{"id":763,"date":"2025-10-08T06:14:29","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T04:14:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/els-mapes-de-plagues-i-la-mida-de-la-capcada-de-larbre-possibles-factors-clau-per-frenar-la-plaga-de-la-carpocapsa-a-les-pomeres\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T12:38:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T11:38:34","slug":"maps-of-pest-distribution-and-tree-canopy-size-possible-key-factors-to-curb-codling-moth-infestations-in-apple-orchards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/maps-of-pest-distribution-and-tree-canopy-size-possible-key-factors-to-curb-codling-moth-infestations-in-apple-orchards\/","title":{"rendered":"Maps of pest distribution and tree canopy size: possible key factors to curb codling moth infestations in apple orchards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul>\n <li><strong><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW164699957 BCX0\">The application of Precision Agriculture can allow reducing the use of plant protection products in apple crops<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW164699957 BCX0\">\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n \n\nThe codling moth larvae (Cydia pomonella), considered one of the most important pests of apple trees in the Lleida area, is not distributed homogeneously within the plots, but rather concentrates in more or less well-defined zones, where fruit damage can double the overall average of the entire orchard. This heterogeneity makes the efficient application of plant protection products more difficult. Two recent studies by the AgroTIC and Precision Agriculture Research Group (GRAP) of Agrotecnio and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grap.udl.cat\/ca\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">University of Lleida<\/a> have advanced new sustainable management strategies to reduce both the impact of this pest and the use of pesticides.\u00a0\u00a0\n\nIn <a href=\"https:\/\/brill.com\/edcollchap-oa\/book\/9789004725232\/BP000029.xml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the first study<\/a>, the researchers monitored an apple orchard in Puigverd de Lleida (Segri\u00e0) with 18 georeferenced delta traps and carried out weekly captures throughout the 2024 season, from April to September. Using geostatistical techniques, they generated pest distribution maps and demonstrated that Cydia pomonella is not distributed uniformly: the areas with more insect captures coincided with the points showing greater fruit damage.\u00a0\u00a0\n\nIt was observed that the location of the reference trap used by fruit growers for monitoring is key: if it is placed in a low-infestation area, it may give a false impression of low pest pressure, generating a \u201cfalse negative\u201d that underestimates the real risk. On the other hand, if the trap is placed in an area with a high concentration of adults, the number and timing of treatments can be better adjusted\u00a0\n\nThe study concludes that pest maps improve the farmer\u2019s decision-making, as they allow for more precise treatments. According to the authors, Ouijdan Hajjaj, Jaume Arn\u00f3, Dolors Bosch-Serra and Jos\u00e9 Antonio Mart\u00ednez-Casasnovas, these maps \u201care a key tool to anticipate damage, decide the optimal moment to apply treatments, and avoid unnecessary applications.\u201d\u00a0\n\n<b>When size matters: the relationship between tree structure and the pest\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0\n\nThe <a href=\"https:\/\/brill.com\/edcollchap-oa\/book\/9789004725232\/BP000033.xml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">second study<\/a> analyzed the relationship between the pest and the tree canopy. Using terrestrial LiDAR technology, the structure of the apple tree foliage was studied, and it was observed that the pest tends to concentrate in smaller apple trees with more foliage.\u00a0\n\nThrough statistical models, the researchers verified that, by observing the size and density of the canopy, it is possible to predict whether that area of the plot will exceed the threshold that requires a plant protection treatment. This information makes it possible to create prescription maps for selective pesticide applications: adjusting doses according to canopy size and vigor, combining canopy information with the actual pest distribution, or applying product only in areas most likely to exceed the treatment threshold.\u00a0\u00a0\n\nThe authors of this study are Ouijdan Hajjaj, Jos\u00e9 Antonio Mart\u00ednez-Casasnovas, Jos\u00e9 Manuel Plata, Jordi Llorens, \u00c0lex Escol\u00e0, Xavier Torrent and Jaume Arn\u00f3.\u00a0\n\nBoth studies demonstrate that combining pest maps with information about tree canopy allows optimization of plant protection treatments: they are applied only where and when needed, doses are reduced, and both the crop and the environment are protected.\n\nBoth research works have been developed within the framework of the <strong>PAgPROTECT<\/strong> project, reference <strong>PID2021-126648OB-I00<\/strong>, \u201cPrecision crop protection to achieve European Green Deal objectives in efficient use and reduction of plant protection products through Precision Agriculture,\u201d funded under the <strong>2022 Knowledge Generation Projects<\/strong> call of the <strong>Ministry of Science and Innovation<\/strong>.\n\u00a0\n\n<b>More information:\u00a0<\/b>\n<p class=\"typography-body title mb-3 text-headline font-content \"><a href=\"https:\/\/brill.com\/edcollchap-oa\/book\/9789004725232\/BP000029.xml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spatio-temporal pattern analysis of the codling moth\u00a0<i>Cydia pomonella<\/i>\u00a0at plot scale: does location of monitoring traps matter?<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"typography-body title mb-3 text-headline font-content \"><a href=\"https:\/\/brill.com\/edcollchap-oa\/book\/9789004725232\/BP000033.xml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pest-canopy interaction at plot level as a new driver for variable-rate pesticide applications<\/a><\/p>\n \n\n \n\n\u00a0\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The application of Precision Agriculture can allow reducing the use of plant protection products in apple crops\u00a0\u00a0 The codling moth larvae (Cydia pomonella), considered one of the most important pests of apple trees in the Lleida area, is not distributed homogeneously within the plots, but rather concentrates in more or less well-defined zones, where fruit [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":764,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-noticies"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=763"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5217,"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763\/revisions\/5217"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}