I have seen many publications, extension and peer-reviewed, that mention burying fruit infested by Drosophila suzukii (spotted wing drosophila or SWD) to prevent full development. Burying the fruit deep enough may prevent larvae from crawling to the surface of the soil to pupate and emerge as adults. However, I haven't been able to find a reference for this phenomenon for this species. Some papers mention 6 inches (15.24 cm) up to 24 inches (60.96 cm). Does anyone know of a reference for this? Thanks
Hi Lindsy, Blair here,
Rutgers published a presentation on their study of burying infested fruit at different depths of sand within long test-tubes. Rufus Isaacs also cited this research, which recommended burying depths of at least 30cm to be effective. The title of the presentation is Spotted Wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii): A new pest of blueberries in New Jersey. I hope this leads you in the right direction, and good luck
Blair
Hi Lindsy and Blair
Yes, I have the report from Cesar @ Rutgers: 100% prevention of emergence at 30 cm depth, but also about 90% reduction at 10 and 20 cm, and 80% at 5 cm depths.
Thank you Rufus. Is the power point presentation the only report that I can site or was there something published with that information?
I don't think it is published yet. Suggest you check with Cesar to see where they are with that.
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