Control of pear psylla, Cacopsylla pyricola by trunk injection of azadirachtin and complete fertilizer

Pear psylla is one of the most important pests of the pear trees in the world and Iran and the chemical control is the leading control method against it. Recently pesticide injection has become an effective and special control method against the sucking pests. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of complete fertilizer and its mixture with azadirachtin by injection against pear psylla. The experiment was conducted on pear trees var. Shah Miveh in Mehrshahr orchard near Karaj city with 4 treatments and 5 replications in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) in 2014. Treatments included injection of complete fertilizer (Nutreeno®), alone and mixed with azadiractin, foliage application with diazinon EC 60% at the concentration 1.5 ml/L and control (spraying water). The results showed that the densities of psylla eggs and nymphs in the injected treatments were less than spraying. The treatment efficacies of diazinon, Nutreeno alone and mixture with azadirachtin were 28, 91, and 85% in the last season, respectively and the amount of honeydew per leaf in the sprayed treatment was twice more than the injection. Physical aspects of pear fruits, including weight, diameter and length of the fruits in both injected treatments were 10-20% more than the conventional application. According to this study results, trunk injection can reduce the amount of used insecticides per tree and also the usage of organic fertilizers can increase induced resistance of plants against pear psylla.