Description

The trial took place in an established mushroom house with a heavy infestation of both Phorid and Sciarid flies. The grower made four applications of the conventional insecticide products permethrin and malathion according to his standard fly control spray thresholds. This standard treatment was compared to three applications of MyCoNet^® to an adjacent house made during this same period.

A 21 day operational trial in established mushroom houses for control of Phorids and Sciarids:

• Non-food use
• Applied to plastic covering compost beds
• Before “break and harvest”
• Applications by hydraulic sprayer and mist applicator
• MyCoNet^® compared to conventional sprays of Malathion, Permethrin and Pyrethrum
• Populations assessments by yellow tanglefoot cards changed out periodically

Trials photo gallery

Total number of flies of either species recorded during the trial

Average Fly Counts

The average number of flies of both species remained lower for the MyCoNet^® program compared to the standard insecticide treatment.

Total Fly Counts

The MyCoNet^® fly suppression program reduced the total number of flies to almost half of the standard insecticide treatment.

 

Total number of flies counted by species

Only three applications of MyCoNet^® were equivalent to four applications of conventional insecticides for suppression of Sciarids and more effective overall for control of Phorids.

Sciarid Fly Counts

Phorid Fly Counts

Conclusions

• In this trial, MyCoNet^® was more effective than commercial standards in suppressing fly populations when applied to plastic bed covers before break and harvest.
• More fine-tuning is needed to establish a safe GAP for food-use application to fruiting bodies and harvestable caps.
• Growers appreciate:
  – Ability to apply almost daily without promoting resistance in target pests.
  – Short re-entry interval.