Entomology, Department of
Citation
Arthropod Management Tests, 43(1), 2018, 1–2 doi: 10.1093/amt/tsy074
Abstract
The effectiveness of an unregistered material at reducing Drosophila suzukii (SWD) infestation rates in blackberry field plots and its toxicity to adult SWD in laboratory bioassays was tested during the 2015 growing season. Field trials were conducted at the Sandhills Research Station near Jackson Springs, NC, in a 0.11-acre planting consisting of two rows of ‘Ouachita’ blackberries. Six treatments, including an untreated check (UTC), were applied to 5-plant plots and were arranged in an RCB design with four replicates per treatment, blocked by row, with two blocks per row. Delegate was the standard material. Some of the treatments were combined with an adjuvant, Syntact, at a concentration recommended by the manufacturer (Table 1). Applications were made twice, on 11 and 30 Jun. Treatments were applied to both sides of each row to fully cover plants using a CO2- pressurized backpack sprayer fitted with three flat fan nozzles at 45 psi pressure and 50 gal/acre spray volume. The desired application frequency for these materials is 7 days; however, additional applications could not be made due to unseasonably hot weather. Ten to 20 ripe berries, depending on availability, were collected from the middle three plants in each plot pre-treatment and 7 days after treatment (DAT) to measure infestation in the field. Fruit were held in plastic containers vented with fine mesh on the bottom to allow fruit to drain at 20°C, 65% RH, and 12:12 (L:D) h conditions. After 7 days, larvae and pupae were counted to determine infestation rates per berry.
Comments
© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. 1 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License