Control of the Olive Moth in Cyprus

Damage caused by larvae of Prays oleae has great economic impact for the olive growers in many of the chief olive-growing areas of Cyprus. P. oleae has three generations per year affecting successively the flowers, the fruit and the leaves. The fruit generation is the most destructive, the larvae living inside the stone of the fruits and the attacked fruit falling prematurely from the tree either in late June of in late August. The trials reported in this paper were aiming to find the best time to spray for more effective control of the fruit generation. Olive trees were sprayed four times at weekly intervals using the insecticide formothion. The treatments which started on 25 May were completed by 16 June 1976. The best period was found to be that particular stage of fruit growth at which the fertilized fruit started to grow normally and they can easily be distinguished from the non-fertilized. Having found the best time to control the fruit generation in 1976, three insecticides were tested in 1978. These were cypermethrin, formothion and triazophos.