New Spotted Wing Drosophila Control for Blackberry, Raspberry Growers

Hannah Burrack, Professor and Extension Specialist at North Carolina State University, says in a new Extension bulletin that an expanded federal label for Exirel insecticide (FMC Corporation) is good news for blackberry and raspberry growers against spotted wing drosophila.

“While we are still waiting on the state label for Exirel in caneberries in North Carolina, we expect it to be available for use during the 2019 growing season,” she writes.

Burrack explains this label expands the modes of action to include a Exirel, a Group 28 MOA. Exirel has a one-day preharvest interval. She recommends a maximum of 30.8 fluid ounces Exirel can be applied per acre, which equates to either two applications at the lower label rate (13.5 fluid ounces per acre) or one application at the highest label rate (20.5 fluid ounces per acre).