I’ve been learning quite a bit about things that can affect pest pressure, including BFF. I’ll probably write more about it in my newsletter at this point. It’s hard to share information when it doesn’t feel like it’s wanted or well received. Plus, many are attached to conventional ways of thinking. I don’t understand why there was a need to argue in the one thread, but it was what it was. Regardless, there is one way to defeat these things and that is to work in harmony with nature, not to war against it. Nature will always win wars.
This isn’t a lost cause and pests can affect every plant humans cultivate, so it isn’t anything new. Some will find a way through.
I think the biosphere is fragile and humans often misunderstand the limits, I realize that some of the crops grown here are not feasible long term because of the limitations of water, and lack of humidity that they might need, we might not be able to make this work for much longer, and rethinking and redesigning farming systems to be more like the natural systems that the plants evolved in might work better but it will take up more space. Because we are all stuck here together, ( whether we like it or not) we have to find ways to share information that might be valuable and can make a difference or help us develop our thinking. All of this is emotional and that is not something our society has taught us to manage or understand well.
I appreciate all of the insights shared and I am going to look into the JADAM info that you guys were sharing because it may hold some answers or ways to approach this that will be fruitful. @RosyPosy on OurFigs was using a Peach Ferment extract in traps that was from the JADAM way of farming that was actually catching this insect. She had some very informative posts sharing that. People have had a lot of difficulty actually catching it in traps, so it is not as easy as just setting the trap and finding them.
There is a huge difference in a neighborhood where you cannot stop the flies from coming into your property and a farm or more rural area where there is more isolation. That I think is part of the frustration that the people who are dealing with this have. I considered yanking out all of the fig trees, planted and wild here, when this insect first became known. It might have even worked for a short time, enough to stop the first wave of the insect, but we were hit with a fruit fly quarantine and then had to treat with a spinosad product for a full year. As it turns out, that product was the only thing so far that the CA scientists have to offer Organic farmers. They don't have any other protocols except bagging the fruit, or cutting down the fig trees or stripping the fruit for a season. As usual, the Organic farmers are on their own so we don't have a choice but to try to figure it out.
Some of the people on that other thread have done a LOT of work experimenting and testing. They have no choice, their area is infested with a pest menace. If we keep trialing and sharing, we will get better at stopping it. Trapping them in early season Caprifigs worked for me last season. I was able to sell fresh figs. I cut a LOT open to test to make sure. I also check EVERY fig tree every day during fruiting season and I have fruit on some of the trees right now. It may all fall apart this year but I don't think so. I know of one real "fig farm" not far from here-he and his neighbors have given up on the crop because of this pest. I don't know that much about his practices other than he has rows of trees that he prunes like grapevines. Not an organic or regenerative farmer.
The page I posted a link to shows pictures of ants attacking and eating the larvae, lizards do also, squirrels do also, birds do, there may be more vectors of insect control that we don't know about but it seems that an intact ecosystem with lots of diversity is our best weapon so the arguments you and a few others are making are important. We need to learn more about ecosystem relationships where the fly has been a problem and how that might help us to solve our current invasion. a scientist once told me that an "intact, diverse predator ecosystem" was the best defense against the psyllid in citrus. We have a citrus psyllid quarantine in our area but I am not seeing the psyllids ( and I look for them), so I think that is another argument for predators at a higher level than the fruit flies. By the way, scientists working on the psyllid problem discovered that they can trap the psyllid with lights, because they cue on the light reflections off the leaves of citrus trees-this may be what the "Brix" measurement is related to, it could also correlate with colors on the leaves, the amount of carbohydrates, "sugars" and chlorophyll created by efficient photosynthesis. From indications with this fig fruit fly, it is attracted more to scent cues but I don't think they know that for sure yet. ( Someone somewhere may know.)
The males are attracted to sap, they eat it, but the females, when they are in egg laying mode are looking for something with more protein in it and can be attracted to other types of bait. It would be interesting to look into their behavior and what can attract/distract them from a target. it sounds like some answers have been found, these are good lines of study and experimenting. Even if the first things tried don't work or are not "natural" enough, finding something that can affect the insect is one way of approaching this. I can't experiment in this way because our property is certified organic and that means we can't use the chemicals and treatments that conventional growers or backyard hobbyists can. Sometimes you are in an "emergency " situation. While still serious, I don't think it is an "emergency" here. I have found strategies that work for my property and encouraging/protecting the native predator insects is one strategy. The mulch situation is important because I also have ground nesting bees and I have to observe them to understand where they are nesting. I'm going to have to do another map of the entire property after the storms because they are likely destroyed and they will have to build up their numbers again. I have to be careful even adding mulch or moving things around, I don't want to damage the areas where they would nest. Happy to see a Native bumble bee recently so that means they are still here, although in less numbers than they should be.
Regardless, i made this thread so people will come back to the topic and discuss if they want to. We need more information and more interaction to solve this pest challenge! Thank you to everyone putting in any effort or interested or impacted. Don't give up!
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