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FeedSpotted wing drosophila found in NW
A female fly was found May 10 in a trap in Mosier, Oregon.
The spotted-wing drosophila could change IPM practices.
California Department of Food and Agriculture
The first spotted wing drosophila fly captured in the Mid-Columbia region of Oregon this year was detected on May 10 in a trap located in Mosier, Oregon, according to Dr. Peter Shearer, superintendent of Oregon State University’s Mid-Columbia Agriculture Research and Extension Center.
More than 100 traps in the region are being serviced by scouts hired with emergency funding from the Oregon Legislature, Shearer said, adding that many more traps are being maintained by growers and fieldmen in the region. “We will continue to expand and intensify our trapping efforts,” he said.
The spotted wing drosophila is a new vinegar fly species that was found in California cherries last season for the first time. Already, it has been found in a wide range of crops on the West Coast since it was first reported in 2008 infesting raspberries in California. What makes the fly so feared is that it attacks fruit before it’s mature.
The new pest has the potential to change integrated pest management practices for growers on the West Coast, Shearer said in an earlier interview with the Good Fruit Grower. A team of scientists from Oregon, Washington, California, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are collaborating on the biology and management of spotted wing drosophila on small and stone fruits.
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