Maggot of Asian Fruit Fly Ravages Blueberry Before Harvest

choi

Beth Daley, The Race to Save a Down East Delight; A new breed of fruit fly is imperiling the wild blueberry crop in Maine. Boston Globe, Aug 11, 2013 (front page).
http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifes ... zOlsWM0L/story.html

My comment:
(a) There is no need to read this report, whose essence is that Asian fruit fly (Drosophila suzukii, with distinct spotted wings) is wreaking havoc in the industry of soft fruit.
(b) fruit fly
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit_fly
(may include Drosophila melanogaster or common fruit fly and Drosophila suzukii or Asian fruit fly)
(i) Drosophila
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drosophila
(section 1 Etymology)
(ii) Drosophila suzukii
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drosophila_suzukii
(Native to southeast Asia, widely observed throughout parts of Japan, Korea, and China by the early 1930s)

Quote: "Unlike its vinegar fly relatives which are primarily attracted to rotting or fermented fruit, female D suzukii attack fresh, ripe fruit by using their saw-like ovipositor to lay eggs under the fruit's soft skin. The larvae hatch and grow in the fruit, destroying the fruit's commercial value.

(c) "The wild blueberries are quite different from the cultivated ones usually sold in supermarkets, and not just because they’re tiny. The plants have crept over Maine’s rocky land naturally since the end of the last Ice Age, creating hundreds of thousands of bushes. Other than in Canada and a few scattered locations in New England, they are not found anywhere else in the world."
(i) Apparently the paragraph in the report is incorrect. See the next two.
(ii) Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton[:] lowbush blueberry. Natural Resources Conservation Service, US Department of Agriculture, undated.
http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=vaan

This is a map of "View Distribution Status." At lower left corner of the map is "View Native Status" which is the same.
(iii) Vaccinium corymbosum L[:] highbush blueberry. Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA, undated.
http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=VACO

This is a map of "View Distribution Status." At lower left corner of the map is "View Native Status" which is the same.

(d) US Blueberry Industry. Economic Research Service, USDA, updated June 2013.
http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/ ... .do?documentID=1765
* table01.xls World blueberry production, 1970-2011:
Neither China nor Taiwan produce blueberry.
* table02.xls US blueberry production and utilization (cultivated and wild), selected States, 1980-2012:

"Maine produces wild blueberries, other states cultivated."

In 2011 Maine (No 1) > Michigan (No 2). But the order reversed in 2010.

(e) The report mentions both hand- and mechanical harvesting.
(i) "Over and over, they filled hand-held scoops and gently poured the succulent wild fruit [of lowbush blueberry in Maine] into brightly colored tubs stacked high on the expansive fields— the first of more than 80 million pounds of berries expected to be harvested and frozen in the next few weeks and shipped the world over to fill muffins, pancakes, pies, and breakfast bowls."
(ii) "giant mechanized harvesters rolled across the barrens"

(f) Though the report does not distinguish highbush from lowbush blueberry, it is important to know them, as harvesting methods differ for these two species.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). United States Highbush Blueberry Council, undated.
http://www.blueberry.org/faq.htm

Quote:

(i) "Terminologies[:] Highbush (Cultivated) and Lowbush (Wild) Blueberries

"Q: What is the difference between a cultivated (Highbush)  and a wild  (Lowbush) blueberry?

"A: Both are blueberries. The lowbush is grown in Northern Maine and parts of Canada. It is from a different plant, but part of the vacinnium family. Both are blueberries, both fit various needs of the food industry. For our promotions however, we represent only the 'highbush' or 'cultivated' or 'improved' blueberries!

(ii) "Q: Does size matter?

"A: Blueberries plants were selected from the wild and they are natural.  They produce berries of all sorts of different sizes.  We call this naturally sized.  Some food processors desire small berries, for items such as mini muffins, and highbush blueberries do come in smaller sizes.  Also, the smaller the berry, the more skin to flesh ration exists.  The skin is where the blue pigment is stored which has the anthocyanin and other beneficial substances.   But, for most food processing uses, we recommend that you do not lock yourself into a berry size.  Naturally sized berries are always the best bet!  

(iii) "Q: Where do I locate a blueberry harvesting rake?

"A: This is actually a tool used in the lowbush industry.  We either handpick or mechanically harvest our highbush blueberries.  But, we always get this question.  So, here is a place you can get a genuine blueberry rake: http://www.hubbardrakes.com/

(g)  Hazel Galloway, Northern Highbush and Lowbush Blueberries, Vaccinium spp. Mountain Lake Biological Station, University of Virginia, June 22, 2010.
http://www.mlbs.virginia.edu/org ... dLowbushBlueberries

(h) lowbush harvest
(i) joe hudson, Raking Blueberries in Maine. YouTube.com, Aug 22, 2012.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilrffZ2DBUM
(ii) There are lowbush harvesters of different sizes. See

Production-sources of Rakes and Harvesters. University of Maine, undated (in the section Cooperative Extension: Maine Wild Blueberries).
http://umaine.edu/blueberries/fa ... kes-and-harvesters/
(iii) For one of the mechanical harvester shown in the preceding link, see

Rick Farnsworth, Maine Blueberry Harvestor [sic, should be harvester]. YouTube.com, Sept 11, 2 008.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBmlKr_CqZw

(iv) highbush harvester

Oxbointernational, Oxbo 930. YouTube.com, Dec 8, 2011.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SLs2hmsEv4