Mark Bolda, UC Farm Adviser for Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito Counties, has posted a link to a recent report authored by himself, Rachel Goodhue (UC Davis Agriculture and Resource Economics), and Frank Zalom (UC Davis Entomology) which details the potential economic impact of spotted wing drosophila (SWD) in California, Oregon, and Washington. It's worth a read in its entirety, but part of the take home message is that annual losses (based on 2008 revues) for SWD in these 3 states could top $420 million. It's also worth noting that these states have significant acreages of SWD host crops (76% of total US production by the author's estimates), so these potential losses cannot necessarily be generalized across the country. This this, however, a stark reminder that SWD has the potential to become a significant pest in small fruit production and that we need to be on top of it from detection to establishment.
Remember, SWD monitoring will begin this month. It's not too late to be involved. Contact Hannah Burrack for more details.
Further resources:
Spotted Wing Drosophila: Potential Economic Impact of a Newly Established Pest
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