Spotted Wing Drosophila Workshop - March 24

The first of three spotted wing drosophila (SWD) workshops will be held next Thursday, March 24 at the Piedmont Research Station near Salisbury, NC. The workshop will run from 10am-2pm, and the program will be as follows:

SWD Identification Workshop Program
10:00-11:00 SWD Adult Biology and Identification
11:00-12:00 SWD Larval Biology and Identification
12:00-1:00 Sponsored Lunch
1:00-2:00 SWD Monitoring Demonstration

Registration is required, and the workshop is restricted to 30 participants. Priority will be given to Cooperative Extension Agents from NC, SC, and VA. Funds are available to support agent travel to the workshop.

To register for the workshop, email Hannah by Monday, March 21st.

Spotted Wing Drosophila Monitoring 2011 - Seeking Volunteers

We will be beginning spotted wing drosophila (SWD) monitoring this month! As some of you are aware, last year we conducted SWD monitoring with the help of volunteer trappers. This project was very successful and was responsible for the detection of SWD in NC and central SC. Without this monitoring network, we would not have had the valuable early warning which allowed us to train growers in identification and monitoring tools this winter.

I would like to build on the success of this project in 2011. We again have funds from the Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium to purchase supplies for the volunteer monitoring network. New for 2011, we also have funds to support extension agent travel to 3 hands on training sessions. The first training session is scheduled for March 24th at the Piedmont Research Station near Salisbury, NC. More information on this training session will be posted this week.

You may be thinking, "Why do we need to trap for SWD? Don't we already know we have it?" In 2010, we monitored 24 locations, but found flies or larvae at just 14 of those. We also found flies at locations where we weren't monitoring! We do not yet understand the range of SWD in the southeast or when the populations are the highest. This is what we will focus on in 2011. Our goal is to delimit the spread of SWD in NC, SC, and VA and determine when populations are likely to cause the most damage. This will help us recommend management strategies to growers and homeowners alike.

Because determining range is a key goal, we need as many locations as possible. I am expanding my call for volunteers to include research station personnel, master gardeners, growers, and the public (that's you). Volunteers will receive all monitoring supplies, SWD identification training (either in person at one of the workshops or via webinar), and monitoring support throughout the growing season. To maintain 1 site should take 1-2 hours per week, not including travel time to the site (we are putting out fewer traps per site than last year).

If you are interested in participating in the SWD Volunteer Monitoring Network, please fill out the form at this link.

Please complete this form by Tuesday, March 15th. If you have questions about the monitoring network, please email me.

The importance of extension

See WNC Vegetable and Small Fruit News, a blog maintained by regional IPM agent Sue Colucci, for a short, but powerful post on the importance of extension. I echo her comments. If you value what we as extension researchers and educators do, now is the time to let your decision-makers know.

I truly feel that we are at a crucial junction in extension, and more broadly, at our nation's land grant universities. By all means, we need to innovate and use resources wisely, but extension is a real engine of growth and change, beyond just agriculture.

More information
Seven reasons extension is needed today - WNC Vegetable and Small Fruit News

Virginia Berry Conference - March 17

I will be presenting at the 4th Annual Virgina Berry Conference in Petersburg, VA on March 17th. I will be broadly discussing insect management in berry crops (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and grapes) with an emphasis on blueberries, caneberries, and grapes (as most of the other talks address these crops). I will also be recruiting Virginia participants for the southeastern spotted wing drosophila (SWD) monitoring network.

More information
Virginia Berry Conference - Program & Registration Form (Note that registration is due by March 9th)