SPOTTED WING DROSOPHILA BIOLOGY, ECOLOGY, AND MANAGEMENT

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0229948
• Multistate No.: WERA-_OLD1021
• Project Start Date: Oct 1, 2012
• Project End Date: Sep 30, 2013
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY
3 RUTGERS PLZA
NEW BRUNSWICK,NJ 08901-8559

Performing Department
Entomology

Non Technical Summary
We will determine the most effective sustainable region-appropriate management options for SWD. Management strategies will be based on the biology and ecology of SWD including its genetics, physiology, dispersal, landscape influences, and seasonal phenology and as well as relevant cropping systems. Optimal timing of treatments will be based on effective monitoring, efficacy of various chemical and alternative environmentally-friendly control options. All recommended strategies will be framed within their relevant economic and sociological settings. Information resulting from all complementary research will be archived in an online workspace to maximize information transfer nationally. The data and information sharing effort will be coordinated by a taskforce composed of members of established and new multi-state extension networks and personnel at the institutions of multistate participants. Information stored in the online database will be utilized to develop regional management recommendations, organize grower meetings, and produce factsheets, newsletters and peer-reviewed manuscripts. The development of new, relevant management options will allow growers and industries to mitigate the impact of SWD-related crop losses and will result in more environmentally and economically sustainable fruit production in the USA. At each annual meeting, the committee will present the current year's activities, and then discuss, share and coordinate SWD management issues, future research and extension needs, extension educational approaches, and novel applications within regional fruit production and home gardener/urban landscape systems. The annual meeting will provide a forum for research and extension liaisons throughout the country to discuss issues and coordinate responses. An annual report will be compiled to provide documentation of regional deliverables and accomplishments in SWD management during the past year. During this project, members of WERA1021 will organize at least one regional symposium at a branch meeting of the Entomological Society of America, a national symposium at the Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America that will be held in Portland, OR in November, 2014, and at the International Congress of Entomology meetings in 2012 (South Korea) and 2016 (proposed for Orlando, FL). These professional activities will: 1) expand information exchange beyond the WERA1021 membership. 2) address specific learning needs (monitoring, management, biology, ecology, economics, sociology), 3) provide professional development to stakeholders, 4) foster inter-agency and regional/national linkages, dialogue, learning and information dissemination, with an emphasis on designing and implementing sustainable management of SWD as it establishes endemic populations. Stakeholder involvement will be strongly encouraged.

Animal Health Component

70%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

10%

Applied

70%

Developmental

20%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
211	1120	1130	50%
216	1120	1130	50%

Knowledge Area
211 - Insects, Mites, and Other Arthropods Affecting Plants; 216 - Integrated Pest Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
1120 - Blueberry;

Field Of Science
1130 - Entomology and acarology;

Keywords

spotted wing drosophila

integrated pest management

monitoring

Goals / Objectives
Determine the basic biology and ecology of SWD and how they vary according to location, host, and season. Develop reliable, easy to use traps, lures, and methods for monitoring SWD populations (both adults and larvae) in the field. Conduct laboratory and field studies to obtain data on developmental parameters and temperature tolerance limits, which will be used to develop and validate a degree-day model. Evaluate cultural, biological, and chemical control tactics for SWD in various crops in different regions of the country and develop sustainable integrated pest management plans. Develop widely available outreach materials, which will be available to Extension agents and teams and at events organized to educate grower and industry groups.

Project Methods
Objective 1: Study biology, ecology and seasonal phenology. Since relatively little is known about SWD seasonal biology in North America, studies will be conducted on development under different seasonal conditions and on different hosts. The genome of SWD will be described and used for comparative purposes to other Drosophila species, especially Drosophila melanogaster. We will coordinate comparable studies to better understand SWD ecology in crops and surrounding landscapes to improve knowledge of overwintering, movement, and natural enemies. We will monitor SWD populations in berries, grapes, and stone fruits, using baited traps. All male and female SWD as well as other Drosophila species will be counted on a regular basis. When fruits are available, fruit proximate to each trap will be evaluated in the field for infestation. Number of larvae per fruit will be determined by laboratory evaluation. Further research will determine where SWD are overwintering, what their food sources are, and how far they can travel. Objective 2. Optimize monitoring systems. We will conduct replicated studies to optimize trap design and bait formulations for affected crops. Effective methods for examining fruit for SWD larvae presence will also be tested. Growers stress the importance of 1) a quick and easy trapping system that corresponds well to timing of infestations and which will avoid mechanical harvester damage for crops that are harvested mechanically, and 2) a practical and reliable method to detect larvae in fruit. Objective 3. Develop and validate degree-day models. We will conduct laboratory and field studies to obtain data on developmental parameters and temperature tolerance limits. These data will be used to develop and validate a degree-day model (based on accumulation of heat-units calculated from weather) for SWD, which will improve risk assessment and ultimately lead to optimal management of SWD. Objective 4. Evaluate control tactics. Cultural, biological, and chemical control tactics for SWD will be evaluated in various crops in different regions of the country. These will be evaluated in laboratories and small plots, followed by field-scale testing of the most promising approaches to determine their performance under commercial conditions. The most compatible control tactics will be coordinated into integrated and sustainable pest management programs for SWD relevant to each affected region. Objective 5. Organize and schedule outreach and education materials. Coordinated presentations at grower and industry meetings will provide these groups with current reliable peer reviewed information on SWD biology, ecology and management. Articles, including Extension bulletins, will be created and disseminated via media outlets and appropriate websites.

Progress 10/01/12 to 09/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? A workshop on how to perform salt extractions to monitor spotted wing drosophila larvae was conducted at the Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) Blueberry Twilight meeting on April 24, 2013. Ongoing research outlined in this project was presented at the RCE Blueberry Twilight meeting on May 20, 2013. Results from these experiments were presented at the Annual Cumberland-Shenandoah Fruit Workers Conference, Atlantic Fruit & Vegetable Convention (January 28-30, 2014) in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and the Atlantic Coast Agricultural Convention and Trade Show (February 4-6, 2014) in Atlantic City, New Jersey. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Information was presented at grower and scientific meetings. These meetings were attended by researchers, growers, extension specialists, IPM and county agents, regulatory agency personnel, and industry representatives. Information on spotted wing drosophila and updates on our research were provided in newsletter articles (Blueberry Bulletin and Plant-and-Pest Advisory, RCE). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? In 2014, we plan to continue to evaluate new baits for monitoring spotted wing drosophila. We plan to conduct a workshopon how tomonitor adult populations and look for larval infestation in blueberry fruit in 2014. Results from our studies will be presented at the RCE Blueberry Open House and at the Entomological Society of America annual meeting. We will continue to conduct updates on our progress at grower twilight meetings and in newsletter articles.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We conducted laboratory studies to: a) investigate the behavioral and electroantennographic (EAG) responses of adult spotted wing drosophila to volatiles from blueberry, cherry, raspberry, and strawberry fruit extracts; b) identify the antennally-active compounds from a highly attractive extract (raspberry) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and coupled GC-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD); and, c) test a synthetic lure containing the EAG-active compounds identified from the raspberry extract on adult attraction. Volatiles from all four fruit extracts were attractive to female and male spotted wing drosophila in olfactometer studies and elicited strong EAG responses, with responses ranked as: raspberry ≥ strawberry > blueberry ≥ cherry. Principal component and GC analyses showed that the fruit extracts emit distinct volatile profiles. In GC-EAD experiments, 11 volatiles from the raspberry extract consistently elicited antennal responses in spotted wing drosophila. In choice test bioassays, a synthetic lure containing the EAG-active blend in mineral oil attracted ~3 times more spotted wing drosophila than control (mineral oil alone) lures. A field study was conducted in 2013 to evaluate various baits for monitoring spotted wing drosophila. The traps used were all of the clear “deli cup” design. The bait types were: a) apple cider vinegar (ACV) with a drop of unscented soap; b) yeast and sugar – yeast, sugar, and water, + unscented soap; c) a fermenting bait consisting of whole wheat flour, water, sugar, ACV and yeast in a separate ventilated specimen cup within the larger deli cup containing a drowning solution of ACV, ethanol and unscented soap; d) DroskiDrink, a bait that consisted of ACV, red wine, brown (muscovado) sugar, and soap; e) a synthetic lure over ACV; And, f) a synthetic lure over drowning solution. The fermenting bait and synthetic lure over ACV captured more flies than the other baits. Comparable numbers of males and females were captured in fermenting baits and synthetic lures over ACV, and more females were captured overall. While the ACV-baited traps have been the standard for monitoring spotted wing drosophila, and were used in previous years, all baits/lures captured flies 1-2 weeks earlier than ACV.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Lee, J.C., Barrantes, L.D., Beers, E.H., Burrack, H.J., Dalton, D.T., Dreves, A.J., Gut, L.J., Hamby, K.A., Haviland, D.R., Isaacs, R., Nielsen, A.L., Richardson, T., Rodriguez-Saona, C.R., Shearer, P.W., Stanley, C.A., Walsh, D.B., Walton, W.M.,Yee, W.L., Zalom, F.G., and Bruck, D.J.. Improving trap design for monitoring Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae). Environmental Entomology. 42: 1348-1355.