Comparing the effectiveness of different insecticide application orders for suppressing Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae) infestation: experimental and modeling approaches

Serhan Mermer; Marco Valerio Rossi Stacconi; Gabriella Tait; Ferdinand Pfab; Ashfaq A Sial; Joseph O Disi; Hannah J Burrack; Aurora Toennisson; Lan Xue; Chengzhu Zhang; Vaughn M Walton

doi:10.1093/jee/toad057

Comparing the effectiveness of different insecticide application orders for suppressing Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae) infestation: experimental and modeling approaches

J Econ Entomol. 2023 Jun 13;116(3):899-908. doi: 10.1093/jee/toad057.

Authors

Serhan Mermer^{1

2}, Marco Valerio Rossi Stacconi^{1

3}, Gabriella Tait¹, Ferdinand Pfab⁴, Ashfaq A Sial⁵, Joseph O Disi⁵, Hannah J Burrack^{6

7}, Aurora Toennisson^{6

8}, Lan Xue⁹, Chengzhu Zhang⁹, Vaughn M Walton¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Horticulture, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.
² Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.
³ Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all'Adige, Italy.
⁴ Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93117, USA.
⁵ Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
⁶ Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA.
⁷ Department of Entomology Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA.
⁸ Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA.
⁹ Department of Statistics, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.

PMID: 37155341
DOI: 10.1093/jee/toad057

Abstract

Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae) is a key pest of soft-skinned fruit such as blackberry and blueberry. Differing seasonal spray regimes are expected to have variable effects on D. suzukii populations. Semi-field cage trials were performed at three locations in the United States (Georgia, Oregon, and North Carolina) on blueberry and blackberry crops to evaluate this hypothesis. Insecticides with different efficacy rates (ZC - zeta-cypermethrin, SPI - spinetoram, CYAN - cyantraniliprole) were applied during field experiments conducted within large cages. Treatment schedules consisted of two insecticide applications which performed over three weeks. Seasonal treatment schedules were applied in the following order: ZC-CYAN and CYAN-ZC in rabbiteye and highbush blueberry with the addition of a ZC-SPI treatment applied in blackberry. In addition, a population model was applied to simulate the relative efficacy of the insecticide schedules in Oregon on D. suzukii population model based on previously published efficacy, biological, and weather parameters. Overall, all schedules resulted in reduced D. suzukii infestation compared to untreated control (UTC) treatments, with statistical differences in all three locations. The numerically lower infestation was found in some cases in ZC-CYAN schedule. Population modeling conducted exclusively for blueberry, and the simulations indicated no discernible differences between the two respective schedules (ZC-CYAN vs CYAN-ZC). The present study demonstrates that seasonal infestation of D. suzukii could be suppressed irrespective of application order. Additional research is required to assess the optimal timing and sequence of insecticide applications for controlling seasonal populations of D. suzukii in fruit crops. Such information could be invaluable for growers who are seeking to strategize their insecticide applications.

Keywords: Integrated Pest Management; insecticide timing; population modeling; seasonal application; spotted-wing drosophila.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animals
Blueberry Plants*
Crops, Agricultural
Drosophila
Fruit
Insect Control / methods
Insecticides*
Oregon
Rubus*

Substances

Insecticides