READER’S QUESTION

OUR Victoria plum tree bore a good crop last year — but many of the fruits contained a small maggot at their centres. How could they have got there, and how can we prevent it from happening this year? Mr R. Hall, Warwickshire. THE pest is plum moth, Grapholita funebrana. The tiny larvae of this moth penetrate young plums close to where the stalk joins the fruit. Once inside, they feed on the flesh of the fruit as it ripens. You can control this pest, to an extent, by hanging pheromone traps in the tree when the adult moths are on the wing — usually in June or July.

Any males will fly into them and perish there, rather than mating with the females.

Although the pinkish or white grubs are off-putting, they spoil only part of the plum.

If you cut your fruits in half, the damaged portion is easy to remove, along with the stone. The rest of the flesh is fine to eat fresh, stewed or in jam-making.