The cold, wet spring we had is fast becoming a distant memory now that nice weather is finally here. One thing that keeps reminding me of spring is the insect damage I see on my apples.
It was difficult for me to spray the apples at just the right time in between all the rainy days we had early in the season. As a result, my apples are showing signs of plum curculio damage.
The plum curculio is a small (1/4 inch long) beetle that attacks apples, pears, peaches, cherries and of course, plums. The adult female emerged a couple of weeks after the apple blossoms fell. That’s when I should have sprayed. But, it was rainy and I was gone for a few days and missed the critical spray.
The adult female curculio cuts a crescent shaped slit in the skin of the apple, and then lays an egg under the flap of apple skin. The egg hatches and the tiny worn that emerges starts eating the young apple.
- Plum curculio damage on developing apples.
Many of these damaged apples will fall off; some will stay on the tree and grow to full size but will have scars left from the curculio attack. The cherries, peaches and plums won’t be so lucky; they will all fall to the ground carrying the growing curculio larvae with them. There they will grow. As they reach full size, the burrow into the soil. Later in the summer, the mature curculios emerge from the soil and feed for a while before they hibernate under the leaves for winter.
The plum curculios are still be laying eggs at this point in the season, so it is a good idea to keep up your spraying routine. Other pests will be out in the orchard attacking your fruit trees too.
Bob