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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Hilo, Hawaii » Daniel K. Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center » Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #416843
Research Project: Postharvest Protection of Tropical Commodities for Improved Market Access and Quarantine Security

Location: Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research

Title: Field testing of 2-pentylfuran as a behavioural control tool for spotted-wing drosophila in raspberries

Author
item SHRESTHA, BINITA - Cornell University
item HESLER, STEPHEN - Cornell University
item MEIER, LINNEA - Cornell University
item Cha, Dong
item LOEB, GREGORY - Cornell College - Iowa

Submitted to: Journal of Applied Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/9/2024
Publication Date: 11/19/2024
Citation: Shrestha, B., Hesler, S.P., Meier, L., Cha, D.H., Loeb, G.M. 2024. Field testing of 2-pentylfuran as a behavioural control tool for spotted-wing drosophila in raspberries. Journal of Applied Entomology. 149(2):248-255. https://doi.org/10.1111/jen.13366.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jen.13366

Interpretive Summary: Spotted wing drosophila (SWD) is a serious invasive pest of berries and cherries worldwide. Calendar based insecticide spraying has been the primary strategy for managing SWD damage on fruit. However, resistance development to insecticides has been reported. Researchers at USDA-ARS in Hilo, Hawaii and Cornell University is developing push-pull management system using 2-pentylfuran, a novel repellent for SWD, as a push-component in SWD push-pull system. In this 2 year field study, releasing 2-pentylfuran from sachet dispensers resulted in significant reduction in SWD infestation in raspberries, suggesting 2-pentylfuran as a potential push component in SWD push-pull system.

Technical Abstract: Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii, is a major pest of various soft-skinned fruit crops worldwide. We investigated an alternative approach to traditional insecticides to manage SWD. Previously we have shown that 2-pentylfuran (2pf) reduced oviposition in raspberries in laboratory and small-scale field studies. Here we further investigated the potential of 2pf as a management tool for SWD under more realistic field conditions. We tested the efficacy of 2pf under open field conditions in 2019 and 2020 using isolated plots of raspberries. For the two 2019 field trials, we used single raspberry fruiting inflorescences and deployed 2pf using a sachet for 48 hours and six days, respectively, and assessed SWD infestation. We did not find any significant differences in SWD infestation in the 48 hour trial but found noticeable reductions when 2pf was deployed for six days. In 2020, we randomly assigned treatments to an entire small research planting of raspberries with different doses of 2pf (low, medium, and high) for both the summer and fall crops and recorded infestations. The low and medium doses of 2pf resulted in significant reductions in SWD infestation in field plantings when SWD densities were low (summer crop), but only the high dose reduced infestations when SWD pressure was high in the fall crop. Our study shows that 2pf has potential as a management tool for SWD under field conditions using a highly susceptible crop, but its effectiveness may vary depending on 2pf release rates and SWD abundance. Future studies are needed to test 2pf in combination with other repellents or with targeted insecticides.