Scientific Study

Amyelois transitella is the primary pest of pistachios in California. The first A. transitella outbreak of the twenty-first century occurred in 2007 and a total of five outbreaks occurred between 2007 and 2017 (total insect damage >1%). This study used processor information to identify the nut factors associated with the outbreaks. Processor grade sheets were used to explore the relationship between the variables time of harvest, percent nut split, percent nut dark staining, percent nut shell damage, and percent adhering hull for Low Damage (82,537 loads) and High Damage years, (92,307 loads). Total insect damage (±SD) for the Low Damage years averaged 0.005 ± 0.01 and in High Damage years was three times higher, 0.015 ± 0.02. In Low Damage years the strongest correlation was between total insect damage and two variables, percent adhering hull and dark stain (0.25, 0.23) while in High Damage years the correlation between total insect damage and percent dark stain was the highest (0.32) followed by percent adhering hull (0.19). The linkage of these nut factors to insect damage suggests that outbreak prevention depends on early identification of premature hull split/breakdown in addition to the traditional emphasis on treating the standing population of A. transitella. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toad051