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Cherry
Disease
Armillaria root rot
Bacterial canker
Black knot
Brown rot blossom blight and fruit rot
Crown gall
Cytospora canker
Dead bud
Gumming (Gummosis)
Leaf spot
Little cherry
Mottle leaf
Necrotic rusty mottle
Powdery mildew
Prunus necrotic ringspot
Shothole (Coryneum blight)
Verticillium wilt
Witches'-broom (Cherry leaf curl)
Insect
Apple-and-thorn skeletonizer
Black cherry aphid
Brown marmorated stink bug
Cherry bark tortrix
Cherry fruit fly
Cutworms and armyworms
Earwigs
Leafrollers
Peachtree borer
Pear slug (Cherry slug)
San Jose scale
Shothole borer
Spider mites
Spotted wing Drosophila (SWD)
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Caption: Cherry fruit fly
Photo by: E.P. Breakey
Cherry : Cherry fruit fly
(revision date: 3/22/2021)
Use Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for successful plant problem management.
Biology
Cherry fruit fly adults are brown to black flies with white bands across the abdomen. The wings are clear with distinctive dark bands. The fly is about 1/5" long. Eggs are laid beneath the skin of cherry fruit. Larvae are tapered, cream-colored to white maggots up to 1/4" long. The larvae burrow and feed inside the cherries, destroying the fruit. The maggots leave the fruit via an exit hole to pupate in the soil, sometimes remaining dormant for up to two or three years. Adults emerge beginning around May.
Management Options
Non-Chemical Management
Parasitic wasps attack larvae. Avoid use of broad-spectrum insecticides which kill the wasps and other beneficial insects.
Select non-chemical management options as your first choice!
Chemical Management
IMPORTANT:
Visit Home and Garden Fact Sheets for more information on using pesticides
Cherry fruit fly - present mid-May to last of July. Begin applications about May 20 to 25. When using malathion, apply at 10-day intervals and allow 3 days minimum time to harvest. When using spinosad, apply at 7- to 10-day intervals and make no more than 6 applications per season. Check spinosad label for minimum time to harvest. Homeowners should not make foliar applications to trees over 10 ft tall. Consult a commercial pesticide applicator for treatment of trees and shrubs over 10 ft. tall.
Listed below are examples of pesticides that are legal in Washington. Always read and follow all label directions.
Bonide Malathion Insect Control Conc
Active ingredient: malathion | EPA reg no: 4-99
Monterey Garden Insect Spray [Organic]
Active ingredient: spinosad (spinosyn A+D) | EPA reg no: 62719-314-54705
Natural Guard Spinosad Bagworm, Tent Caterpillar & Chewing Insect Control
Active ingredient: spinosad (spinosyn A+D) | EPA reg no: 62719-314-7401
Ortho Bug B Gon Insect Killer Conc.
Active ingredient: acetamiprid | EPA reg no: 8033-107-239
This list may not include all products registered for this use.
Images
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Caption: Cherry fruit fly
Photo by: E.P. Breakey