The regional monitoring program is being conducted in berry and stone fruit crops and grapes in Essex, Chatham-Kent, Elgin, Norfolk, Halton, Oxford, Niagara, Durham and Northumberland counties.
The monitoring project is funded by Niagara Peninsula Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, Ontario Grape and Wine Research and Ontario Tender Fruit Growers in collaboration with private consultants.
Traps were first deployed in south Niagara in berry blocks starting May 18 and Essex, Norfolk and Elgin counties the week of June 3. Traps in other sites will be gradually added. We have placed 4 traps with commercial SWD lures at each site. This year we have substituted mouthwash for the water in the traps to reduce contamination of the samples by bacteria carried by the flies. 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.
Once sustained catch occurs (two weeks in a row with SWD) growers with ripening crops susceptible to SWD should consider using a product with activity against SWD in preharvest sprays.
The first SWD were caught in the wild host in Essex County June 3-10. In 2019, SWD was first detected in low numbers in June 17-25 Norfolk and Niagara.
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