The appearance in Canada in 2009 of the Spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii, has meant lost revenues for fruit growers and challenges for the crop specialists they rely on. Research activities underway provincially, at universities and within Agricultural and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) are helping to shed light on the behavior and biology of this pest in affected regions, and management approaches that may provide the solutions needed by growers.
A series of webinar sessions is being held over the course of the next few months in an effort to share information about the regional situation and progress made so far, and to provide a forum for discussion about gaps in knowledge and management, and next steps toward robust, sustainable solutions for management of this pest.
The next, second session in the series will take place on, Tuesday, January 24, 2017 from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. EST. The focus will be on the situation in tree fruit and grapes, in British Columbia and Ontario with respect to SWD, and will include research and monitoring updates from these areas. Subsequent sessions will take place in February and March, 2017.
The webinar session will be delivered through WEBEX. You MUST register to join.
Please follow the steps below to register:
- Go to https://gts-ee.webex.com/gts-ee/mc
- Paste the meeting number “553 798 511” into the meeting number box
- Click on the green “Join” box, you will be redirected to a new page
- Click on the grey “Register” box, and fill in your registration information.
This webinar series is being provided by the national Spotted-wing Drosophila Technical Working Group (SWD-TWG), a group established in 2012 as the result of a partnership between the Canadian Horticultural Council and AAFC’s Pest Management Centre.
For more information, please contact Leslie Farmer, Manager, Pesticide Risk Reduction Program, Pest Management Centre, by email or at 613-694-2438.
