Regulation of cherry fruit fly

Extensive regulation of cherry fruit fly in standard tree orchards: rearing and mass-release of parasitoids

The European cherry fruit fly Rhagoletis cerasi Loew (Diptera: Tephritidae) is a highly destructive pest of sweet cherries in Europe. Without insecticide treatment 100 per cent of the fruits can be infested. The regulation of R. cerasi poses a challenge to cherry growers because of the low tolerance level of the market to damaged fruit (maximum 2 per cent of infested fruits). In a preceding project new strategies for cherry fruit fly regulation in dwarf-tree orchards for fresh market production were developed. In these production systems, the cherry fruit fly can now be regulated effectively by applications of the entomopathogenous fungus Beauveria bassiana. However, for standard tree orchard this method is inapplicable. New, more extensive strategies are therefore needed. The current project focuses on the rearing and mass-release of pupal parasitoids of R. cerasi.