Knowledgebase

tart cherries all rotten plus maggots #875630

Asked July 02, 2024, 11:17 AM EDT

Yikes, we lost all of our North Star tart Cherries - in SW Mpls by Lake Harriet. Normally we get gallons of perfect fruit. Unfortunately no photos but I will describe: leaves and bark look ok. Had normal blossoms. First noticed brown rotting under the skin, some fruit completely ripe while other fruits were still green. Normally we pick july 4th but this year June 24. Cherries had half brown sides, some with fungus spots where overripe. We found also tiny creamy colored maggots about 1/8 inch long. I googled brown rot and cherry fruit fly. Neither exactly fits. We have to prevent this next year please! Do we need to spray? What and when. We picked the tree and ground clean. Is it the early spring and wet weather? Please help! Heartbroken!

Hennepin County Minnesota

Expert Response

Thank you for reaching out to ask2.extension.

Due to the rainfall we’ve had, some of the berry trees/bushes are having lots of problems.  My chokecherry is turning and dropping berries before they ripen.  This is way early for them also.

 The maggots could be due to the fruit rotting.

If your tree looks ok, I think it may be an unfortunate year for the tree.  Keep an eye on it for the rest of the summer, looking for things on the leaves and/or tree itself.  Hopefully next year will be better.  

Mother Nature can be hard!


Deb Kroon Replied July 04, 2024, 5:38 PM EDT
Thanks this is hopeful 
Susan Hopp<personal data hidden>
<personal data hidden>
Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 4, 2024, at 16:38, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:


The Question Asker Replied July 04, 2024, 7:40 PM EDT

Loading ...