For those who didn't make the field day on the weekend, Dr. Deb Moreau gave an update on SWD trap captures in western NS and the Annapolis valley. She is seeing some captures in hedgerows around many different berry crops and has begun taking berry samples to see if egg laying has begun.
This is quite early for our region and is a bit concerning for wild blueberry. We should begin trapping for swd in wild blueberry http://www.perennia.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Monitoring-for-Spotted-Wing-Drosophila.pdf (click on link for info)
As of yet we have not seen SWD in Northern NS, where most of the wild blueberry is located. Wild blueberries are not the preferred host of swd, but they can and will use the fruit. I will be monitoring in several sites and will update if we get any captures.
In the meantime, controlling for Blueberry Fruit fly should be done soon if you have populations in your fields. Imidan will work well on fruit fly and low levels of swd, if they are there.
