Spotted wing Drosophila monitoring effort evaluation for 2014

Nikki Rothwell<rothwel3@msu.edu>, Michigan State University Extension -

We are encouraging Michigan fruit growers to take a short survey to measure the effectiveness of MSU Extension’s 2014 spotted wing Drosophila statewide monitoring program.

For the second season, Michigan State University Extension has coordinated an invasive pest monitoring program in Michigan fruit crops. Based on input from growers last season, this weekly information is vital to help growers manage spotted wing Drosophila (SWD) on a regular basis. Survey results from 2013 suggested that the first catch in an area or region is the most important information as it alerts growers if and when they should employ control tactics. As a result, the MSU Extension field team conducted weekly scouting for SWD and brown marmorated stink bugs (BMSB) in five regions of Michigan: southwest, southeast, the Ridge, west central and northwest. Traps were deployed May through August, with some trapping continuing well into the fall. The weekly data were collected and disseminated in a weekly report on MSU Extension Fruit & Nuts News and through local sources.

To measure how effective these efforts were in 2014, we are asking Michigan fruit growers to take some time to fill out a brief evaluation of the SWD statewide effort. We value your feedback and want to ensure that MSU is doing all that it can to help producers better manage this invasive pest in all Michigan fruit crops. Your input will help us prepare for a plan for SWD control in 2015 and to obtain further grant funds for researching this invasive pest. Please take a moment to fill out this survey.

The weekly SWD scouting reports have been funded through Project GREEEN and MSU Extension. This output is generated through a scouting and reporting network of MSU Extension field staff and campus specialists. We would like to acknowledge the following team members and thank them for their weekly scouting efforts and input into this report: Rufus Isaacs, Keith Mason, Steve VanTimmeren, Larry Gut, Peter McGhee, Michael Haas, Bob Tritten, Mark Longstroth, Amy Irish-Brown, Carlos Garcia, Emily Pochubay, Karen Powers and Nikki Rothwell.

Dr. Rothwell’s work is funded in part by MSU’s AgBioResearch.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

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