What's eating my pistachio 'kerman'?

Pistachio 'Kerman' is the primary commercial female variety in the US and shares the full pistachio pest complex. Navel orangeworm is the leading yield threat, entering at shell split. Leaffooted bugs cause blank nuts. Obliquebanded leafroller and various aphids are secondary foliage pests. Early harvest timing is the most effective single defense.

Larvae consume kernels in split shells; 'Kerman' nuts splitting mid-season coincides with peak NOW moth flight, making it highly vulnerable Harvest as soon as 5% of nuts show split shells; winter mummy sanitation; pheromone traps to guide spray timing; spinosad at split-shell if trap counts warrant

Feeds on immature and ripening kernels causing blanks, gummy resin deposits, and dark kernel lesions Monitor borders from May; hand-knock bugs into soapy-water buckets; kaolin clay on clusters; perimeter pyrethrin sprays; remove mustard and other overwintering hosts

Larvae tie and roll leaf margins, feeding within the shelter; high infestations reduce photosynthesis and may scar developing clusters Btk spray targeting newly hatched larvae in spring; pheromone monitoring; natural parasitic wasps often provide sufficient control in balanced orchards