More a strategy than specific tool, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) focuses on a stable of techniques, in addition to pesticides, to control pest populations. These include the introduction of natural predators, habitat modification and genetic tinkering.

Orchardists and farmers in the Hood River area are “way ahead of most other regions” when it comes to these sorts of interventions, Adams says.

The sterilized moth release from this summer is modeled after a long-standing project in British Columbia.

The Okanagan-Kootenay Sterile Insect Release Program has sterilized and released codling moths into the Okanogan Valley area since 1992. That’s led to a 94% reduction in the moth population, which in turn has reduced the quantity of pesticides deployed by 96%.