Bait sprays - an alternative to control the European cherry fruit fly Rhagoletis cerasi ?

Summary

In 2005 initial experiments were carried out to control Rhagoletis cerasi with bait sprays. We used GF-120
fruit fly bait which contains Spinosad and NeemAzal®-T/S mixed in a sugar-yeast hydrolysate solution. 30 ml
of bait sprays were applied on single cherry trees in field cages, where we released a defined number of
cherry fruit flies. One experiment with GF-120 resulted in a reduction of fruit infestation of 96 % compared
with the control. In other trials with GF-120 and Neem bait the effect on the cherry fruit fly population was
monitored. After 24 hours GF-120 in a 5 % and 20 % solution led to a high reduction of flies (efficacy 85 %),
whereas NeemAzal®-T/S in a 5 %, 10 %, and 20 % solution only resulted in efficacies between 34 % and
42 %. A significant effect of GF-120 was observed already after 3 hours.