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SWD was caught two weeks in a row in a summer raspberry planting in Cayuga County. Sustained catch indicates that SWD will be found consistently on this farm and populations will continue to build, necessitating insecticide treatment to protect the crop from infestation. Two of the four traps set in and around summer raspberries caught a total of four SWD during the week ending July 2, 2018. Two males and one female were caught in the trap within the crop and one male in the trap on the edge of the crop.

Female SWD on a raspberry.

These U-pick raspberries have been heavily picked, which will help keep SWD populations down. Last week's heat may have suppressed SWD.

To protect the crop through the end of harvest, insecticides will be needed on about a weekly basis, rotating with insecticides of different modes of action to reduce the risk of insecticide resistance developing in SWD.

Clean harvests, removing overripe fruit, weed management, and mowing all help reduce favorable habitat for SWD. See details on the SWD Management page on Cornell Fruit Resources.

Traps at this location are being monitored by Nicole Mattoon and Ryan Parker, working with Juliet Carroll, NYS IPM Program.

Four SWD were caught in four traps set in summer raspberries during the week ending July 5, 2018. One trap set in the crop caught 1 male and 1 female; the other trap had zero SWD. Each of the two traps set on the edge of the planting had 1 male. These traps are being monitored by Natasha Field, technician with Laura McDermott, Eastern NY Commercial Fruit Program.

This planting has had ripe fruit for a week now and will be at high risk of infestation by SWD. Insecticide protection will be necessary. Review management tactics and insecticides. As fruits ripen and harvest gets underway, insecticide protection will become necessary.

Signs of SWD infestation on raspberry. The fruit receptacle is stained red with leaking juice, druplets are damaged and dimpled, and fruit melts off the receptacle.

Only 10 of 23 counties in the trap network haven't caught SWD to date. Data from three (Dutchess, Herkimer, Orange) of these 10 counties hasn't been reported to the SWD distribution map, yet.

Late-season blueberries, fall raspberries, blackberries, elderberries, and late harvested cherries, both sweet and tart, will be at high risk of infestation as SWD populations increase as the summer progresses.

Seven SWD were caught in Wyoming County in and around strawberry and blueberry plantings during the week ending July 5, 2018. Traps set in the strawberry field caught 1 female in the crop and 4 females on the edge of the crop. In blueberries, 2 females were caught in the crop, but, unfortunately, the trap on the edge of the blueberries had been knocked down...none there.

SWD male
Live SWD male, note spot on each wing.

Harvest is winding down for June-bearing strawberries while it'll be winding up for blueberries. It is important to renovate promptly the June-bearing strawberry fields. Insecticide protection will be needed, along with other management tactics, for the blueberries.

Traps at this location are being monitored by Don Gasiewicz, Wyoming County Cornell Cooperative Extension.

Seven SWD were caught at two sites in Essex County and four SWD were caught at one site in Clinton County during the week ending July 2, 2018. At each Essex County site, there are two SWD traps set, whereas, the Clinton County location has four traps.

In one Essex County site, 5 SWD were found: 2 males and 2 females caught in a trap set in raspberry field and 1 female in a trap set on the edge of the field. The other Essex County location had 2: 1 male and 1 female in a trap set on the edge of a blueberry field, the other trap at this location, in the blueberry field, caught zero SWD.

At the Clinton County site, the 4 SWD caught were in two traps set in raspberry: 1 female on the edge; 2 males and 2 females in the crop. The other two traps set in and around blueberry caught none.

Keep up on SWD trap catch reports on EDD Maps SWD VMN, www.eddmaps.org/swd/

Review management tactics and insecticides. As fruits ripen and harvest gets underway, insecticide protection will become necessary.

These traps are being monitored by Andy Galimberti, working with Amy Ivy, Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program.

Sustained catch of SWD occurred in Rensselaer County. 21 SWD were caught in two traps set outside an exclusion netted blueberry planting during the week ending July 2, 2018. The traps are near a June Strawberry field that will be mowed and plowed under; see our blog on the importance of quickly renovating June-bearing strawberries to eliminate this resource for SWD.

Zero SWD were caught inside the exclusion netting where the blueberries are growing. 14 males and 7 females were identified in the two traps outside the netting by Laura McDermott, Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program.

Because the netting will protect the blueberries from SWD, provided they are kept out, there will be no need for insecticide treatments on the blueberries at this location.

A single female SWD was caught in one of two traps set in and on the edge of a red raspberry planting in Niagara County during the week ending July 2, 2018.

The fruit at this site are just starting to ripen. Therefore, there is still time to prepare and plan a strategy for managing SWD at this location. Be mindful of your fruits' stages of ripeness—the softer the fruit becomes, the more susceptible it is to oviposition by SWD females.

These traps are being monitored by Tess Grasswitz, Lake Ontario Fruit Program.

Distribution of SWD as of July 2, 2018, 6:00 PM, as noted by the SWD monitoring network of CCE.

The distribution map for SWD is starting to color in! The Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System map is filled in by the New York State SWD Volunteer Monitoring Network (EDD Maps SWD VMN) of Cornell Cooperative Extension. This map is also featured on the Cornell Fruit Resources SWD distribution maps page.

35 SWD were caught in the four traps set in and around a planting of summer raspberries in Albany Country during the week ending July 2, 2018. Although zero SWD were caught at this location during the previous week, 20 males and 15 females were caught this week.

Meet and greet - male (right) and female (left) SWD - on a raspberry fruit.

This is a significant number of SWD and signals that insecticide protection of the numerous ripe berries at this location should begin. Don't hesitate to undertake all manner of management tactics against this destructive insect:

Natasha Field, Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program, is monitoring the traps at this location.

During the week ending on June 27, 2018, 6 female and 2 male SWD were captured in two separate Scentry-lure baited traps at blueberry and raspberry locations in eastern Long Island. This is about 2 weeks later than last year’s first interception in Suffolk County. Blueberries are still too unripe to be damaged by SWD. Some raspberries are near ripening.

A sample of about 20 raspberry fruit were checked in the laboratory for SWD breathing tubes, which are indicative of egg laying sites, and none were found. (Photo from a prior year, fruit at this location isn't as ripe as shown in photo.)

After checking about 20 raspberries, no sign of SWD egg laying or damage was found in fruit. These particular blueberry and raspberry sites have surrounding woods and both traps that captured the SWD were placed on the border rows near the woods.

No SWD have been captured in traps placed in other locations (in the raspberry and blueberry fields, in a blackberry planting, and in a grape vineyard).

At this time the SWD population appears to be very low and sporadic. Insecticide applications may be necessary when fly populations are high which usually occurs from late July onward.

This post was written by Dr. Faruque Zaman, entomologist, Suffolk County Cornell Cooperative Extension, who is monitoring SWD traps in Suffolk County, Long Island.

 

For a second week in a row, SWD were caught at a berry farm in Ulster County. Two females were caught, one each, in two traps set inside the planting during the week ending on June 28, 2018. A 20-berry fruit sample was collected and no SWD eggs were found in the fruit. An insecticide was applied to the crop after first catch was obtained last week.

An egg is nestled under the skin of this raspberry, as shown by the white breathing tube (yellow arrow) on the fruit's surface. The image is highly magnified to see the tiny structure.

At a second farm in Ulster County, first catch was seen with a single female SWD caught in one trap set in a raspberry planting; the trap on the edge of the planting caught zero SWD. Two traps set in blueberries at this location caught zero SWD.

No insecticides have been applied to this planting, yet. A 20-berry sample of raspberries was collected and 3 of the ripest fruit had eggs. Most fruit aren't quite ripe.

Traps at these locations are being monitored by James O'Connell, Ulster County Cornell Cooperative Extension.

Two female SWD were caught in one of two traps set in an Amelanchier hedgerow immediately adjacent to a June bearing strawberry field during the week ending June 25, 2018. The two other traps at this location are inside exclusion netting over a blueberry planting and caught zero SWD. These traps are being monitored by Laura McDermott, Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program, Cornell Cooperative Extension.

Two female SWD captured in traps on Long Island on July 9, 2014. The large, armed ovipositor is visible on both, below the black tip of the abdomen.

Strawberry harvest is winding down and there is concern about strawberry renovation practices and potential spillover of SWD into nearby fruit from cull strawberries. Blueberries, raspberries and cherries are ripening and harvests are beginning across New York. Population levels are still low and, so far, no sites are at sustained catch. In addition, few counties across New York have caught SWD — keep an eye on the NY distribution map, because things may change rapidly in the coming week.

It is time to plan your insecticide program for managing SWD. Take this time to determine what insecticides will best fit your overall management program and markets.

What has held back the trap catch this season?
SWD first catch occurred very early this year, but sustained and subsequent increases in trap catch didn't materialize. Environment may have played a roll — weather had intermittent heat waves in May, June was dry, and nights were cool. Last year's serious SWD infestations in blueberries and tart cherries may have made growers more vigilant and willing to invest in insecticide sprays early, keeping populations down.

Why does the SWD population explode?
You can do the math. Let's think optimum conditions for SWD development. A single female can lay around 350 eggs during her lifetime, about 15 per day. The egg to adult phase of the life cycle takes as little as 6 days. So, one female in one day can result in 15 more adults 6 days later, and, during those 6 days, she will have laid another 90 eggs. 6 days after that, those 90 eggs will all be adults. Half of the 105 adults will be females, capable of laying ~350 eggs during their lifetimes...that's 18,375 eggs. A typical life span for SWD is 3 to 9 weeks and there are estimated to be about 10 generations per year in the US, depending on climate.

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