What's eating my czar plum?

Czar plum is troubled by plum moth (the most common cause of maggoty plums in the UK), plum sawfly, aphids on young shoots, and winter moth caterpillars. Brown rot fungus often follows insect damage. Pheromone traps for plum moth, combined with grease bands for winter moth, protect the heavy crops Czar typically produces.

Pink larvae tunnel into developing plums, feeding around the stone; affected fruit drops early or contains a caterpillar at harvest. Hang pheromone traps from late May to monitor adults; apply spinosad at first adult capture and repeat 3 weeks later; remove and destroy infested windfalls.

Tightly curls young shoot tips in spring, distorting growth; large colonies can weaken new extension shoots. Spray with insecticidal soap or pyrethrin at bud burst before leaf curl shelters the colony; encourage aphid parasitoids.

Larvae enter fruitlets immediately after petal fall, causing sticky resinous holes on the surface and early drop. Apply pyrethrin or deltamethrin at petal fall within the short window before fruitlets are entered; hand-pick and destroy infested fruitlets.

Caterpillars shred blossom and young leaves in spring, reducing fruit set across the whole tree. Grease bands from October; Bacillus thuringiensis or pyrethrin spray at bud burst if numbers are high.