03-09-2014, 08:24 AM
1
problem with plum trees
We moved in here last year, and the garden has two plum trees, both established. Last summer they both produced loads of fruit, but many of them had tiny worms inside and a sticky deposit on the surface.This year there's hardly any fruit, and about half has the same problem.
I've gone through all my gardening books and can't find what it might be.
Anyone have any ideas? And how to treat the problem?
many thanks
03-09-2014, 08:58 AM
2
Re: problem with plum trees
Hello Deb
are these the tiny pink worms .I see you are not far from me in Herefordshire.I do know one of the big PYO fruit farms near here has had a problem with grubs in their plumbs this year and I was given some damsons and they were full of grubs too.
We had such a mild winter with very few hard frost to penetrate the soil, I think this has contributed to the pest problem.
My gooseberry bush has been decimated by saw fly this year which live in the soil under the bush.
03-09-2014, 09:21 AM
3
Re: problem with plum trees
My plum trees are just the same Debs, I think a lot of the problem regarding fruit set just comes down to the temperature when the trees blossom in spring. If it's too cold there are not enough insects to pollinate the blossom and if there are night frosts then that will decimate the blossom anyway, so it's all down to the gods really.
Regarding the grubs, they are the plum sawfly and the only treatment that I have found is to spray the trees at blossom drop, which is when the eggs are laid by the adult and the larvae enter the developing fruit. I have been doing this for a couple of years and it has helped, although not eradicated the problem. This year I think I lost half the crop to frost and around a third of what was left to sawfly, so not too bad compared with some years when we haven't had a plum...
03-09-2014, 04:45 PM
4
Re: problem with plum trees
Originally Posted by plantman
->
My plum trees are just the same Debs, I think a lot of the problem regarding fruit set just comes down to the temperature when the trees blossom in spring. If it's too cold there are not enough insects to pollinate the blossom and if there are night frosts then that will decimate the blossom anyway, so it's all down to the gods really.Regarding the grubs, they are the plum sawfly and the only treatment that I have found is to spray the trees at blossom drop, which is when the eggs are laid by the adult and the larvae enter the developing fruit. I have been doing this for a couple of years and it has helped, although not eradicated the problem. This year I think I lost half the crop to frost and around a third of what was left to sawfly, so not too bad compared with some years when we haven't had a plum...
03-09-2014, 07:09 PM
5
Re: problem with plum trees
Originally Posted by Deb W
->
thanks for this - what do I spray with?
03-09-2014, 08:07 PM
6
Re: problem with plum trees
This is the plum moth grub
Plum pest link
We used a pheromone trap
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