Project title: Exploring integrated pest management practices for Drosophila suzukii in South Africa.
Project number: SU EE PA 25-02
Project leader: Prof Pia Addison
Institution: Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University
Start date: 2025
Co-funders: SATI, Hortgro and BerriesZA
Project description: Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura), the spotted wing drosophila (SWD), can damage several soft-skinned fruits, including cherries, grapes, blueberries and stone fruit. They are indigenous to Asia, and unlike other vinegar flies, the female D. suzukii can lay eggs in whole and intact ripening fruit using a serrated ovipositor. Due to the short generation cycle of D. suzukii, crops are at risk close to harvest, when chemical interference may not be possible due to potential residues left behind.
The project aims to use integrated pest management to explore and assess biological control as an alternative for managing D. suzukii in South Africa.
The steps included to achieve the outcome are as follows:
- Commence and maintain an SWD colony for laboratory studies.
- Development of attractants for use in SWD management.
- Evaluate currently available commercial attractants in attract and kill applications for SWD in South Africa.
- Assess the diversity of parasitoids within the Drosophilidae family.
- Screen potential entomopathogenic- nematodes and fungicides against SWD in laboratory bioassays.