Effect of mineral oil on control of Archips rosanus(Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) and citrus fruit production of Washington Navel orange

Archips rosanus</em> (Linnaeus), is one of the most important pests of citrus trees in Mazandaran province. This study was conducted in two separate experiments in citrus orchards located in Maqrikola, Babolsar city. The first experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of mineral oil application in flowering time on the damage of this pest in a completely randomized design with three treatments including 1.5% mineral oil, abamectin (EC 0.8%) with a concentration of 750 ml/100L and control (without spraying) in three replications on 31th</sup> March 2016. The second experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of mineral oil application in flowering time on fruit production of citrus trees that were similar to the first one. The results of the first experiment showed that the number of infested shoots per tree were statistically different  at 1% level (p <0.01). The mean of infestation in control, abamectin and mineral oil treatments were 21.33a, 9.22b and 8.89b infested shoots per tree, respectively. The results of the second experiment showed that the average amounts of fruit production were 128.34a, 125.54a and 122.81a kg per tree in control, mineral oil and abamectin treatments respectively. Ttere was no statistically significant difference between them. The results of this study showed that application of mineral oil or abamectin in flowering stage has not harm effect on fruit production and it is able to control A. rosanus</em>.