Pest Alert

The common fruit fly has been found around the wine making industry since the very beginning but researchers are working to determine the impact that the Spotted Winged Drosophila may have on winegrapes. OSU entomologist, Vaughn Walton.

WALTON: There is this renewed interest because we've started seeing these and of course when you walk up to a cluster and you see these flies on the cluster you start looking for the flies with the spots on them and of course when you start seeing flies with spots on them then people make the assumption these are all Spotted Winged Drosophila which is not necessarily accurate.

But there is one pest that is making itself known here in the northwest slowly but surely. The brown marmorated stink bug.

WALTON: Our biggest concern are the agricultural areas relatively close to the urban areas and close to highways and major transport hubs. Railway tracks, those types of things. So this year we have started looking more and more into agricultural settings. We're finding it for the first time in relatively large numbers in hazelnuts very close to urban areas.

The brown marmorated stink bug has caused significant damage on the east coast.

WALTON: We did send an alert out to all of the extension agents about brown marmorated stink bug because not with the changing temperatures they start congregating, they start moving from trees into crops or they'll move to housing structures and those types of situations.

That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.