Hemm capua (Adoxophyes orana) huwa insett li jappartjeni għall-ordni Lepidopterafamilja Tortricidae. On some texts she is identified as Capua reticulana. This small tortricide has a spreading area which mostly includes central and northern Europe. In English-speaking countries it is called summer fruit tortrixjiġifieri summer fruit maker. It is also present in Italy, especially in the northern regions, in particular in the orchards of Trentino Alto-Adige.
In this article we see how to recognize Adoxophyes oranathe damage it causes to fruit trees and the biological defense strategy.
Description of the capua
The capua is a small butterfly with a wingspan of 18-22 mm. It has brownish front wings, tending to yellow or red, and crossed by narrow bands that form a very jagged pattern.
The eggs are greenish-yellow in color and are laid in dense imbricated ovoplates.
Larvae and pupae
Il-larva ta ' Adoxophyes orana they are green in color, with a yellowish head and pronotum. Their body is covered with hair warts and when fully ripe they measure 16-20 mm in length.
The chrysalises of capua, on the other hand, are brown and provided with lighter wing cases.
Plants attacked by Adoxophyes orana
The capua is a parasite of the orchard that usually develops on pomaceous (Siġra tat-tuffieħ, Madankollu, isfarġel). However, it does not disdain other fruit species such as għanbaqar, berquq, Siġra taċ-ċirasa, passolina. In its diet there is no shortage of forest broad-leaved trees, in particular the Birch.
Ħsara lill-veġetazzjoni
Those responsible for the damages of Adoxophyes orana are the larvae. On the vegetation they damage the small leaves of the shoots and the floral buttons. A first damage occurs at the vegetative restart, when the wintering larvae erode the buds and the floral bunches and then wrap them with silky threads.
The summer capua larvae, on the other hand, erode the leaf flap, always after having created a thick silky net.
Damage to fruit
As for the fruits, they are eroded by the larvae both as soon as they are attached (spring generation) and during ripening (summer generation). Extensive rosure is carried out on the fruit which often leads to early drop.
Life cycle of Adoxophyes orana
Hemm Adoxophyes orana it generally completes two generations a year, only in the higher apple orchards is the generation unique.
The capua winters in the young larva stage, thanks to a silky shelter built in the ravines of the bark of the branches in the upper part of the vegetation.
In spring, when the buds open, the larvae come out of their cocoons and begin to feed on the plant to the detriment of the newly formed vegetation. In April or May they crystallize to give birth to new adults, with the flickering occurring between May and June. As soon as they emerge, the adults mate and the female immediately begins spawning. A peculiarity is that each female can be fertilized several times and in total lays up to 400 eggs. The eggs are laid in ovoplates of about 30-80 elements, left on the leaves (both below and above). Embryonic development ends in 8-20, depending on the environmental conditions.
Second generation of capua
The second flight of adults occurs between the end of July and the beginning of August, sometimes the flickers arrive between September and October. The larvae of the second generation first feed on the plant and then create a refuge to spend the winter.
How to get rid of the capua
To effectively contain capua infestations in the orchard, it is necessary to intervene at the right time, or by hitting the wintering or newly born larvae (first or second generation).
Against the wintering larvae, to establish the intervention threshold, a sampling is carried out and intervention is carried out with 4-6% of flower bunches or buds affected.
In spring, however, from the middle of May, the traps are started to be inserted pheromones in the orchard, in order to establish the entity and the moment of the flight of the adults and hence the probable period of hatching of the eggs. Two traps per hectare are enough to obtain a good sampling.
Trattamenti bijoloġiċi
Among the products allowed in organic farming against capua larvae we have first of all the bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstakili ssib fiha ħwienet speċjalizzati.
Very interesting and effective is the use of the GranuloVirus (AoGV), a biological microorganism with an insecticidal action specific for the control of Capua ( Adoxophyes orana). The GranuloVirus is ingested by the larva and reaches the middle intestine of the victim, where the alkaline pH dissolves the protein matrix that protects the viral particle. This thus has the opportunity to pass through the peritrophic membrane and invade the intestinal epithelium, where the virus actively reproduces in the cell nucleus. It is most effective on young larvae which die in 3-5 days. The application must be performed evenly on the vegetation in the evening. The product based on GranuloVirus is harmless to humans, animals, bees and other beneficial insects. It is sold only in specialized shops.
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