Good Fruit Grower

May 15

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36 MAY 15, 2015 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com W ith a score of hosts available to spotted wing drosophila, cherry growers must manage their orchards to keep ahead of the pest throughout the growing season. This is why non-crop hosts of the pest are a major focus of Dr. Howard Thistlewood, entomologist with Agriculture and Agri-food Canada at the Pacific Agri- food Research Centre in Summerland, British Columbia, Canada. "It builds year-round, so we look at what it does outside the crop, in the rest of the environment," he said. The fly, native to Asia, was identified in strawberry fields around Watsonville, California, in 2008 and in Oregon's Willamette Valley and British Columbia's lower mainland the following year. It is now widespread across fruit growing regions of Canada and the United States and is a particular challenge for berry and cherry growers. Unlike other fruit flies, which typically infest damaged fruit, spotted wing drosophila is equipped with a saw-like ovipositor that allows it to deposit eggs in undamaged fruit. But if spraying can provide effective fly control, it's also among the least favored options because many export markets have low tolerances for pesticide residues. Understanding how the pest behaves is key to determining if sprays are even required. Among the fascinating discoveries that Thistlewood and colleagues in the United States, including Dr. Peter Cherries give fruit flies a boost Cherries Spotted wing drosophila's wide host range makes it difficult for orchardists to control the pest. by Peter Mitham "It's continuously in all these other fruits as late as the middle of October, and when it's in all those plants, it's exponentially multiplying." —Howard Thistlewood Products & Solutions for Agricultural Safety r Chemical Gloves r Full-Face Respirator r Half-Face Respirator r Chemical Splash Goggles r Chemical Resistant Boots r Disposable and Reusable Suits Available Add a Cooling-Vest on hot days as a heat stress precaution www.oxarc.com Washington - Idaho - Oregon - Shop Online 1-800-765-9055 Safety First: Follow chemical manufacturer's guidelines for decontaminating the spray suite. Do not use suit if there are cuts, holes, tears, missing snaps, or separated seams. Chemical Protective Suit

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