Original paper

Integrated management of Drosophila suzukii in sweet cherry orchards

Santoiemma, Giacomo; Tonina, Lorenzo; Marini, Lorenzo; Duso, Carlo; Mori, Nicola

Entomologia Generalis Volume 40 Number 3 (2020), p. 297 - 305

published: Nov 3, 2020
published online: Sep 21, 2020
manuscript accepted: Apr 22, 2020
manuscript revision received: Mar 27, 2020
manuscript revision requested: Mar 19, 2020
manuscript received: Oct 10, 2019

DOI: 10.1127/entomologia/2020/0947

BibTeX file

ArtNo. ESP146004003007, Price: 29.00 €

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Abstract

Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura, 1931), spotted wing drosophila (SWD), is one of the most serious pests of a wide range of soft-skinned fruit. After its arrival and spread in Europe, the number of insecticide applications to protect fruit increased. However, intensive use of insecticides poses serious concerns related to food safety issues, surge in pest resistance, and negative impacts on the environment. Our aim is to provide practical suggestions for the integration of cultural control strategies into the current sweet cherry SWD management programs. To assess the potential effectiveness of cultural control practices in reducing SWD damage, infestation levels of differently managed orchards were compared. The complete harvest, removal and proper disposal of unmarketable cherries were essential IPM procedures to reduce fruit infestation. In addition, cool and humid microhabitats suitable for SWD development should be avoided by frequent mowing the inter-row vegetation during fruit ripening. Insecticide applications, selection of cherry cultivar, landscape factors and canopy density were not related to SWD damage. To reduce the likelihood of fruit infestation in marketed fruit, IPM programs should include a timely and proper removal/disposal of fallen, overripe and damaged fruits, the shortening of harvest intervals, and a high mowing frequency of the inter-row vegetation.

Keywords

spotted wing drosophilaintegrated pest managementcultural controlfruit managementconditional inference tree analysis