Wine East Opinion

 

Vineyard Pest Spreading in Eastern U.S.

September 2018
 
by Linda Jones McKee
 
 

The New Jersey Department of Agriculture announced July 18 that the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) had been found in Warren County, N.J. That county is separated from Pennsylvania by the Delaware River and is only about 50 miles from Berks County, Pa., where the spotted lanternfly (SLF) was first identified in 2014.

In spite of quarantine measures instituted by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) in November 2014, the insect has spread in southeastern Pennsylvania. The quarantine zone now covers a total of 13 counties east of the Susquehanna River and south of the Pocono Mountains. It has been found in small numbers in New York, Delaware and Virginia.

Because the SLF has increased in both numbers and geographic location, concern about the threat this insect species poses to agriculture and other industries such as hardwoods has also increased among the wine industry, university experts and government agencies. For the first time, researchers from Pennsylvania State University, Temple University, Rutgers University, Cornell University and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University met at Albright College in Reading, Pa., for a "working group" meeting on the SLF on July 16 and 17.

They were joined by extension personnel, representatives from the PDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, members of groups such as the Hardwoods Development Council, and individuals from industries including wineries, orchards and landscaping firms that have been impacted by the presence of this new pest. According to Heather Leach, an extension associate in entomology at Penn State and one of the organizers of the meeting, 85 people attended from eight states.

The conference focused primarily on updating the current research on the SLF by different universities and the USDA-APHIS. Julie Urban, senior research associate in entomology at Penn State, was one of several researchers who spoke about the projects they are conducting in different locations. She along with Erica Smyers, a doctoral candidate in entomology, Michela Centenari, assistant professor of viticulture, and Michael Saunders, professor emeritus of entomology, have set up a research site in Berks County at Manatawny Creek Winery in Douglassville, Pa.

This spring the researchers planted 80 three-year-old Chardonnay vines, each one in a netted cage, and after the vines are established, plan to introduce different densities of adult SLF. The goals are to determine the feeding damage to the vine, long-term damage, amount of yield reduction and the impact of sooty mold (which can occur on the honeydew secreted by the insects as they feed) on the vines.

A second project is taking place at the Berks campus of Penn State in Reading. Urban planted 250 one-year-old grapevines and then introduced ten SLF nymphs into the sleeve surrounding each vine. She is testing the efficacy of 20 different insecticides, and will check each vine every two, seven and 14 days to count how many SLF are alive or dead.

Doug Pfeiffer, professor of entomology at Virginia Tech, suggested that work needs to be done on the behavior and phenology of the SLF and noted that the first egg hatch on May 9 and the first adults on July 12 are occurring earlier in this country than what has been suggested by information from Chinese researchers on the SLF.

A panel representing industries affected by the SLF included Jenny Metz, vineyard manager at Maple Springs Vineyard in Bechtelsville, Pa. She said that initially they kept the nymphs under control with sprays, but by September she couldn't spray frequently enough. She was concerned about the quality of the fruit, the decrease in yields, and the potential longevity of the vines, especially after finding no fruit on the edges of the vineyard.

Other members of the panel-Brian Walsh, owner of Salix Springs Landscaping in Montgomery County, Pa., Ed Weaver, owner of Weaver's Orchard in southern Berks County, and Wayne Bender from the Hardwoods Development Council-expressed their concerns about the best management practices for tree fruits, berry crops, and hardwoods, since the SLF is a voracious eater of those crops and more than 70 other plant species.

After the presentations and discussions, the group brainstormed on potential research priorities and made suggestions for extension projects and for possible regulations.

In February, the USDA allocated $17.5 million to help stop the SLF and the Pennsylvania state budget for 2018-2019 included $3 million for the PDA to work to understand, detect and control this invasive pest. It is estimated that the SLF could devastate $18 billion worth of agricultural products in Pennsylvania alone.

-Linda Jones McKee

 
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