Brazilian cherry and fruit flies (forum)

Eilean starts with ...
I've got a prolific Brazilian cherry tree with nice sweet cherries (bright red variety) but the fruit flies seem to love the cherries and totally ruin them. Do others have the same problem? I'm in a costal suburb of Sydney. Oddly I have a grumichama tree next to it (no more than 2m away) which gave me a lovely crop this year and the fruit flies didn't attack those cherries... I opened up many of the grumichama cherries and inspected carefully with magnifying glass but I couldn't see any larvae. Any ideas? Maybe the Brazilian cherries have a smell that attracts fruit flies? Any fruit fly solutions other than spraying regularly while tree is fruiting?

Time: 11th December 2021 5:11pm

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About the Author Eilean
CHIFLEY,2036,NSW
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ivepeters says...
Very common for all varieties of Brazilian cherry, orange & black.
Once they set cover with insect netting. That's really the only easy solution.
Don't worry,they'll get to the grumichama when they're ready.

Time: 13th December 2021 11:10am

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CARINDALE,4152,QLD
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Edward3 says...
Are you sure about the grumichama? My grumichama fruit in Sydney does get fruit fly larvae but they are very small - I think it's a different variety of fruit fly. The Eco-Lure fruit fly trap available from Bunnings seems to work well, so give it a go.

Time: 13th December 2021 11:53am

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About the Author Edward3
CARLINGFORD,2118,NSW
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Eilean says...
Thanks Edward, the larvae are very obvious in the brazilian cherry but I couldn't see any in the grumichama but if they're smaller then I've missed them. Oh well, I might have eaten quite a few larvae then... I've got the eco-lure and it traps lots of males but I think I'll need to also use brown liquid more often

Time: 14th December 2021 3:58pm

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CHIFLEY,2036,NSW
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Eilean says...
Thank, I've bought some netting bags so I'll give that a go.

Time: 14th December 2021 4:01pm

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CHIFLEY,2036,NSW
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davewastech1 says...
I thought grumichama (Eugenia brasiliensis) is often called Brazilian cherry too ? Confusing. Probably means Surinam Cherry (Eugenia uniflora)?

My grumis don't have any fruit fly as far as I know (in Sydney). I have two - one produces almost no fruit and the other has a small fruit crop for the size and age of the tree.

They were bought from Daleys as grumichama

Time: 15th May 2022 4:33pm

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WILLOUGHBY EAST,2068,NSW
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