Orchard People

Nikki Rothwell of Michigan State University's Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Centre talks about spotted wing drosophila (SWD). Unlike other fruit flies that target mostly rotting or fermenting fruit, SWD targets fruit right on the tree, laying their eggs in the young fruit and eventually turning it into a wormy mess.

Show Notes

Nikki Rothwell of Michigan State University's Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Centre talks about spotted wing drosophila (SWD). Unlike other fruit flies that target mostly rotting or fermenting fruit, SWD targets fruit right on the tree, laying their eggs in the young fruit and eventually turning it into a wormy mess.

SWD targets a wide range of crops including cherries, apricots, plums raspberries, currants, and elderberries. The bad news is that spotted wing drosophila is spreading across North America, benefiting from our warming climate.

Nikki has found that there are ways to make our orchards less hospitable for SWD. Simple tools like pruning and orchard floor maintenance are a large part of the equation.

The host of The Urban Forestry Radio Show and Podcast is Susan Poizner of the fruit tree care education website www.orchardpeople.com.  Tune into The Urban Forestry Radio Show LIVE by going to RealityRadio101.com on the last Tuesday of every month at 1.00 pm Eastern Time.

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What is Orchard People?

Learn how to grow and care for fruit trees with fruit tree care educator Susan Poizner of OrchardPeople.com. Discover how to create permaculture plantings, food forests, and forest gardens in both urban and rural settings. Meet experts on all aspects of comprehensive fruit tree care, including pruning, pest and disease prevention, fruit tree grafting and budding, and soil management.

Show host Susan Poizner, creator of the fruit tree education website OrchardPeople.com, is an award-winning author of three fruit tree care books and an ISA Certified Arborist. This podcast is the winner of the 2021 GardenComm Silver Award of Achievement for Broadcast Media: Radio Program Overall. Learn more and access archived episodes at https://podcast.orchardpeople.com/.

Learn more about Susan's books and courses at https://learn.orchardpeople.com/books.