What's eating my atemoya?

Atemoya shares the Annona family's worst enemy — the annona seed borer wasp, which ruins fruit from the inside. Plumose scale attacks stems, and mealybugs collect on new growth. Aphids and whiteflies appear seasonally. Bagging fruit at the 1–5 cm stage is the single most effective intervention against the primary pest.

Small black holes piercing fruit skin; larvae develop inside seeds, destroying the fruit before harvest. Bag individual fruits in paper lunch bags or mesh paint-strainer bags when small; destroy any dropped or damaged fruit.

Dense circular scale colonies on shoots and branch crotches; shoot dieback and reduced cropping. Horticultural oil sprays timed to crawler emergence; prune heavily infested branches.

White cottony clusters on stems and leaf undersides; stunted growth and honeydew-fuelled sooty mold. Neem oil or insecticidal soap; encourage predatory beetles; band trunks to exclude tending ants.