Evaluating a push-pull strategy for management of Drosophila suzukii Matsumura in red raspberry

Authors: WALLINGFORD, ANNA - Cornell University; Cha, Dong; LOEB, GREGORY - Cornell University

Submitted to: Pest Management Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/8/2017
Publication Date: 7/17/2017
Citation: Wallingford, A.K., Cha, D.H., Loeb, G.M. 2017. Evaluating a push-pull strategy for management of Drosophila suzukii Matsumura in red raspberry. Pest Management Science. doi: 10.1002/ps.4666

Interpretive Summary: Spotted wing drosophila (SWD) is a newly introduced pest of numerous fruit crops that is spreading rapidly through the U.S. and Europe. Early detection- and calendar-based spraying is presently the means of controlling SWD, but development of pesticide resistance has been a concern and more sustainable management systems may be desirable. Researchers at the USDA-ARS laboratory in Hilo, HI and Cornell University in Geneva, NY are developing push-pull management strategy for SWD. Using attractant and deterrent simultaneously (push-pull treatment) in both laboratory and field resulted in reduction in SWD infestation on raspberry fruit, demonstrating push-pull as a potential behavioral control strategy for SWD. This information provides new avenues of research to develop more sustainable SWD management programs for US berry and cherry growers.

Technical Abstract: Drosophilia suzukii Matsumura is a serious pest of small fruits and cherries that lays its eggs in ripe and ripening fruit. Current management strategies rely on an unsustainable schedule of foliar applications of chemical insecticides. Alternative approaches to suppressing oviposition are under investigation, such as attract-and-kill and the use of oviposition deterrents. Here we evaluated the effect of these two behavioral control approaches in combination as a push-pull strategy using laboratory and field assays. In laboratory caged assays, both an attractive mass trapping device (pull; visually attractive sticky red sphere traps baited with an olfactory lure releasing fermentation volatiles) and an oviposition deterrent (push: volatile organic compound, 1-octen-3-ol) reduced oviposition by D.suzukii, and the combination of the two (push-pull) resulted in significantly greater reduction than either treatment alone. In field experiments, oviposition reduction was observed in fruit from plots treated with oviposition deterrent (push) or a combination of mass trapping devices and deterrent (push-pull) compared to fruit from control plots. However, oviposition in plots with mass trapping devices (pull) was higher than observed in all other treatments. Additionally, the protection provided by the deterrent in push plots extended to the entire plot, while infestation in fruit collected from areas close to point sources of deterrent was lower than fruit that were farther away from deterrent sources in push-pull plots. Push-pull treatments negatively affected D.suzukii infestation in both laboratory and field experiments. The reduction in oviposition observed in laboratory experiments was based on the additive effect of push and pull components acting on a finite population, while the reduction observed in field experiments appeared to be mainly based on the effect of pull components. We discuss potential underlying reasons for the discrepancy in laboratory and field results and suggest potential improvements for a more efficient push-pull approach.