Spotted Wing Drosophila Alert and Berry Notes — August 9, 2024
David Handley, Vegetable and Small Fruit Specialist; James Dill, Pest Management Specialist, Phil Fanning, Assistant Professor of Agricultural Entomology, Christina Howard, Maine New Farmer Project Manager
Spotted Wing Drosophila:
Fly counts in our vinegar/yeast traps continue to trend upwards in nearly all locations, so protective sprays should be applied to all ripening berry and soft fruit crops to protect against infestation. The presence of any larvae in ripening fruit should also initiate a regular spray program if you are not using traps to monitor the flies. This week counts ranged from 11 to 287 in our traps, indicating that that ripening fruit needs protection to prevent infestation.
We expect that SWD populations will increase with the coming weather pattern bringing up storms from the south. These fronts tend to bring us more flies from the south and create moist conditions which favor their survival. A 5 to 7-day spray interval should be adequate to minimize fruit infestation, depending on the level of pest pressure in a given field.
For more information on identifying spotted wing drosophila (SWD) and updates on populations around the state, visit our SWD blog.
Other IPM Web Pages
Michigan State University Spotted Wing Drosophila
Penn State University Spotted Wing Drosophila Overview
University of New Hampshire SWD Weekly IPM Reports
| Town | Spotted Wing Drosophila weekly trap catch 7/25/24 | Spotted Wing Drosophila weekly trap catch 8/1/24 | Spotted Wing Drosophila weekly trap catch 8/9/24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wells | 46 | 91 | 287 |
| Sanford | 64 | 56 | 56 |
| Limington | 40 | 0 | 11 |
| New Gloucester | 234 | 266 | 24 |
| Mechanic Falls | 11 | 8 | 26 |
| Monmouth | 75 | 56 | 46 |
David T. Handley
Vegetable and Small Fruit Specialist
Highmoor Farm
P.O. Box 179
Monmouth, ME 04259
207.933.2100
UMaine Extension Diagnostic Research Lab
Pest Management Unit
17 Godfrey Drive
Orono, ME 04473
1.800.287.0279
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