Hot water treatment of lightbrown apple moth eggs on apples and nectarines.

Lightbrown apple moth (LBAM, Epiphyas postvittana (Walker)) is a pest of quarantine concern on New Zealand apple and summerfruit exports. The potential for using hot water for postharvest control of this pest is now being evaluated. The tolerance of mid-aged eggs of LBAM to hot water treatments was compared when the eggs were allowed to infest onto apples or nectarines. Mortality responses of mid-aged eggs exposed to hot water at 45-57 oC were similar whether the eggs were infesting apples or nectarines. As temperature increased, the time required to achieve 99% mortality (LT99) decreased from 26.6 minutes at 45oC to 0.6 minutes at 57oC for apples, and from 29.3 to 0.5 minutes