A promising development has emerged in the battle against the invasive spotted lanternfly: the use of specially trained dogs to sniff out their egg masses, which hibernate in vineyards and surrounding wooded areas.
This ingenious method is helping growers and conservationists tackle a significant agricultural menace.
Research Findings
Research conducted by Cornell University has illustrated the impressive abilities of canine detection.
In forested areas near vineyards, a Labrador Retriever and a Belgian Malinois surpassed human efforts in spotting these elusive egg masses.
However, the tables turned in vineyard settings, where humans proved to be more adept at finding the eggs.
Since the spotted lanternfly made its first appearance in Pennsylvania back in 2014, this pest has colonized 18 additional states, including New York.
Its presence poses a serious threat to a variety of crops, such as grapes, apples, and hops, as well as certain tree species like maple and walnut.
According to Angela Fuller, a professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and author of the study, a single infestation can decimate grapevines, with potential loss rates soaring between 80% and 100% in just one growing season.
Impact on Agriculture
The repercussions of these infestations also lead to a spike in insecticide use, driving up operational costs for growers by as much as 170% during that critical period.
To conduct their study, researchers chose 20 vineyards in Pennsylvania and New Jersey known for their lanternfly problems.
They set up transects along rows of grapevines and in adjacent wooded areas, conducting separate surveys with both human observers and trained dogs to prevent any overlap in scent contamination.
In vineyard conditions, humans outperformed dogs by a significant margin, identifying 1.8 times more egg masses.
With a systematic search method, human observers averaged 31 egg masses per hour, while the dogs found 24.
In stark contrast, when the canine companions were deployed in forested areas—where many lanternflies wait before moving to vineyards—the dogs excelled, detecting 3.4 times more egg masses than their human counterparts.
Dogs’ remarkable sense of smell allows them to find small and camouflaged egg masses in challenging environments.
In these settings, dogs identified about 7.6 egg masses per hour compared to 6.7 for humans, even though dogs required a bit longer for their searches.
The overall tally emphasizes the dogs’ superior detection skills, proving crucial for potential eradication efforts.
Collaboration and Future Strategies
This collaborative study, which included contributions from the New York Invasive Species Research Institute, sheds light on the role of trained dogs in modern pest management strategies within agriculture.
Source: ScienceDaily