Since 2012 the Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD), an invasive exotic insect, has been present in Québec berry crops. This pest causes significant damage to berries (raspberries, strawberries, highbush blueberries) harvested in August and September, when its population surges (Lacroix, 2017). Until recently it was not known whether SWD overwintered in Québec. However, following the 2016–2017 winter, with its unusually mild temperatures and significant snow cover, the insect appeared 2 to 3 weeks earlier in berry fields (Lacroix et al., 2017), despite a cold spring. Mass trapping is a pest control technique currently employed in Europe to limit Drosophila populations. Between 2018 and 2020, we will evaluate whether this method can delay or decrease the migration of these populations into the cultivated plots of three producers on Ile d’Orléans.
The project’s overall goal is to slow the arrival of Spotted Wing Drosophila in crop plots using mass trapping at overwintering sites.
From 2018 to 2020
Project duration
Fruit production
Activity areas
Pest, weed, and disease control
Service
Ce projet contribuera à freiner l’invasion des champs par un envahisseur exotique.
Prime-vert Volet 4 du ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation du Québec, RLIO
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This project helped to determine if there is a significant correlation between the number of adult spotted wing drosophila captured and yield losses observed in the field.
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