Episode Details

Vine Mealybug (VMB) is a challenging pest in many vineyards. Growers are increasingly incorporating biological control into their Integrated Pest Management programs by releasing Mealybug Destroyers and Anagyrus Wasps. Brett Chandler, President and General Manager at Associates Insectary explains how these two beneficials help manage VMB populations.

The Mealybug Destroyer (Cryptolaemus montrouzieri) is a predator beetle. It feeds on eggs and small stages of VMB. The Anagyrus Wasp is a parasite. It lays eggs inside the Mealybug. The challenge with the wasp is that they are very susceptible to many chemicals and require more specialized conditions to be effective.

Brett describes how to monitor for both Mealybug and beneficials, when and how often to release the insects, the best release methods, and how to pair beneficials with chemical control.

• References:
• 26: Controlling Mealybug Vectors of Grapevine Viruses
• 119: Vine Mealybug 101: Species Identification, Lifecycle, and Scouting to Create an IPM Program
• An Important First Step in Biocontrol: Don't Kill the Good Insects
• Associates Insectary
• Beneficial organisms for vine mealybug control
• Donate to the Juan Nevarez Memorial Scholarship
• Anagyrus vladimiri (formerly pseudococci)
• Mealybug Destroyer (Cryptolaemus montrouzieri)
• Natural enemies of Pseudococcus mealybugs
• SIP Certified
• Sustainable and Organic Control of Vine Mealybug in Vineyards: Two Growers, Two Approaches
• Sustainable Ag Expo November 14-16, 2022
• Vine Mealybug Management- UCIPM

Subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources.

Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.

Craig Macmillan 0:00

And with us today is Brett Chandler, president and general manager of associates and secretary in Santa Paula, California. And thanks for being here.

Brett Chandler 0:07

Thank you for having us Craig.

Craig Macmillan 0:10

You have been in the world of biological control for a long time. And you have seen a lot of trends and a lot of different approaches and a lot of different paths. And the pest that I want to talk about today is vine mealybug on winegrapes, specifically, and I'm very interested in the bio control strategies that people are employing and how they're doing it and how successful they're turning out to be. And some of the advantages of taking a biocontrol approach.

Brett Chandler 0:35

Well, it's actually an integrated approach, where you int