What's eating my abiu?

Abiu (Pouteria caimito) is a lesser-known Amazonian fruit with relatively few documented serious pest problems, but fruit flies attack the thin, smooth skin at ripening. Scale insects and mealybugs colonize branches in humid tropical conditions. Birds and bats take ripe fruit. Fruit fly bagging and sanitation are the primary practical controls for backyard trees.

Larvae inside ripening fruit cause internal rot; sting wounds on yellow skin Bag fruit early; use protein bait traps; harvest promptly; remove fallen fruit

Waxy brown or white shells on stems; sap loss; sooty mold secondary infection Horticultural oil; prune infested branches; encourage natural parasitoid populations

White cottony clusters on shoot tips and leaf undersides; stunted new growth Neem oil spray; alcohol swab for light infestations; maintain ant control