Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/543863
54 AUGUST 2015 Good Fruit Grower www.goodfruit.com T he spotted wing drosophila, a pesky new pest of cherries and other fruits, appears to be repelled by a non-toxic, pleasant-smelling product called butyl anthranilate (BA). Christine Krause Pham, a graduate student at the University of California, Riverside, and entomology professor Dr. Anandasankar Ray conducted lab experiments in which they exposed spotted wing dro- sophila to blueberries, one of its favorite hosts. One bowl of fresh, ripe blueberries had been coated with BA and the other was coated with a solvent, as a control. BA, which is found in low concentrations in several fruits, smells like grapes and is commonly used as a fla- vor and fragrance compound. It is classified as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) and is approved for human consumption as a food additive. Laboratory tests showed that spotted wing drosphila (Drosophila suzukii) flies were repelled by BA. The prod- uct targets the same receptors in the insect's antennae as DEET (diethyltoluamide), the most common active ingredient in insect repellents. Also, the flies were less inclined to lay eggs on treated blueberries, Ray reported. A single treatment of 2.5 per- cent BA reduced the number of eggs, larvae, and pupae in the fruit by around 50 percent. A 10 percent treatment almost prevented reproduction. The next step is to test how well BA works in field tri- als. If it is successful, the scientists will request approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Cherry fruit fly Spotted wing drosophila, which originated in Asia, was first found in the United States in 2008. Unlike the common fruit fly, D. melanogaster, which prefers ripe or Safe product repels DROSOPHILA Butyl anthranilate also deters egg laying by spotted wing drosophila flies. by Geraldine Warner PHOTOS COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE Spotted wing drosophila love blueberries, though not when they've been treated with butyl anthranilate. The male fly has a dark spot at the tip of its wings. SEAFOOD FOR THE SOIL SEAFOOD FOR THE SOIL I have been impressed by my cherry orchard's response to Paci c Gro's hydrolysate. Regular feeding of the product by foliar and fertigation during the season has pro- moted vigorous branch and root growth, increased fruit size a half to full row, made fruit signi cantly rmer and also helped trees recover from a devastating freeze this past winter. I have found that post-harvest feedings, which we apply up to leaf drop, are of critical importance to improving next year's crop. One surprising thing we have found that really excites us is that powdery mildew was signi cantly reduced in our orchards after we started using Pacific Gro's hydrolysate - even in highly susceptible varieties like Sweetheart. Mike Omeg, The Dalles, Oregon Feed the soil a bio-active nutrient package from the Paci c Ocean! Liquid Oceanic Fertilizer is a cold processed hydrolysate of sh, shrimp and crab that's high in plant available calcium and chitin as well as the whole range of nutrients found in ocean sh and shell sh. CREATIVE AG PRODUC TS • w w w. p a c i f i c g ro. c o m • 503 867-4849 KERIAN MACHINES, INC. 1709 Hwy 81 South, P.O. Box 311 Grafton, ND 58237 701-352-0480 • Fax 701-352-3776 sales@kerian.com • www.kerian.com GENTLE: Separates without damaging peaches, apples, mushrooms and fresh tomatoes ACCURATE: Precisely grades grape tomatoes, cherries, nuts, and small berries, maintaining that accuracy for larger products including cantaloupes and pineapple FAST: Thirteen standard models custom- designed to meet your needs sort from 1,000 lb/hr to 100,000 lb/hr SIMPLE: Effective but simple design provides a rugged, low-cost, low-maintenance machine at a high value to our customers. It can even be used in the field! VERSATILE: Specialized rollers allow for the accurate sizing of round products (potatoes, onions, and citrus), long products (carrots, russets, and cucumbers), and irregular products (bell peppers, jalapeños, and garlic) FRUIT AND VEGETABLE KERIAN SIZER