Testing effectiveness of alternative pest management against Brown marmoreted sting bug (Halymorpha halys) in comercial hazelnut orchard.

Brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) is a polyphagous insect, feeding on over than 170 plant species. This pest insect was first recorded in Georgia in 2015 and in 2016 it significally damaged comercial hazelnut orchards. The aim of the following investigation is to compare alternative pest managment strategies, including attract and kill approach and boarder sprey and evaluate hazelnut quality. The investigation has been conducted from 23 June to 29 September in Ergeta village, Samegrelo region, Georgia. Three types of blocks were created: 1) A&K block with attract and kill stations applied by high dosage of aggregation pheromones and weakly treated by pesticicdes; 2) boarder spray block sprayed only along the perimeter and 3) control block without any chemical application. Pheromone baited sticky traps installed in the interior of the orchard were used to compare BMSB captures in blocks with different management strategies. In the result of provided investigation we can admit that: 1) both, A&K and boarder spray approaches control effectively pest population; 2) hazelnut damage is significantly higher on the perimeter of the block compared to the interior; this proves pressure of BMSB population from the outside of the orchard.