The use of light spectrum blocking films to reduce populations of Drosophila suzukii Matsumura in fruit crops

Fountain, Michelle T., Badiee, Amir, Hemer, Sebastian, Delgado, Alvaro, Mangan, Michael, Dowding, Colin, Davis, Frederick and Pearson, Simon (2020) The use of light spectrum blocking films to reduce populations of Drosophila suzukii Matsumura in fruit crops. Scientific Reports, 10. ISSN 2045-2322

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Abstract

Spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, is a serious invasive pest impacting the production of multiple fruit crops, including soft and stone fruits such as strawberries, raspberries and cherries. Effective control is challenging and reliant on integrated pest management which includes the use of an ever decreasing number of approved insecticides. New means to reduce the impact of this pest that can be integrated into control strategies are urgently required. In many production regions, including the UK, soft fruit are typically grown inside tunnels clad with polyethylene based materials. These can be modified to filter specific wavebands of light. We investigated whether targeted spectral modifications to cladding materials that disrupt insect vision could reduce the incidence of D. suzukii. We present a novel approach that starts from a neuroscientific investigation of insect sensory systems and ends with infield testing of new cladding materials inspired by the biological data. We show D. suzukii are predominantly sensitive to wavelengths below 405 nm (ultraviolet) and above 565 nm (orange & red) and that targeted blocking of lower wavebands (up to 430 nm) using light restricting materials reduces pest populations up to 73% in field trials.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Funding Information: This work was funded by the Innovate UK project 102526. Acknowledgements: We thank British Polythene Industries for supply of the greenhouse materials and co-sponsoring the research. We are grateful to the NIAB EMR field staff for support and Phil Brain for statistical advice. We would also like to thank Paul Hadley, Carrie Twitchen, Chris Bingham and Amira Elnokaly for their advice and support and Berry Gardens agronomists for advising on the care of the strawberry plants.
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Science > School of Engineering (former - to 2024)
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Sustainable Energy
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Materials, Manufacturing & Process Modelling
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Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 08 Feb 2022 17:30
Last Modified: 07 Nov 2024 12:44
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/83350
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-72074-8

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