Common crops affected
- Peach
- Apple
- Plum
- Nectarine
What is it?
Oriental fruit moth larvae first tunnel into tender shoot tips (causing flagging), then later generations bore into fruit. Because larvae are protected once inside shoots or fruit, timing to egg-hatch is essential.
How to identify it
- Wilting, dying shoot tips ('flagging') with frass at the entry point in early season.
- Small entry holes in fruit, often near the stem, with frass and internal tunnelling.
- Pinkish-white larvae with a brown head inside shoots or fruit.
- Adult flights detected with pheromone traps.
Life cycle & spread
Several generations per season; early generations attack shoots, later ones attack fruit. Larvae overwinter in cocoons in bark and debris.
Conditions that favour it
Warm seasons and overlapping generations sustain pressure; nearby unmanaged hosts and debris increase carry-over.
Damage and how it spreads
Shoot boring reduces growth in young trees; fruit boring causes direct cullage and entry points for rot, with significant pre-harvest loss in stone and pome fruit.
Monitoring & scouting
Use pheromone traps to time flights and set biofix; scout shoots for flagging early and fruit for entries later; treat at egg-hatch.
How to control it
- Time sprays to egg-hatch of each generation;
- sanitation of dropped/infested fruit;
- combine with monitoring for accurate timing.
Recommended Vegalab solution: Larva Control
Larva Control — natural broad-spectrum larvicide (oxymatrine) applied at egg-hatch of each generation, targeting young larvae before they bore into shoots or fruit.
| Role | Product | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Primary control | Larva Control |
Preventing it next season
Pheromone monitoring for accurate timing, sanitation of infested fruit and prunings, and prompt treatment of early instars.
Claims and product availability vary by jurisdiction. Always read and follow the product label.