Asian bug, expected reduced drop phenomena

"As foreseeable, a significant increase in green drop phenomena is expected in the next few days as a consequence of the trophic activity of juvenile forms of Halyomorpha halys (Asian bed bug) now in place for several days / weeks ". L'agronomist Michele Dell'Oro (in the picture), show on the social page CisAlpina olive growing of which he is the administrator of the first photos of bugs and droplets and explains: “The juvenile forms, in different ages, feed at the expense of the olive. After hours/days the olive falls green, partially or totally dry, variably with the climatic course. Relatively small infestations can cause very considerable damage even in years of good office like this".
The good news is that the phenomenon, which has been developing for some time now mainly in the olive groves of Northern Italy, this year seems more attenuated than in the past, even if Dell'Oro explains to olivonews.it: “In the two provinces of Lake Como that I am monitoring, the pressure seems decidedly lower compared to last year, but we must always be cautious and not overreact".
Starting from the post-setting phase and gradually up to the time of full hardening of the stone, the phenomenon of fruit drop deriving from the Asian bug increases and continues until it affects, in many cases, the entire amount of olives present on the trees. Once the full hardening of the core has occurred, the green drop slows down significantly. About the containment strategy, the only registered device is that of deltamethrin, an active principle which however is considered by some not very selective.
“We are also experimenting – continues Dell'Oro – strategies of massive capture with traps or launches of the natural antagonist, ie the samurai wasp, which could be an opportunity to solve the problem in the short term”. In northern Italy we started talking about the Asian bed bug and green olive drop five years ago when substantial losses had occurred in various areas. Between those who spoke of unfavorable environmental conditions and those of the resurgence of fungal pathologies, analyzing the expansion of the bug from the olive-growing regions of the North-East to those of the North-West, the spatio-temporal correspondence between its colonization and the parallel diffusion of the phenomenon of the consistent early drop of the olives.