As part of a research experiment believed to be among the first of its kind, an organic apple farmer in Michigan is using pigs to help protect his fruit from a tiny insect that is among the most destructive apple pests.

More than two dozen porkers patrol his orchard, gobbling down fallen, immature apples containing the plum curculio’s larvae. After a successful trial run late last spring, he and some researchers at Michigan State University are preparing for year two of the experiment at another orchard in eastern Michigan.

The quarter-inch-long plum curculio is particularly difficult for organic growers to control because no good organic controls have been developed for them.

The researchers hope their work will someday help fruit growers throughout the world reduce the use of pesticides while diversifying their agricultural operations.

Read (AP via MSNBC)