Typically, SWD trap catch continues to increase - hundreds/week - peaking in late fall. In Oregon and Washington, SWD counts in traps have about doubled each week over the last four weeks; the pressure is the highest experienced since SWD's introduction to that region in 2009. In North Carolina, where SWD arrived in 2010, high numbers are being caught in traps with fruit infestation nearing 100%. In Rhode Island, where SWD arrived in 2011, late season trap counts in the thousands are derived from an aliquot taken of the total trap contents. First found in 2012 in Colorado, this year it's across the state in very damaging numbers. Is this because as fruit quality declines traps become more attractive to SWD? Is it because adult SWD can live for 20-30 days and during that time can lay >350 eggs so that, by end of summer and into fall, there has been an exponential explosion in population numbers? Answers to these questions and more will be discussed in November by entomologists at a National SWD meeting of the The USDA Multistate Project: SWD Biology, Ecology, and Management, covering these four focus areas:
- Biology and ecology of SWD and how it may vary by location, plant host, and season.
- Reliable, easy-to-use traps, lures, and methods for monitoring SWD adults and larvae.
- Laboratory and field research on developmental parameters and temperature tolerance limits to develop and validate a degree-day model.
- Effective cultural, biological, and chemical control tactics for sustainable IPM plans for at-risk crops in the US.