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Emergency permits for Delegate, Entrust for SWD

June 12, 2014, Calgary, Alta – Horticultural producers across Canada once again have access to two important tools to protect their soft-skinned fruits against spotted wing drosophila (SWD). Delegate Insecticide and Entrust Insecticide have both received emergency use permits for application on all soft fruits for control of SWD.

Growers in British Columbia have been battling SWD for a few years now. The pest was first discovered in Ontario late in 2010, which prompted Ontario and Quebec growers to set up and monitor traps the following year. Many growers in those two provinces needed to apply controls in 2012 and 2013. The pest continues to move east with its first detection in Nova Scotia in 2011. Growers expect to see the pest in more acres of crop this year.

Late in 2013, Japan established maximum residue levels for Delegate in potatoes and blueberries, a critical step in securing that export market for producers. For potato growers, Delegate provides excellent control of Colorado potato beetle and European corn borer.

“Delegate is a superior insecticide, with a novel mode of action and improved environmental profile, offering the best insect control for fruit growers,” says Jerry Olechowski, marketing manager with Dow AgroSciences. “Entrust is an insect control product approved for certified organic fruit and vegetable crops.”

SWD has the potential to cause extensive damage to many fruit crops. While growers are accustomed to the vinegar flies that commonly infest overripe, damaged or dropped fruit, SWD infests healthy fruit. Their serrated ovipositors cut into healthy fruit and lay eggs under the skin. Larvae hatch and feed on the fruit, rendering it unmarketable. Diseases and other insect pests can also enter through the egg laying holes and cause further damage.

Fruit must be protected proactively from the time they start to colour until harvest is completed. Fruits at risk include raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, strawberry, apricot, cherry, plum, peach, nectarine and other soft-skinned fruit. SWD can occasionally cause issues in grapes also.

Dow AgroSciences has applied for full registration of Delegate and approval is anticipated in time for the 2015 growing season.