Location: Horticultural Crops Disease and Pest Management Research Unit
Project Number: 2072-22000-044-014-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2020
End Date: Aug 31, 2025
Objective:
Study biology and sustainable management practices of Spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), brown marmorated stink bug, azalea lace bug, and grape pests.
Approach:
Spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii, a native insect of Asia, is now a serious world-wide invasive pest that attacks small fruits and cherries. While insecticides can be effective against SWD, some products can harm beneficial insects, cause secondary pest outbreaks, complicate exports due to fruit maximum residue limits, or negatively impact the environment and human health. Pesticides and other common management approaches for SWD have focused on within-crop management. Because SWD can develop on many wild and ornamental species, the surrounding landscape contributes to pest pressure, and therefore, area wide controls require closer examination.
This project will focus on sustainable tools based on 1) evidence of efficacy, 2) likelihood of grower adoption, 3) availability of a commercial product, 4) practicality, and 5) economics. Area wide tools include parasitoid releases into the non-crop area, SWD modeling and monitoring to better time insecticide applications, use of non-toxic sprays or products that manipulate SWD behavior.
The first step toward achieving the project goal will be to focus on studying the basic biology of small fruit and ornamental pests, such as host susceptibility, virus transmission, and habitat location. Collaborative monitoring projects and surveys on pest abundance and damage will be included.
