What's eating my marionberry?

Marionberry, a trailing blackberry cultivar developed in Oregon, faces raspberry beetle / blackberry seed beetle larvae in fruit, spotted wing drosophila in ripe berries, and aphids on new canes. Birds take ripe crop quickly. Cane blight fungus can kill fruiting laterals. Spotted wing drosophila is the most damaging modern threat.

Soft, leaking ripe berries; internal maggots; fruit collapses days after onset. Harvest at peak ripeness daily; use 1 mm mesh exclusion netting over fruiting canes during ripening. Remove all dropped or soft fruit.

White larvae found inside fruit at harvest; berries may drop early. Spray an approved pyrethroid at petal fall and first pink fruit. Cultivate around base of canes in autumn to disrupt pupation.

Curled, sticky growing tips; reduced cane vigour; possible virus transmission. Blast with water; treat with insecticidal soap at bud burst before colonies peak.

Dark brown cankers at soil level or pruning wounds; laterals wilt and die suddenly. Prune out affected canes to below the lesion; disinfect tools between cuts. Avoid mechanical cane damage during training.