MSU Extension to offer spotted wing Drosophila workshops this spring

Learn how to monitor and manage spotted wing Drosophila in 2012.

MSU Extension will provide three in-depth workshops on spotted wing Drosophila (SWD) biology and management this spring, designed for crop scouts, consultants and fruit growers. This invasive insect was detected in Michigan in late 2010 and in many other eastern US states in 2011 and is now found in most major fruit producing regions of the country. Spotted wing Drosophila is a pest of berries and other soft fruits, and will require active management by growers to minimize its economic impact.

This workshop will include the latest research information as well as hands-on training in monitoring, identification and fruit sampling. The workshop has been developed to help integrate SWD management into IPM programs. It will be led by members of the MSU Department of Entomology who have been studying this insect since its arrival in Michigan.

There is a registration fee of $30 for the workshop. This covers the workshop plus attendance at the hands-on training on the afternoon of June 12. Space is limited to 25 attendees per workshop, so please sign up in advance. Call or email Judy Hanson at 616-994-4548 or to register for one of the workshops. The workshops will be held at the Trevor Nichols Research Center, 6237 124th Avenue , Fennville, Mich. (see map). Classroom workshops (each the same) will be held on April 24 at 1 to 4 p.m., May 15 at 1 to 4 p.m., and June 12 at 9 a.m. to noon. For attendees at all these workshops, a follow-up, hands-on field training will be held on June 12 at 1 to 3 p.m., also at the Trevor Nichols Research Center.

These workshops are made possible by funding from Project GREEEN and the US-EPA.

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