A program that helps control codling moths in apple and pear growing areas of the Okanagan and Similkameen is up for an international award. The Okanagan-Kootenay Sterile Insect Release (OKSIR) Program has been nominated for an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Achievement Award. General Manager of OKSIR Cara Nelson says the program has operated from Salmon Arm to Osoyoos and into the Similkameen for over 20 years.
“Our whole valley can be proud of the OKSIR program – not just for the amount of pesticides kept out of the environment because the program is in place, but also for the support it provides for our fruit growers who are important to our local economy and our Okanagan way of life,” says Nelson.
Nelson says the OKSIR has reduced the amount of pesticides used against codling moth by 96 percent since the beginning of the program. That means many orchardists in the valley have not had to spray their trees for codling moth for the last 15 years according to Nelson.
“If a chemical spray is required, most growers need only use a single well-timed application, instead of the three or more they needed prior to the program’s implementation,” she says.
The awards will be handed out during the eighth International IPM Symoposium in Salt Lake City, Utah from March 23 to 26. The achievement award winner will be announced later this month. Click here for more information about the OKSIR program.
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