| Home > Pest management > Green fruitworm |
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| Blossom damage from larval feeding. |
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| Damaged fruit. |
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Immature larvae of the green fruitworm (GFW) feed on flower buds and new foliage. Mature larvae feed on blossoms, developing fruit and leaves. Early feeding injury often causes fruit to abort. Fruit remaining on the tree after GFW feeding exhibit deep holes sealed over with corky scar tissue.
Monitoring: Use pheromone traps to monitor for adult emergence, generally around budburst in Michigan. Visually inspect fruit and leaves for larvae or signs of larval feeding. Examine 20 fruit clusters per tree (outside, inside, and top of tree) on five trees per orchard. Treat if there is an average of two or more larvae per tree or evidence of fresh feeding. |
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| Newly hatched larvae are 2-3 mm in length and have a grayish-green body with a brown head and thoracic shield. Mature larvae are 30-40 mm long, and pale green with white speckles and white longitudinal stripes. |
Adults are large gray-brown moths with wingspans of about 40mm. |
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- For more monitoring information and evaluation of available pesticides:
Michigan Fruit Management Guide
- MSU Diagnostic Services for assistance in pest identification.
- MSU Fruit Crop Advisory Team Alert newsletters for current pest/crop conditions.
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| This information was developed from A Pocket Guide for IPM Scouting in Stone Fruits by David Epstein, Larry J. Gut, Alan L. Jones and Kimberly Maxson-Stein. Purchase this in a pocket-sized guide for reference in the orchard from MSU Extension (publication E-2840). |
