USDA: odour research could solve the fight against Drosophila suzukii

29 Aug 2024
2004

Spotted Wing Drosophila, a well-known pest that infests ripe, ready-to-eat fruit, poses a significant threat to farmers because it is very difficult to control with standard pesticides. A new approach to tackling this pest involves manipulating the behavior of these insects by disguising healthy fruit as if it were infected with an unappealing pathogen.

By studying the specific odors emitted by infected fruit, researchers have identified the chemicals that repel the flies when applied to healthy fruit and are developing a slow-release device to disperse these fruity odors in the field, ensuring that they do not come into direct contact with the fruit. This method provides a new tool to help farmers protect their crops without relying exclusively on insecticides.

Source: USDA
Image: USDA


Cherry Times - All rights reserved

What to read next

Cherry production increases by 75% in the pilot orchard of AFIPA's Sustainable Agriculture in Action Project

Production

18 Feb 2025

The implementation of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and responsible handling of plant protection products were key factors for a significant increase in both productivity and quality of the cherries.

A new (non-destructive) method to identify decay and ripening stage of cherries

Post-harvest​

07 Dec 2023

The approach shows excellent performance in cherry recognition. It is remarkable that the training time of Swin Transformer and MLP was only 78.43 seconds (when in the absence of MLP the training time was 551.24 seconds) and that their recognition accuracy peaked at 98.5%.

In evidenza

The reduction in transit times to China will boost exports of Peruvian cherries

Markets

07 Sep 2026

Chancay Port cuts transit to China to 21-23 days, creating new prospects for Peruvian cherries. Peru is focusing on low-chill varieties, Andean growing areas and postharvest technologies to build a competitive position in the expanding global fresh cherry market.

Volumes of frozen Chilean cherries have risen by 95 per cent, opening up new market opportunities

Processed

07 Sep 2026

Chilean frozen cherry exports grew 95% in volume between 2024 and 2025. According to Gonzalo Bachelet of Chilealimentos, the sector offers new opportunities to add value to fruit not sold fresh, diversify markets and support investment in the expanding frozen cherry sector.

Tag Popolari