| Home > Pest management > Plum rust mite or plum nursery mite |
Plum rust mites (PRM) generally restrict their feeding to new foliage, causing these leaves to brown and roll upward longitudinally. Female PRM overwinter in dead or shrunken buds, moving to foliage as buds begin to open in spring. As many as 15 generations occur per year, with peak populations generally occurring in late July. Light to moderate populations are suppressed by predaceous mites.
Monitoring: Monitor new terminal growth for browning in July. PRM is mostly a problem where chemical spray programs have lowered populations of predator mites. PRM should be monitored after harvest in cherry to ensure that population levels do not reduce tree vigor for the winter. |
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| “Firing” is caused by drought stress coupled with mite damage. |
On plum, damaged leaves exhibit “chlorotic fleck,” a series of yellow spots 1-2 mm in diameter. |
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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). |
