Nitric Oxide Fumigation for Control of Spotted Wing Drosophila (Diptera: Drosophilidae) in Strawberries

Nitric oxide (NO) fumigation was conducted to determine the efficacy of controlling spotted wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae), in strawberries and the effects on postharvest quality of strawberries under ultralow oxygen conditions at 2°C. Eight-hour fumigations with 1.0 and 3.0% NO were tested against different life stages of the insect to determine an effective treatment, and a 16-h fumigation was tested to determine the impact on strawberry quality. Complete control of eggs and larvae in strawberries was achieved in an 8-h fumigation with 3.0% NO, and the treatment achieved 98.8% mortality of pupae. The first and second instars were more susceptible to NO and were completely controlled with 1.0% NO fumigation. The 16-h fumigation treatment with 3.0% NO had no negative impact on strawberry quality as there were no significant differences from the control in berry damage score. The NO fumigation, however, significantly reduced mold 2 wk after fumigation, indicating that NO fumigation had potential to preserve strawberry quality. The results of this study demonstrated that NO fumigation is effective for control of SWD and safe to strawberries, and therefore, NO fumigation has potential to control SWD on harvested strawberries.