Delivered to the attendees of the 2014 Texas Fruit Conference at College Station, this presentation discussed some of the emerging fruit pests in Texas that growers should be aware of and recognize their damage.
Tag: fruit
Spotted Wing Drosophila in Texas
Snapshot:
Drosophila suzukii, Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD), is an invasive pest that attacks several soft-bodied fruit, such as cherries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and grapes. Similar in size to the common fruit fly, except the females have a serrated ovipositor (organ used for depositing eggs), allowing them to lay eggs in fruit just before harvest. As a result, the fruit can be unfit for fresh markets by the time they are harvested, resulting in crop loss. If you would like to send samples to confirm SWD identification, please use the spotted wing drosophila submission form.