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SWD caught in tart cherry, Wayne County

Another early catch of a single SWD, this time a female, on Monday, May 17, 2021. She was relatively small and her abdomen didn't appear to be full of eggs, though no dissections were done post-mortem to verify this. Three other traps in the orchard, all had zero SWD. Because traps were set on May 10, no zero catch was obtained in this block in Wayne County. This site is being monitored by Juliet Carroll, IPM, as part of a research project on SWD in tart cherry.

Tart cherry orchard with honeybee hives.
It's May 17, 2021 and different levels of bloom can be seen on trees in this tart cherry orchard in Wayne County where honeybee hives are still set out for pollination of the cherries and nearby apple orchards, many which are in full bloom, depending on the variety.

The orchards in Wayne County were at various phenological stages, due possibly to the period of cold, rainy weather in late April to early May delaying the progression of bloom. 50% bloom to petal fall stages were noted, sometimes within the same orchard block.

Obviously, without fruit the risk of fruit infestation from SWD is zero. And, hopefully, the current hot, dry weather trend may slow SWD development.

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