May 2, 2024
Plum & Apple Care
When Plums finish and Apples start to bloom, check for Leafroller Larvae on newly expanded fruit tree leaves. Treat if you find more than 3 green or white 1/8 inch to 1/2 inch long worms in a 10 branch sample.
Leafrollers
Boxelder Leafroller - Adults are ½ inch tan moths; larvae are 1/4 to 3/4 inch, green caterpillars with a dark head. There is one generation per year. Food preferences: Boxelder
Fruittree Leafroller - Adults are 1/2 to 3/4 inch moths with a mottled, rusty-brown pattern; larvae are 1/4 to 3/4 inch, pale-green caterpillars with a black head. There is one generation per year. Food preferences: Apple, pear, plum, cherry, raspberry, currant, ash, boxelder, elm, linden, poplar, willow, locust, rose, and oak.
Oblique-banded Leafroller - Adults are 3/4 to 1 inch moths with a tan to brown band; larvae are 1/4 - 1 inch, green caterpillars with brown heads. There are two generations per year. Food preferences: Fruit trees and ornamental trees and shrubs.
Stone Fruits: Apricot, Cherry Chokecherry, Peach, Plum, etc.
The genus Prunus is comprised of nearly 200 species of five subgenera: plums and apricots, almonds and peaches, umbellate cherries, deciduous racemose cherries, and the evergreen racemose cherries. The species of this genus range from shrubs to trees over 90 ft. tall. Over 100 species have been cultivated as either ornamentals or as food crops. Trees for fruit production and many ornamentals are generally propagate by budding or grafting, while seed propagation is reserved for generation of rootstocks and breeding programs. The most common rootstock:scion combinations are: almond:almond and plum; apricot:apricot; mazzard cherry:sweet cherry; mahaleb cherry:sweet and sour cherry; peach:peach, almond, apricot, plum; American plum:plum in cold regions; Bessey cherry:dwarf peaches.