is Pyriproxyfen which is a juvenile hormone mimic. Juvenile hormone is an essential hormone during the early life-cycle of the scale and ultimately regulates the process of maturity to adult scale. It is also plays an important role in fecundity and egg lay of the female scale. As Admiral interferes with normal hormone balance in scale rather than having a toxic effect on individual scale, the product is slow acting but gives lasting effects leading to population decline over the season.
Admiral ideally should be applied at the time of crawler release for best effect but can be applied to later scale instars. Unlike some other chitin synthesis inhibitor type IGRs, Admiral does not prevent moulting during the early instar phases. The key points of activity are prevention of pupation to adult scale, sterilisation of adult females and prevention of egg hatch.
MORE Information:
Download:
Admiral EconomicsDownload:
Managing Scale and WhiteflyAPVMA approved for use in olives.
How Much Admiral?
(based on average 250 trees per
hectare)
When to Apply:
At the time of crawler release - usually
December - January, but sometimes also in Autumn.
Do not apply more than
twice per season!
Do not apply if rain
is forecast within 48 hours!
do not apply if
surface water is evident!
Dilution rate: 1:2000
= 500ml Admiral / 1000L water
= 50ml Admiral / 100L water
Application Rate:
1000L Solution / Hectare~250trees
= 500ml Admiral / Hectare~250trees
=~2ml Admiral per tree (~4L solution per tree)
Cost Analysis
1L bottle: $245.982 (inc GST, Ex delivery)
5L Bottle: $1105.61 (inc GST, Ex delivery)
For Growers with: For Growers with:
1 - 9 Hectares 10
Hectares +
(250 - 2000 trees) (2500 trees+)
1L bottles 5L
bottles
= 50 cents /tree =
45 cents /tree
