One male SWD was caught on August 4, 2015 in a trap set in fall raspberry in southern Essex County. The report comes in from Amy Ivy, Clinton County Cornell Cooperative Extension and Eastern NY Horticulture Program. The raspberries at this site are just starting to ripen. (GDD = 1602, day length = 14:24)
In response to Amy's finding, Laura McDermott replied, "The pressure we are experiencing (in the Capital District) right now makes me want growers to be as pro-active as possible. The fact that you found (SWD) in a crop that hasn’t even started harvest yet is significant – and I would advise people to get ready to start spraying. I’ve been getting calls from around the state from folks that are seeing (SWD) that haven’t really been bothered much since 2012."
2015 is going to be a challenging year for SWD management. It is time to take SWD management seriously.