Fruit Fly Threatens Cherries

<p>Researchers studying alternative pesticides in cherry orchards say they are increasingly unable to control a common pest. They say cherry fruit flies are showing up in large numbers in some experimental plots where new pesticides are being applied.</p> <p>Growers generally control cherry fruit fly with a pesticide called guthion or AZM. But the EPA is phasing it out and growers are scrambling to find replacements. Researchers say it appears the new, approved chemicals may allow large populations of flies to build up over time. Field tests have been ongoing for a few years now, but this is the first year large swarms of fruit flies have been observed in multiple test orchards.</p> <p>Jim Laubach tracks insect populations in these orchards. He says growers can't have even a single fly in a load of fruit without catching the attention of the processors that buy cherries.</p> <p>"That could cause a farmer to have his load rejected," Laubach says, "or have a processor not want to take his fruit at all."   </p> <p>Guthion is a nerve toxin that health advocates say poses a high risk to farm workers and their families. Growers must reduce the use of it next summer and then abandon it altogether in 2012.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p>