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Abstract: Mushroom growers in the U.S.A. have been accustomed to using a variety of chemicals at different stages of crop production to protect their crop from losses due to the sciarid fly, Lycoriella mali (Fitch). Until recently a typical grower might apply a spray of diazinon, methoxychlor, or propoxur to the exterior of the buildings where it remained and provided relatively long-term protection; apply a spray of diazinon to the interior walls and floors of the growing rooms; apply aerosols of dichlorvos before casing and malathion after casing several times a day; and drench the beds with malathion. Additional interior and exterior treatments would then be used depending on the grower and the fly population. Despite these treatments many growers continued to suffer severe fly-caused yield loses. For example, in 1978, when fly populations were high in Pennsylvania mushroom houses, it was estimated that yields were reduced there by 17%, a loss to the growers of $21 million (Cantelo, 1979). This estimate may be conservative. In a typical year, U.S. growers probably experience a loss of 5-10% of the crop, though west coast growers have less loss proportionately. Several non-chemical techniques for controlling L. mali, including blacklight traps and parasitic nematodes, have been investigated (Cantelo et al., 1977), but none were found to be sufficiently efficacious to warrant further study. My coworkers and I have therefore attempted to develop improved chemical control methods. Our efforts are reviewed here.
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