Influence of Different Netting Structures on Codling Moth and Apple Fruit Damages in Northwest Croatia

During the vegetation season of 2015 exclusion nets were set up in IPM apple orchard in Krapina (Croatia) to test their effectiveness in preventing the attack of codling moth to apple fruits. Nets were the same in mesh size (2.4 x 4.8 mm) but different in color (white, red, yellow) in order to examine their effect on vegetative growth and quality of apples. To assess the presence of pest, weekly sampling of codling moth on pheromone traps in protected and unprotected (control) net rows was conducted. Single row netting structures resulted in a highly significant reduction of codling moth catches on pheromone traps in comparison to the unprotected control in the experimental orchard. The percentage of codling moth infested fruits during the harvest time was considerably lower, in the protected net rows in comparison with unprotected rows. The lowest percentage of damaged fruits was recorded under the red net (0.96%), followed by white net (1.04%) and yellow net (2.86%). Percentage of damaged fruits in unprotected row amounted to 11.39%. Considering the fact that the mean net efficiency amounted to almost 90%, these results confirm the effectiveness of netting structures in the protection of apple fruits from CM damages