Posts Tagged: vinegar
UC Davis Researchers Discover Key Driver in How Animals ‘Sense’ Seasonal Changes
UC Davis researchers led by molecular geneticist and physiologist Joanna Chiu, vice chair...
Drosophila melanogaster, known as the vinegar fly, is a widely used model organism for biological research. (Photo courtesy of Sanjay Archarya, Wikipedia)
Maggots in My Cherries Again This Year?
Advice from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa
Help Desk Response: The spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) is a relatively new pest of cherries and other soft fleshy fruits (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, etc). Unlike other vinegar flies that attack rotting or fermenting fruit, the spotted wing attacks maturing fruit. The name spotted wing drosophila comes from the single black spot at the tip of each wing of the male adult. Don't think though that you will be able to identify this fly by those markings without magnification because these adults are small, really small. The female is able to penetrate the skin of the fruit to lay her eggs and this act creates a small depression (“sting”) on the fruit surface. The eggs hatch and the maggots develop and feed inside the fruit, causing the flesh of the fruit to turn brown and soft.
An alternative to malathion with fewer negative environmental effects would be spinosad (e.g., Monterey Garden Insect Spray and see http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/TOOLS/PNAI/pnaishow.php?id=65); h
Since spotted wing drosophila attacks ripening fruit it is often not noticed in home garden situations until the fruit is being harvested. Sprays at this time will not protect the crop because maggots are already in the fruit. If only some of the fruit are infested, you can salvage some of the crop by harvesting immediately and sorting the fruit, removing any with “stings” on the surface. It is recommended that all infested fruit be removed from the tree and picked up from the ground. It should then be placed in a sealed plastic bag and disposed of in the trash or buried. Do not put the infested fruit in your compost pile as it may not get hot enough to destroy the eggs and larvae still in the fruit.
*****************************************
This blog was originally written by Emma Connery, Retired Master Gardener Program Coordinator, for publication in the Contra Costa Times April 2, 2011. Slight changes have been made to the original for this blog and are the full responsibility of the blog editor.
*****************************************
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
Come to the UC MGCC Program's Great Tomato Plant Sale
Walnut Creek 4/2&9, Richmond 4/9, and Antioch 4/16
Click for locations and plant lists!
Dozens of heirloom tomatoes & vegetables chosen especially for Contra Costa
Note: The UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa's Help Desk is available year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays, we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 75 Santa Barbara Road, 2d Floor, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 646-6586, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/ MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog (//ucanr.edu/blogs/CCMGBlog/).
Vinegar flies and bomb detection
Interesting short piece on the potential to use "fruit flies" (these would actually be vinegar flies belonging to the family Drosophilidae, true fruit flies belong to the family Tephritidae - IBD needs a better science blurbist) to detect bombs and illicit drugs given that they can detect odor from these materials almost as well as wine odors.
I can believe it, I've seen work using electrodes on vinegar fly antennae showing highly selective sensitivity to certain volatiles given off from fruit in the air.
http://news.investors.com/101514-721966-bomb-detecting-fruit-flies-.htm?ntt=fruit+fly
A Few Observations on Vinegar Flies in Strawberries
As any grower knows, vinegar flies, Drosophila spp., have been a major deal in strawberries the last few years. It seems the slightest delay in picking (especially in the fall) is met with an onslaught of vinegar flies followed by a huge loss of fruit.
I have the good fortune to be funded this year by the North American Strawberry Growers Association (NASGA) on a study looking at predaceous nematodes as a way of controlling vinegar flies. More on that at a later date, but having my research assistant Monise Sheehan and I spend some time looking closely at vinegar flies in strawberry brings up some observations that I would like to share here.
First of all, regular vinegar flies, as opposed to the spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, do not oviposit in fruit, rather they oviposit on the surface. I am going to underline that this doesn't at all mean they won't damage the fruit, since it is only 24 hours each one spends in the egg stage before becoming an active larva fully capable of penetrating into the fruit.
It is interesting to see where the egg laying is taking place. It's uncommon to see eggs just deposited on a healthy fruit (Photo 2); it is rather in wounds (Photo 3) and cracks (Photo 4), bruises and any other kind of damage which softens and compromises the integrity of the fruit where the bulk of the eggs are found.
I think the take home message for strawberry growers and supporting professionals is to know how very fast the life cycle of vinegar flies goes and the big role that damage, be it wounds, cracking, bruising or general softness has in promoting their development.
Photo 1: Vinegar fly eggs under the microscope. Long fibers are respiratory tubes.
Photo 2: Mass of vinegar fly eggs on an ostensibly healthy fruit. The immaturity of this fruit is notable.
Photo 3: Mass of vinegar fly eggs in fruit wound, rendering it totally unmarketable.
Photo 4: Vinegar fly eggs nicely lined up in crack under calyx. This fruit is lost.
Update on the Cherry Vinegar Fly, Drosophila suzukii , Now Known as the Spotted Wing Drosophila
Photo Courtesy Ed Show