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Apple Maggot Control

Source: NDSU Extension Service Horticulturist

If you have apple trees, one insect that can cause considerable damage to the fruit is the apple maggot. These maggots bore through the flesh of the apple, creating brown winding galleries.

Apple maggots will reduce early apple varieties to a brown rotten mass if the infestation is heavy. In later varieties the injury consists of corky streaks. When the fruit is slightly infested, there is no external indication of the presence of maggots. But when the fruit becomes ripe, the burrows show as dark lines under the skin.

Good sanitation will go a long way in controlling apple maggots. Pick up and destroy dropped apples once a week beginning in mid-July. This will help eliminate the maggots before they burrow out of the apples into the soil. As the last apples of the season are harvested, clean all fallen apples and other litter from under trees.

For effective apple maggot control, spray apple trees during the time that apple maggot flies appear in midsummer. Make the first spray application in early July followed by repeat spray applications at intervals of 7-10 days through August. Wettable powder formulations of Sevin or Malathion applied according to label directions can be used for apple tree spraying. If a spray application is followed by a heavy rain, you should respray.

If you have more questions, contact your county office of the NDSU Extension Service for additional information on apple maggot control.

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