What's eating my apple 'bramley's seedling'?

Bramley's large vigorous canopy can still harbour codling moth, apple sawfly, and woolly aphid. As a heavy-cropping cooker it is also vulnerable to brown rot spreading from codling moth entry wounds. Grease bands, pheromone traps, and clearing fallen fruit are the backbone of Bramley pest management.

Larval tunnels deep into fruit; frass-plugged holes at the fruit eye; brown rot often enters via larval exit wounds Hang pheromone traps from late April; spray pyrethrin or spinosad at egg-hatch (typically late May–June); fit grease bands in October

Ribbon scar winding across fruitlet surface; larva tunnels inside causing early drop in June Single pyrethrin spray within 7 days of petal fall; remove and destroy all dropped fruitlets from June onwards

White fluffy colonies on older wood and wound sites; bark galls underneath; entry points for canker disease Scrub colonies off with methylated spirits on a stiff brush; spray in spring; prune and burn severely galled shoots

Small green loopers eat flower buds and developing fruitlets in April–May, causing holed or scarred fruit Apply grease bands to the trunk and stakes from October to March to trap wingless females; pyrethrin at bud-burst if populations are high