Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/643470
32 MARCH 1, 2016 Good Fruit Grower www.goodfruit.com The culprit in Haviland's area of the country, which includes part of Califor- nia's San Joaquin Valley, has only recently been identified. "In 2010, spotted wing drosophila had not been recognized in my county, but we were looking for it because we had heard about it farther north in the state. So we encouraged growers to go and put out spotted wing drosophila traps," he said. Some of the participating cherry growers also managed citrus and thought oranges might be appealing to SWD. Their hunch was right. The traps in cit- rus caught flies. This was an unexpected discovery, because SWD are unable to get through thick peels and have absolutely no impact on orange crops. Further investigation revealed that the flies ignore both whole and rotting oranges, but they will take up residence in oranges if they can access the pulp through splits in the rind. Almost every tree will have a few split oranges, he said, and that's enough to support SWD populations. In the southern San Joaquin Valley, PHOTO COURTESY KAREN POWERS Nikki Rothwell, coordinator of the Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Center, and fruit integrated pest management educator Emily Pochubay (right) use microscopes to scout for spotted wing drosophila larvae. If you catch one fly, that's the signal that you need to start protecting your fruit. —Nikki Rothwell BioSafe's AzaGuard AzaGuard's superior 3% concentrated formula sets it apart from any other Azadiractin-based insecticide on the market. Don't take a chance with your crops – guard your plants with AzaGuard. GUARD AGAINST PESTS WITH THE BEST! 1.888.273.3088 | biosafesystems.com