Spotted Wing Drosophila Update, June 29, 2018

This year we are conducting a regional monitoring program in berry and stone fruit crops and grapes including Essex, Chatham-Kent, Elgin, Norfolk, Niagara, Durham, Ottawa/Carleton, Dundas-Stormont and Glengary (DSG) and Northumberland counties.  This post contains a summary of trap counts since May 28, 2018.  The chart will be updated weekly.

Trapping was initiated in berry fields and will progress into stone fruit and grape crops as they ripen.  We have placed 4 traps with commercial SWD lures at each site.  Use these results in addition to your own monitoring program to determine when SWD is present on your farm. Conduct a salt water test or a plastic baggie test to confirm presence of larvae in fruit. We have done salt water tests and have not identified any SWD larvae in fruit as of June 29, 2018.

The monitoring project is a collaboration among the Niagara Peninsula Fruit and Vegetable Growers, Ontario Tender Fruit Growers, the Eastern Ontario Berry Growers, OMAFRA staff and private consultants.

SWD has been identified in very low numbers in traps in Essex, Chatham-Kent, Durham and Norfolk counties as of June 29. Michigan and New York are also catching very low levels of SWD and are experiencing a later SWD season than 2017.

• Check the SWD product registrations on our website. Mako and Malathion have received emergency use registration for this year again.
• When SWD is present and your crop has ripe fruit use regular sprays, thorough, clean harvest, and immediate post-harvest cooling to less than 5C or cooler.