What's eating my fuji apple?

Fuji apple shares all the major apple pests: codling moth, apple sawfly, woolly aphid, and rosy apple aphid. Fuji's late-ripening large fruit makes it especially vulnerable to codling moth second-generation larvae and bird pecking late in the season. Pheromone traps, granulovirus spray, and fruit bags are the primary controls.

Caterpillars tunnel through fruit to the core; sticky frass at the entry hole; Fuji's extended season exposes it to two moth generations. Pheromone traps from late May; apply codling moth granulovirus (CpGV) in mid-June and again in July–August for the second generation; bag fruitlets after petal fall.

Severely curled, reddened leaves on affected spurs; infested fruitlets remain small and distorted at harvest. Apply insecticidal soap or plant-based pyrethrin at pink bud stage before leaves curl; encourage aphid predators such as lacewings and lady beetles.

Corky surface scarring on early fruitlets; internal frass-filled tunnel; many infested fruitlets drop in June. White sticky traps at petal fall; collect and destroy dropped fruitlets; mulch around base to disrupt pupation in soil.

Fruit pecked open late in the season; entry wounds allow brown rot to set in; particularly a problem on the large Fuji fruit as it colors up. Drape tree netting over scaffolding from late August; use reflective bird-scarer tape; individual fruit bags are the most reliable protection.