Dr. Phyto

European plum

Prunus domestica

Diseases & pests on this plant

• plum fruit mothGrapholita funebrana

  Small entry hole on fruit surface near stem-end or shoulder, brown frass + gummy ooze around exit hole, internal tunnel through flesh to stone (cut fruit to see), pinkish-white larva visible inside (1-1.5cm at full size), affected fruit ripens prematurely + drops.

• Queensland fruit flyBactrocera tryoni

  Small 'sting' punctures on ripening fruit, often with a weeping or dimpled spot; maggots (cream-coloured larvae) tunnel the flesh causing internal rot and premature fruit drop. Adults are wasp-like, reddish-brown flies with clear wings seen resting on foliage and fruit.

• American brown rot of stone fruitMonilinia fructicola

  Soft brown rotting patches on ripening + ripe fruit, characteristic tan-colored powdery spore tufts on rot surface, fruit shrivels into hard black mummy and stays attached to twig, blossom blight in spring (entire flower spurs collapsing), gummosis + cankers at base of infected twigs.

• European brown rot / blossom blightMonilinia laxa

  Sudden brown collapse of flower clusters during/just after bloom, dead flower spurs hanging on twigs producing greyish spore masses, twig cankers oozing amber gum below dead blossoms, branch dieback in heavy infections, summer fruit rot identical to M. fructicola.

• Sharka (plum pox)Plum Pox Virus

  Light-green to yellow rings + chlorotic spots on leaves (the diagnostic pox), ringspot deformations on fruit surface, sunken brown areas on plum + apricot fruit flesh making it inedible, premature fruit drop, gradual yield decline over 3-5 years until tree must be removed, symptoms vary heavily by cultivar + strain — confirmation requires lab ELISA test.

• shothole / coryneum blight of stone fruitStigmina carpophila

  Small (2-4mm) reddish-purple leaf spots that drop out leaving clean round shotholes, spots on fruit produce sunken purple lesions with rough corky centers, twig infections cause cankers + gummosis, flower bud blast in spring, fruit becomes unmarketable due to cosmetic damage.

• red leaf blotch of plumPolystigma rubrum

  Bright orange-red leaf spots 5-15mm diameter (very diagnostic), spots eventually turn dark red-brown with raised centers (the fruiting bodies), heavy leaf drop in late summer, no direct fruit damage but indirect yield reduction through defoliation.

• red-necked longhorn beetleAromia bungiiEU-notifiable quarantine organism

  A large black longhorn beetle with a bright red-orange patch on the thorax (pronotum) and very long antennae; the larvae bore long tunnels in the trunk and main branches of stone-fruit trees (peach, cherry, plum, apricot), pushing out coarse fibrous frass and sawdust from cracks at the base; branches wilt, the tree declines and can be girdled and killed.

• bacterial spot of stone fruitXanthomonas arboricola pv. pruniEU-notifiable quarantine organism

  Angular water-soaked spots on leaves with yellow halos, dark sunken pits + cracks on fruit (looks like shothole), twig cankers oozing amber bacterial slime in spring, premature leaf drop + defoliation, fruit becomes unmarketable due to cosmetic damage and acts as inoculum reservoir.