Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae), commonly referred to as the spotted wing drosophila, is an exotic species that has proven a troublesome pest of fruit production in the United States. The fly targets small fruit and thus represents a concern for the U.S. cranberry industry. Two studies were conducted to assess whether cranberries may serve as hosts for D. suzukii. In the first study, the suitability of ripe, unripe, and over-ripe cranberries were assayed by examining adult oviposition and larval development in no-choice trials. In the second study, wounded and unwounded fruit were examined as potential hosts in choice and no-choice trials. Our first study showed that ripe, unripe, and over-ripe cranberries were unsuitable hosts (few eggs were laid, with no surviving puparia). In the wounded and unwounded berry study, no larvae survived to adulthood among unwounded berries. Within wounded fruit, D. suzukii readily fed and developed into adults. Together, these results suggest that unwounded cranberries--whether ripe, unripe, or over-ripe--are unsuitable as hosts for D. suzukii. Wounded rotting cranberries, however, can serve as hosts. Across the landscape, cranberry marshes with rotting fruit may contribute to D. suzukii source-sink dynamics.

Over the past 15 yr, an invasive cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora, has covered more than 5000 ha of tidal mudflats in Willapa Bay, Washington, threatening key shorebird habitat on the Pacific Flyway. Although chemical and mechanical control methods have been used to manage Spartina in Willapa Bay, little is known about how these methods affect subsequent use by shorebirds and waterfowl. During 2003-2004, four sites were monitored for 10-min periods for use by shorebirds [Dunlin (Calidris alpina), Western Sandpiper (C. mauri), Least Sandpiper (C. minutilla), Black-bellied Plovers (Pluvialis squatarola) and Long-billed and Short-billed dowitchers (Limnodromus sp.)] and waterfowl [Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Gadwall (A. strepera), American Wigeon (A. americana), Greenwinged Teal (A. crecca), and Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)]. The four sites were bare mudflat (never infested with Spartina), tilled Spartina meadow (free of live Spartina and dead stubble), herbicide-sprayed Spartina meadow (10% living Spartina and 30% dead stubble), and an untreated Spartina meadow. Untreated Spartina meadow was rarely used by birds, with a mean of seven small Calidris sandpipers (peeps) and 0.8 waterfowl ha −1 . Mean numbers of peeps and waterfowl observed using the herbicide-treated Spartina meadow were 62 and 16 ha −1 , and the tilled Spartina meadow were 700 and 27 ha −1 , respectively. Mean use of the adjacent bare mud site by peeps and waterfowl was 450 and 11 ha −1 , respectively. The untreated Spartina meadow, sprayed meadow, tilled meadow and the bare mud site had mean densities of Black-bellied Plovers and dowitchers of 26, 24, 6, and 0 ha −1 , and 0.8, 6, 0.3, and 0 ha −1 , respectively. Our results demonstrate that, within several years of removal of invasive Spartina from mudflats in a large Washington estuary by either mechanical or chemical means, use by shorebirds and waterfowl will increase dramatically.

Outside its native range, smooth cordgrass is a noxious weed in estuaries throughout the world. Trials were conducted to evaluate smooth cordgrass control with imazapyr at various timings, rates, and spray volumes, and with several surfactants; comparisons were made with glyphosate, the sole herbicide registered in the United States for estuarine use. Across years, all sites, application dates, and experiments, it was found that smooth cordgrass control with imazapyr at 1.68 kg/ha was better and more consistent than with glyphosate at 8.4 kg/ha. Control with imazapyr at 0.84 kg/ha was comparable to control with glyphosate at 8.4 kg/ha. The time between application and tidal inundation over the canopy affected the efficacy of imazapyr less than that of glyphosate. There was a lack of consistent effects across dates of application. For imazapyr, a higher application volume (467 L/ha) usually provided better control than did the low volume (93 L/ha), but excellent control was achieved using ultra-low application volumes (23 and 47 L/ha) if the dry time was greater than 12 h. Several surfactants provided comparable efficacy for imazapyr.

Additional index words. Vaccinium macrocarpon, biennial bearing

`Tifblue' and `Brightwell' rabbiteye blueberries (Vaccinium ashei Reade.) were subjected to 0, 25, or 100 mM Na+, as Na2SO4 or NaCl, and 0, 1, 3, or 10 mM supplemental Ca2+, primarily as CaSO4, in an irrigated sand culture in the greenhouse. Additionally, the effect of NaCl on `Sharpblue' southern highbush blueberry (primarily V. corymbosum L.) was examined. For unsalinized plants, fastest growth occurred in plants not receiving supplemental Ca2+. Root and shoot growth were depressed as salinity increased in plants lacking additional Ca2+. With 100 mM Na+ as Na2SO4. `Tifblue' root and shoot dry weight increases were only 37% and 25%, respectively, of the increase of unsalinized controls, while with 100 mM Na+ as NaCl, the corresponding shoot and root dry weight increases were only 38% and 43%, respectively. `Brightwell' plants reacted similarly to `Tifblue' in salinity treatments with Na2SO4 and NaCl, but `Sharpblue' plants were more severely affected by 100 mM NaCl than were the rabbiteye cultivars. In no case did addition of Ca2+ have any ameliorative effect on either the dry weight of roots of plants exposed to 25 or 100 mM NaCl or on the shoot growth of plants exposed to NaCl. The inability of Ca2+ to counter Cl- entry or toxicity may account for the lack of amelioration. In contrast, additional Ca2+ did improve shoot growth of plants exposed to Na2SO4. For `Tifblue' plants supplied with 25 mM Na+ as Na2SO4, growth increased by almost 25% in the presence of 10 mM Ca2+, while for `Tifblue' plants treated with 100 mM Na+ as Na2SO4, growth was more than three times greater in plants supplied with 1 mM Ca than in those not given any Ca2+. Growth increase was primarily due to increased leaf area and number. Low (1 mM) concentrations of Ca2+ were more effective in ameliorating the effects of 100 mM Na+ as Na2SO4 than were 3- and 10-mM Ca2+ supplements, possibly because higher Ca2+ additions lead to metabolic damage in these calcifuge Vaccinium species.