What's eating my pepino dulce?

Pepino Dulce (Solanum muricatum) is in the nightshade family and attracts many of the same pests as tomatoes: aphids, whitefly, and spider mites are the most common. Caterpillars of the tomato fruitworm can also attack fruit. Whitefly is typically the worst problem under glass or in warm climates.

Clouds of tiny white insects fly up when plants are disturbed; nymphs feed on sap causing yellowing, wilting, and honeydew-coated leaves. Hang yellow sticky traps; spray leaf undersides with insecticidal soap or neem oil every 5–7 days; introduce Encarsia formosa parasitic wasps in greenhouses.

Soft-bodied insects cluster on shoot tips, distorting new growth and excreting sticky honeydew that fosters sooty mold. Knock off with water jets; apply insecticidal soap or pyrethrin spray; encourage hoverflies and ladybugs by planting companion flowers.

Fine pale speckling on upper leaf surfaces; webbing on undersides; leaves turn bronze and drop in dry, hot conditions. Increase humidity; spray undersides thoroughly with water, neem oil, or insecticidal soap; use predatory mites as biological control.

Caterpillars bore into developing fruit leaving entry holes and internal feeding damage; fruit rots quickly at wound sites. Scout regularly and hand-pick caterpillars; apply Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) spray to foliage; use pheromone traps to time sprays with egg hatch.