What's eating my beach plum?

Beach Plum faces the same stone-fruit pests as its Prunus relatives: plum curculio damages developing fruit, black knot fungal galls disfigure branches, and aphids colonise shoot tips. Deer browse young plants heavily in winter. Plum curculio is the most serious threat to fruit production in eastern North America.

Adults make crescent-shaped egg-laying cuts in young fruit; larvae tunnel through flesh causing premature fruit drop. Spread a tarp and shake branches to dislodge adults at petal fall; apply kaolin clay or spinosad spray; remove dropped fruit daily.

Dense black colonies on new growth cause curled, stunted leaves and honeydew fouling. Encourage parasitic wasps and ladybirds; strong water spray; insecticidal soap or neem oil for heavy infestations.

Browse young shoots and strip bark in winter, stunting or killing newly planted shrubs. Wrap trunks in tree guards; erect 6-ft deer fencing around young plantings; use deer-repellent sprays through winter.

Piercing mouthparts cause corky, cat-faced deformities on ripening fruit, making it inedible. Exclude with fine insect netting over fruit clusters; vacuum adults from plants in morning; deploy pheromone-baited traps around the perimeter.