PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Insect researchers say they aren’t seeing much evidence of a tiny fruit fly that last year showed a fearsome appetite for Oregon’s fruit and berries.
Only about 50 of the spotted wing Drosophila have been caught in traps in western Oregon. It may be that this spring’s cold, wet weather and the resulting delay in ripening fruit is keeping them at bay. But the state’s strawberries and cherries are ripening this month.
Oregon State University crop science professor Amy Dreves says it’s too early to draw many conclusions.
Peter Shearer with OSU’s extension center in Hood River says some farmers already have the tools to deal with the fly. Oregon cherry growers already spray to kill the western cherry fruit fly. Shearer says most insecticides used for that pest will probably zap the spotted wing Drosophila.
