Oriental fruit moth on peaches
On peach and nectarine the first one or two generations bore down the centre of new shoots for 2–6 inches, so the tips flag and die; later generations enter the fruit near the stem and feed around the pit, often with gum oozing from the hole. A virus spray only reaches larvae before they bore in, so it has to go on as eggs hatch and be renewed after 6–8 sunny days. The Madex HP homeowner label says to spray at least twice in each larval generation.
At a glance
- Damage
- Wilted, dying shoot tips in spring; wormy peaches with gum and frass later
- Type
- Chewing
- Settings
- Garden, Field
- Threshold
- No home-garden threshold
- Ally
- Betabaculovirus cypomonellae (Cydia pomonella granulovirus)
- Rate
- Label rate — Madex HP ½ tsp per 5 gal of water (homeowner label)
How to confirm it
In spring, a wilted, drooping shoot tip on a peach, sometimes with gummy ooze, and a pinkish-white larva up to ½ inch long tunnelling down inside it. Later, holes in the fruit, often near the stem, oozing gum. Only the anal comb, a small toothed plate under the tip of the abdomen, separates the larva from codling moth: UC IPM checks for it with a hand lens, and NC State says it needs a microscope.
Identification, lifecycle, degree days and every control option are on the full Oriental fruit moth profile. Not sure it is this pest? Answer four questions about the damage.