New invasive pests are arriving at New York gardens and farms more frequently. A recent arrival has put at risk $325 million in fruit, grapes and berries grown in New York and thousands of farm jobs.
The West Coast bug — the spotted wing fruit fly (Drosophila suzukii) — began appearing on soft fruit in 2012. While the insect prefers berries, it also damages other kinds of fruit and wine grapes.
Last year, it became more prevalent and this year, Morgenthau estimates about 20 percent of the organic farm's raspberry crop was lost.
"It's extremely difficult to control," Morgenthau said.
The speed that new invasive pests arrive in New York has accelerated, and the consequences can be huge for the state's agriculture. In just two growing seasons, the spotted wing fruit fly has put at risk $325 million worth of small fruit, grapes and berries grown in New York and thousands of farm jobs.
The new invader infests berries as they grow on the bush. The more common fruit fly attacks overripe or damaged fruits and vegetables of all varieties throughout the summer.
"(The berries) are still white," said Peter J. Jentsch, a Cornell University entomologist stationed at the Hudson Valley Agricultural Research Laboratory in Highland. "They are weeks from being ripe."
Jentsch said the infestation poses no unusual health threat to consumers visiting U-Pick farms or area farmers' markets. But the results of the insect-damaged fruit can be devastating to growers.
Statewide, Cornell University estimated the damage to commercial berry growers at $7 million in 2012. The past winter's bitter cold appears to have reduced infestation this season. The fly began chowing down four weeks later than in previous summers, said Juliet Carroll, coordinator of New York's integrated pest management program for fruit.
Another impact of the infestation that peaks in late summer is New York growers eliminate late season raspberries and blueberries from their fields. That reduces late berry crops and cuts farm employment, Carroll said.
Some strategies — such as fine-textured netting placed over the bushes to keep the flies away —may be too expensive to consider, some growers said.
Other tactics, such as spraying with insecticides, approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, are being tested and rotated, with but limited success.
Cornell is working with growers to set up effective "Trap and Kill" stations, which lure the pests to a trap to destroy the flies there. Monitoring of the insect in the Hudson Valley have found the insect in Albany, Columbia, Ulster, Dutchess, and Orange counties. Infestations are expected to increase in September and put late-season fruit crops at high risk for damage.
The most successful safeguards appear to be labor intensive — picking the berries thoroughly and destroying damaged berries by freezing, picking the fruit just as it ripens and refrigerating it immediately.
Cornell's field research shows the fly prefers raspberries, with blueberries about half as likely to be infested. Lower on the list are grapes, cherries, peaches and plums, and other thin-skinned fruits.
But for growers, the real question is how long they can sustain unchecked havoc caused by the insect.
"Before the spotted winged (fruit fly), it was pretty feasible to grow a good crop of organic raspberries," Morgenthau said. "And now it's much more difficult."
Journal staff writer John Ferro contributed to this report.
Threats to gardens, crops
New York produces about $3 billion of field crops, fruits and vegetables annually. Invasive insects are chewing up some its top agriculture products and backyard garden produce. Here is a look:
Khapra beetle: Stored grains
Light brown apple moth: Berries, field crops, fruits
Summer fruit tortrix: Various fruit, ornamental trees, flowering shrubs
False codling moth: Grapes, stone fruits, various field crops
European grapevine moth: Grapes, berries
Brown marmorated stink bug (shown above): various fruits and vegetables.
Winter moth: Tree fruit
Source - http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/
