Holes in cherries - Ask Extension
Hello. I noticed yesterday that some of the young cherries developing on my Montmorency cherry tree appear to have holes chewed in them. Some of the...
Knowledgebase
Holes in cherries #867172
Asked May 06, 2024, 7:44 AM EDT
Hello. I noticed yesterday that some of the young cherries developing on my Montmorency cherry tree appear to have holes chewed in them. Some of them appear to be completely hollowed out inside. What is this, and is there anything that I can do about it? Thank you!
Washington County Maryland
Expert Response
Hi- the surface feeding injury in the left photo may have been caused by a caterpillar or a plum curculio adult (less likely).
The internal feeding (right photo) could have been done by plum curculio (a bit early for Washington Co.) or some incidental caterpillar. Plum curculio adult females insert their eggs into fruits, leaving a pinprick hole surrounded by a crescent-shaped scar. Look for this symptom on other fruits. Also, if you dissect affected fruits and find larvae, send us photos for identification. It's too early for other internal feeding pests like fruit flies.
Spraying for fruit pests like plum curculio begins at petal fall. Please follow VA Extension fruit management guidelines. Click Home Fruit in the right sidebar. You'll find detailed information on fruit pests and a spray schedule for stone fruits.
UME's Stone Fruit page for gardeners:
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/growing-stone-fruits-home-garden/
Jon
The internal feeding (right photo) could have been done by plum curculio (a bit early for Washington Co.) or some incidental caterpillar. Plum curculio adult females insert their eggs into fruits, leaving a pinprick hole surrounded by a crescent-shaped scar. Look for this symptom on other fruits. Also, if you dissect affected fruits and find larvae, send us photos for identification. It's too early for other internal feeding pests like fruit flies.
Spraying for fruit pests like plum curculio begins at petal fall. Please follow VA Extension fruit management guidelines. Click Home Fruit in the right sidebar. You'll find detailed information on fruit pests and a spray schedule for stone fruits.
UME's Stone Fruit page for gardeners:
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/growing-stone-fruits-home-garden/
Jon
Thank you for the information!
You are welcome. Good luck this season!
