Oregon Berries Hit by Fruit Flies
Corvallis, OR
By ANUK Staff
4.25.13
An infestation of the spotted wing drosophila is threatening berries in Oregon.
Wet springs, warm but not too hot summers and an abundance of wild blackberries have led to increased numbers of the flies which can which can ruin berry and cherry crops.
"(It) has gotten worse every year and certainly is not going to get better, said Rick Hilton, an entomologist with the Oregon State University Extension Service in Jackson County.The fly came from Asia four years ago and has infested the entire United States, preferring to lay its larvae on cherries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, making them unfit to eat or market, Hilton said, as reported by the Mail Tribune.
"They're still increasing in numbers and they have no problem living in the Rogue Valley," says Hilton, noting the wet springs of 2010 and 2011 aided in the spread. "A lot of small growers are having to spray (insecticides) a lot more than they used to."
Vaughn Walton, an entomologist with the OSU Extension Service in Corvallis, said it appears this season will be similar to, or worse than 2012, which was the worst on record."Winter and spring temperatures in the Pacific Northwest have been warmer than last year, and heat equals larger populations of spotted wing drosophila," Walton said.
Hilton teaches small farm operators how to do "mass trapping" and spraying to keep the insect at bay. He teaches that vinegar traps the flies because it smells like rotting and fermenting fruit.
"If growers put on the proper control measures, they can control it," said Shearer. "These (chemicals) are about the only way they can."
Organic fruit growers, who do not apply chemical pesticides, have fewer defenses against the fly, but, noted Peter Shearer, an OSU entomologist., are finding some success with Entrust from Dow AgroSciences. Entrust uses naturally occurring soil bacteria to combat the bug.
"They're attracted to red and really home in on cherries," said Hilton. "Then you can't market them ... some growers have been able to cull out infested fruit after harvesting, though."
