THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2020
community
THE CHRONICLE — 23
HOME & GARDEN
Researchers fi nd
biological control for
destructive fruit fl y
BY KIM POKORNY
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A parasitic wasp has shown tremendous
potential attacking and controlling
spotted wing drosophila – an invasive,
destructive fruit fl y that costs Oregon
growers close to a billion dollars a year,
Oregon State University researchers
have found.
Biological control is the use of bene-
fi cial insects to manage other insects,
which means using less pesticides.
“Spotted wing drosophila is very
difficult to control,” said Vaughn
Walton, professor and Extension
entomologist in OSU’s College of
Agricultural Sciences. “It’s got a very,
very high reproduction rate, many
generations a year. Because of that,
when using pesticides, they have to be
applied constantly, sometimes two to
three times a week.”
Using that much pesticide is not
economically or environmentally
sustainable, Walton said. On average,
spotted wing drosophila, also known
by the acronym SWD, destroys 10% of
fruit value. Management in the blue-
berry industry alone costs $100 million
a year. Other crops affected include
strawberries, raspberries, blackber-
ries, cherries and, if conditions are
right, grapes – a worrying possibility
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for Oregon’s wine industry. In Europe
and the eastern U.S., the pest is already
a serious problem in wine grapes.
But a tiny wasp (Pachycrepoideus
vindemmiae) being studied by Walton
and colleagues at OSU could help stop
spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila
suzukii).
“Based on the survival and host-kill-
ing capacity of the wasp, we have
concluded that it has tremendous
biocontrol potential against SWD,”
Walton said.
The researchers published their fi nd-
ings in the journal PLOS One.
Usually a parasitic insect burrows
into its host, which can then produce
antibodies to fi ght it off. But P. vindem-
niae lays its eggs on the outside of the
larvae skin, avoiding the antibodies.
That’s what makes it so effective,
Walton said.
Chances of deterring spotted wing
drosophila will improve by adding
cultural practices such as good sani-
tation, correct pruning, drip irriga-
tion and weed cloth to a holistic pest
management plan (IPM). Drip irriga-
tion lowers the longevity and reproduc-
tive ability of spotted wing drosophilia.
Weed cloth provides a barrier to keep
the fl ies that drop from the fruit from
burrowing into the ground and laying
eggs.
A native of Southeast Asia, spotted
wing drosophila arrived in Oregon in
2009 and has now spread throughout
the world. The P. vindemmiae wasp
is one of only two parasitoid species
that have been found to naturally and
successfully attack and kill spotted
wing drosophila in the fi eld, according
to Walton.
Adult drosophila fl ies resemble the
small fruit or vinegar fl ies that buzz
around the kitchen or rotting fallen
fruit outdoors. Infested fruit show
small scars or speckles made when
the adult female lays its eggs. The eggs
soon hatch and the maggots begin feed-
ing inside the fruit, causing damage
that results in severe crop losses.
“The wasp helps, but you must do
the other things as well,” Walton said.
“None can stand on its own. If you’re
doing all of the cultural practices,
you’re going to have a much lower
problem. I had a call from a grower
who was doing everything right and he
wanted to know if he could spray less
pesticides. Even removing one applica-
tion is a signifi cant cost savings – $150
an acre. That’s a lot of savings if you
can do all of these things together.”
The parasitic wasp has gone through
rigorous testing and Walton is awaiting
a permit to raise and release the wasp
in large numbers.
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