Unusually High Spotted-Wing Drosophila Pressure
The invasive spotted-wing drosophila (SWD) is the key insect pest of soft-skinned fruit across the United States. With the recent wet weather, we have been experiencing higher than normal spotted wing drosophila (SWD) pressure. Depending on the intensity and amount, rain also substantially reduces insecticide residual activity against SWD; 0.8 inches will drop percent control for most insecticide products even at 3 days after treatment.¹ Therefore, reapplication after rain is the best bet. If producers cannot shorten their intervals or reapply, they might consider products like Mustang Maxx (zeta-cypermethrin) or Exirel (cyantraniliprole) which seem to be more rainfast than Delegate (spinetoram) or malathion.¹,²,³
Applied entomologists across the United States were asked to provide their relative ranking of insecticide performance against SWD under field conditions, across multiple crops (cranberries, cherries, and blueberries) and different regions (CA, OR, WA, MI, ME, NY, NJ, NC, GA, FL) with a scoring system of 0 = ineffective, 1 = weak, 2 = fair, 3 = good, and 4 = excellent. The most recent rankings were summarized in 2021.⁴ These rankings along with the active ingredient, IRAC code, crop that they can be used on, and pre harvest and reentry intervals are provided in Table 1. The final decisions on which insecticide to use should be based on whether it is registered for your crop, the pre-harvest interval, the cost, and also its suitability for helping to manage insecticide resistance. As always, rotate modes of action, ensure good spray coverage, and follow all label instructions.
Table 1. Insecticide efficacy rankings for spotted wing drosophila (SWD). Note that SWD does not appear on the labels of all products listed; when that is the case, whether the material can be used for SWD depends on regulations in each state. Not all products are registered for use in all states so you should consult the label and your state’s registrations for products that may be used in your location. (R) following the pesticide name indicates that the material is a restricted-use pesticide.
Ranking in graphs |
Rating* |
Product Name |
Active Ingredient(s) |
IRAC code (chem. class) |
Pre-harvest interval (d = days; h = hours; --- = not labeled for use on this crop). See individual product labels for details |
Re-entry interval (h = hours; d = days) |
---|
|
|
|
|
|
Strawberry |
Brambles |
Blueberries |
Ribes |
|
---|
1 (limited data) |
E (limited data) |
Cormoran |
novaluron + acetamiprid |
15 + 4A |
1d |
--- |
8d (highbush); 1d (lowbush) |
8d |
12h |
2 |
E |
Lannate (R |
methomyl |
1A |
--- |
--- |
3d |
--- |
48h for blueberries |
3 |
E |
Mustang Maxx (R) |
zeta-cypermethrin |
3A |
--- |
1d |
1d |
1d |
12h |
4 |
E |
Danitol (R) |
fenpropathrin |
3A |
2d or 3d (see label) |
3d |
3d (highbush); 2d or 3d (lowbush) |
21d currants; 3d gooseberry |
24h |
5 |
E |
Imidan |
phosmet |
1B |
--- |
--- |
3d |
--- |
24h highbush; 3d lowbush |
6 |
E-G |
Diazinon (R) |
diazinon |
1B
|
5d |
--- |
7d |
--- |
5d blueberry; 3d strawberry |
7 |
E-G |
Asana (R) |
esfenvalerate |
3A |
--- |
7d |
14d |
--- |
12h |
8 |
E-G |
Verdepryn |
cyclaniliprole |
28 |
1d |
1d |
1d |
1d |
4h |
9 |
E-G |
Brigade (R) |
bifenthrin |
3A |
0d |
3d |
1d |
1d |
12h |
10 |
E-G |
Exirel |
cyantranili-prole |
28 |
1d |
1d |
3d |
3d |
12h |
11 |
E-G |
Malathion |
malathion |
1B |
3d |
1d |
1d |
1d currants; 3d gooseberry |
12h |
12 |
E-G |
Delegate |
spinetoram |
5 |
--- |
1d |
1d or 3d |
1d or 3d |
4h |
12** |
E-G |
Radiant** |
spinetoram |
5 |
1d |
--- |
--- |
--- |
4h |
13 |
E-G |
Hero (R) |
zeta-cypermethrin + bifenthrin |
3A + 3A |
--- |
3d |
1d |
--- |
12h |
14 |
G |
Entrust |
spinosad |
5 |
1d |
1d |
1 or 3d |
1 or 3d |
4h |
15 |
G |
Baythroid XL (R)*** |
beta-cyfluthrin |
3 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
--- |
12h |
16 |
F |
Apta |
tolfenpyrad |
21A |
1d |
1d |
3d |
3d |
12h |
17 |
F |
Assail |
acetamiprid |
4A |
1d |
1d |
1d |
1d |
12h |
18 (limited data) |
F (limited data) |
Spear-T |
GS-omega/kappa-Hxtx-Hv1a |
32 |
0d |
0d |
0d |
0d |
4h |
19 |
F |
Sevin |
carbaryl |
1A |
7d |
7d |
7d |
7d |
12h |
20 |
F |
Grandevo |
Chromobac-terium subtsugae strain PRAA4-1T and spent fermentation media |
not
applic. |
0d |
0d |
0d |
0d |
4h |
21 |
F |
Movento
|
spirotetramat |
23 |
--- |
--- |
7d |
7d |
24h |
22 (limited data) |
F (limited data) |
Pyganic |
pyrethrins |
3A |
0d |
0d |
0d |
0d |
12h |
23 |
F-W |
Veratran D*** |
Sabadilla alkaloids |
not
applic. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
--- |
12h |
24 |
F-W |
Altacor |
chlorantranili-prole |
28 |
--- |
3d |
1d |
1d |
4h |
25 |
F-W |
Venerate CG |
Heat-killed Burkholderia spp. strain A396 cells and spent fermentation media |
UnB |
0d |
0d |
0d |
0d |
4h |
26 |
F-W |
Azera |
azadirachtin + pyrethrins |
Un + 3A |
0d |
0d |
0d |
0d |
12h |
27 |
W |
Jet-Ag |
hydrogen peroxide + peroxyacetic acid |
not
applic. |
none listed on label |
none listed on label |
none listed on label |
none listed on label |
Until sprays dry in field; 4h in greenhouses |
28 |
W |
Azaguard |
azadirachtin |
Un |
0d |
0d |
0d |
0d |
4h |
29 |
W-N |
Rimon |
novaluron |
15 |
1d |
--- |
8d highbush; 1d or 8d lowbush |
8d |
12h |
30 |
W-N |
Sivanto |
flupyradi-furone |
4D |
see label |
0d |
see label |
see label |
4h or 12h (see label) |
31 |
W-N |
Admire Pro |
imidacloprid |
4A |
7d (foliar); 14d (soil) |
3d (foliar); 7d (soil) |
3d (foliar); 7d (soil) |
3d (foliar); 7d (soil) |
12h |
*E = excellent, G = good, F = fair, W = weak, N = Little to no efficacy
**Radiant was not rated in the original document, but was assigned the same ranking as Delegate based on active ingredient.
***Baythroid is not labeled for berry crops but may be used on cherries and grapes. Veratran D is not allowed for use on any berry crops, but is labeled for use on certain crops grown in warm climates.
References
- Van Timmeren, S., and R. Isaacs. 2013. Control of spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, by specific insecticides and by conventional and organic crop protection programs. Crop Protection 54: 126-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2013.08.003
- Gautam, B.K., Little, B.A., Taylor, M.D., Jacobs, J.L. Lovett, W.E., Holland, R.M., Sial. A.A. 2016. Effect of simulated rainfall on the effectiveness of insecticides against spotted wing drosophila in blueberries. Crop Protection 81: 122-128 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2015.12.017
- Andika, I.P, Vandervoort, C., and J.C. Wise. 2019. Rainfastnesss of insecticides used to control spotted-wing drosophila in tart cherry production. Insects 10(7):203 https://doi.org/10.3390/insects10070203
- 2021 rankings of insecticides for their performance against spotted-wing drosophila: https://swdmanagement.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/SWD-rankings-document-2021.pdf
This article appears in August 2023, Volume 14, Issue 6 of the Vegetable and Fruit News.
Vegetable & Fruit News, August 2023, Volume 14, Issue 6
Vegetable and Fruit News is a statewide publication for the commercial vegetable and fruit industries and is published monthly during the growing season (April through October). Subscribers will receive an email with the latest edition.
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