Spotted wing drosophila, an invasive fruit fly originating in Asia, can destroy intact berries, cherries, and possibly peaches and some grape varieties. It first appeared in the northeastern U.S. in 2011 and by 2012 was widely distributed over the entire region. Populations in New York exploded in early August, forcing many berry growers to close their fields and abandon the crop. The insect is similar in appearance to common vinegar flies, except spotted wing drosophila (SWD) females lay eggs in unripe fruit and larvae may be found in fruit that is just ripening. Significant problems occurred where populations went undetected and untreated. The pest is poorly understood, a fact that a new consortium, led by Cornell faculty and Extension educators, is hoping to change.
This consortium, the Northeast Spotted Wing Drosophila IPM Working Group, sponsored by the Northeastern Integrated Pest Management Center, met in Geneva, N.Y., on November 1, 2012. The 50-member working group comprises research scientists, extension educators, industry consultants, and growers from ten states in the northeastern U.S. and from three Canadian provinces. “We were very gratified by the level of interest in attending our first meeting, but not surprised, given the economic threat posed by this new fruit pest” commented Dr. Greg Loeb, entomology professor at Cornell University and co‐organizer of the meeting.
The Highbush Blueberry council and surveyed fruit growers say the loss of product and jobs may exceed one billion dollars this year and could grow if effective means for managing the pest are not developed and adopted by growers. Dennis Doyle, representing the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council, was emphatic in his plea to researchers to “find a solution to this problem.” Mr. Doyle stated that in his more than 30 years in the blueberry business this is the worst problem he has seen for growers. Dale Ila Riggs, President of the New York State Berry Growers’ Association, stated that this problem desperately requires financial support for research.
During the meeting, attendees reported on details of their insect monitoring protocol, levels of SWD infestation, crops affected, merit of control strategies, and on-going research. Rich Cowles (Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station), Cesar Rodriquez‐Saona (Rutgers University), and Greg Loeb (Cornell University) presented summaries of their ongoing SWD research in the Northeast. Hannah Burrack, North Carolina State University, and Peter Shearer, Oregon State University, shared research findings from states that have been dealing with SWD for several years.
Through these updates, the Working Group gained a better understanding of SWD biology, potential methods of control, and gaps in knowledge and education. This set the stage for the Working Group to develop and rank research, education, regulatory, and extension priorities for dealing with this invasive fruit fly—published at www.northeastipm.org/working-groups/spotted‐wing‐drosophila/priorities. The Northeast IPM Spotted Wing Drosophila Working Group has taken a first step toward finding sustainable and effective IPM strategies against spotted wing drosophila—a step that is critical for the future of the berry industry.