ACW will monitor at a national scale the distribution of D. suzukii in commercial soft fruit fields, stone fruit orchards and vineyards with reference to the degree of fruit damage. Moreover, traps will be set-up in the storage facilities and vicinity of Swiss fruit importers. These findings on the population dynamics will be related to local weather data, in particular temperature. Besides the studies of D. suzukiis in the field, additional experiments will be set-up under standardized conditions in the laboratory to understand its development under different temperature regimes. The general knowledge gained will help to better understand the biology of D. suzukii and ultimately being able to model and fore-cast the pest’s phenology (Kimura, 2004; Dalton et al, 2011).
Although ACW will not directly be involved in the work package that analyzes plant volatiles in order to explain the susceptibility of different fruit varieties. ACW will certainly survey the susceptibility of different host plant species and their varieties by estimating infestation rates on berries, stone fruits and grapevine in commercial fields, orchards and vineyards. These findings will be complemented by the indications obtained from phytosanitary services and farmers. Altogether this will allow ACW to obtain a global view on the infestation level and actual situation in Swiss fruit production.
To determine the threat posed by D. suzukii to European grape production ACW will developed a questionnaire (asking about infestation level, economic damage and susceptibility of grape varieties) that will be distributed all over Europe. At regional scale, the development of pest populations within vineyards will be monitored and the evolution of grape infestation will be recorded. In order to identify the susceptibility of grape cultivars, infestation rates among neighbouring parcels will be compared and larval development within artificially infested berries will be screened in the laboratory.
In order to develop a sustainable pest management strategy against D. suzukii ACW will collaborate in the investigation of available control measures and their combination with alternative control strategies such as biological control agents (e.g. parasitoids, predators, entomopathogenic nematodes & fungis), environmentally friendly control schemes (e.g. mass-trapping, the use insect-proof nets, companion plants etc.) and cultural measures (e.g. overwintering sites, harvest time). ACW will set up proper experiments and follow their application in commercial Swiss berry fields, stone fruit orchards and vineyards by local producers.
