15AGRITECHCAT4: Early attractants for the major new fruit pest, Drosophila suzukii; a 'super lure'

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Spotted wing Drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, originated in the Far East but has recently appeared as an invasive pest inthe USA and Europe. Unlike most other Drosophila species which attack only ripe and overripe fruit and are of littleeconomic importance as pests in a commercial situation, D. suzukii can attack ripening fruit and is threatening to becomethe single most damaging pest of soft and stone fruit in Europe and the USA. Females lay eggs in fruit before harvest andthe larvae feed inside causing rapid degradation in fruit quality, rendering it unmarketable. Current commercially-availablebaits are based on ripe or fermenting volatiles from host fruits, but they are not competitive with the ripening fruit crops andare not specific to D. suzukii. This project will test the hypothesis that D. suzukii is unusual among fruit flies in beingattracted to volatiles from plants with ripening fruits and that the volatiles responsible can be used to develop a lure that ismore attractive and much more specific for D. suzukii than existing lures. Such a lure would find world-wide application inmonitoring and control of this pest. This innovative approach brings together UK fruit growers and a producer organisation,Berry Gardens Growers, a manufacturer, Real IPM, and scientists from two research organisations, East Malling Researchand the Natural Resources Institute of the University of Greenwich.