The 2020 SWD monitoring season is getting underway. We can only hope that the lousy spring weather, frost and freeze events, and delayed plant development have taken their toll on SWD, as well. (Are anyone's fingers crossed like mine?) So far, zero SWD has been caught in traps already set out.
We're using a new system, agpestmonitor, to report trap catch and the NY distribution map won't be on EDDMapS anymore; so change your links. We've got the map on the Cornell Fruit Resources SWD Distribution page, fruit.cornell.edu/spottedwing/distribution/ and on the NYS IPM SWD page, nysipm.cornell.edu/agricultural-ipm/fruits/pest-alerts-fruits/spotted-wing-drosophila/.
Please join me in a round of appreciation for our team of Cornell scientists:
- Andy Galimberti, Eastern NY Commercial Hort Program
- Ariel Kirk, Steuben County CCE
- Barb Neal, Tioga County CCE
- Dave Thorp, Livingston County CCE
- Don Gasiewicz, Wyoming County CCE
- Elisabeth Hodgdon, Eastern NY Commercial Hort Program
- Faruque Zaman, Suffolk County CCE
- Grace Marshall, NYS IPM Program
- Janet van Zoeren, Lake Ontario Fruit Program
- Jim O'Connell, Ulster County CCE
- Juliet Carroll, NYS IPM Program
- Laura McDermott, Eastern NY Commercial Hort Program
- Liz Tee, Lake Ontario Fruit Program
- Lydia Brown, Hudson Valley Research Laboratory
- Natasha Field, Eastern NY Commercial Hort Program
- Peter Jentsch, Hudson Valley Research Laboratory
- Sarah Tobin, Eastern NY Commercial Hort Program
- Sharon Bachman, Erie County CCE
Among us all, we'll have 121 traps set in 23 New York State counties: Albany, Cayuga, Clinton, Columbia, Dutchess, Erie, Essex, Herkimer, Livingston, Niagara, Onondaga, Orange, Orleans, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schuyler, Steuben, Suffolk, Tioga, Ulster, Washington, Wayne, and Wyoming. Traps are set mostly in blueberry and raspberry, one vineyard site in Suffolk County, and a few sweet cherry orchards in Eastern NY.
Janet van Zoeren and Liz Tee have joined forces with Grace Marshall and me on our tart cherry SWD research along Lake Ontario. These trap catch numbers don't go into the distribution map. But so far, zero SWD caught in tart cherry in the Lake Ontario region, too. Last year we were already catching SWD in tart cherry orchards by this date, so it's looking to be a slow start to SWD arrival.
We're using the Scentry traps and lures again this year. If you want to make your own traps, consult our write up on the fermenting whole wheat dough trap or plan on testing fruit with salt flotation as harvest times arrive. And speaking of harvests— I hope you all come through the spring frost and freeze events with a good crop and have a successful harvest this year!
Stay healthy, wash your hands, and meet online!