extending guava fruiting season (forum)

Diana starts with ...
Hi all,
Last year I removed nearly all fruit from my Hawaiian guavas when unripe, so I could bag all of the remaining fruit against fruit fly. Usually they fruit from December to March, but after I did this they kept fruiting at a low rate from April to September (picture is the last guavas just eaten). I am going to try that again and see if it was a fluke or if I can shift the fruiting time out of fruit fly season again this year!
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Time: 1st October 2012 8:19pm

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About the Author Diana
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Mike says...
Fruitflies are a real problem for my big guava types as well as the fruit matures.Tea leaf bugs (mosquito bugs) and fruit spotting bugs give them a hiding when they are small as well.Other generous forum members (thanks Mary T and Jujube) came to my rescue with bags.At the moment I have trees draped in lacey bags and they look like they should be supporting a bride.
The more you remove immature fruit the more a tree will extend flowering.

Time: 1st October 2012 8:36pm

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Cairns
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Diana says...
Thanks Mike. I think guavas are the biggest fruit fly magnets you can get, on par with tomatoes, plums and peaches. Any that I don't bag or remove are guaranteed stung unless thay are after April.


Time: 1st October 2012 8:56pm

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MaryT says...
That's a good tip, Mike. My cherry guava and my strawberry guava are covered in flowers and small fruit right now (the strawberry for the first time, ditto all the citrus; guess I'll be busy bagging.

Time: 2nd October 2012 5:43am

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About the Author MaryT
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Diana says...
Citrus should be OK without anything- they are here.

Time: 2nd October 2012 12:49pm

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BJ says...
My citrus are all stung, except lime. When the FF wakes up early and no other fruits are around they will go for citrus. I found them in my lemons for the first time a few weeks back and they love thin skinned mandarins. Im unsure if the FF stings the fruit directly, or if the Fruit Piercing Moth stings them, then the FF follows behind and lays its eggs in the hole left by the moth...

Time: 2nd October 2012 1:19pm

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About the Author Theposterformerlyknownas
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MaryT says...
Thanks for the warning, BJ; I must keep a close watch. Last year my rocotto chilli took the brunt of it, the ff seems to like it better than anything else, every fruit took multiple hits. Even the guava next to it was not stung.

Time: 2nd October 2012 2:01pm

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About the Author MaryT
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Diana says...
That's unlucky BJ.
I don't have any thin skinned citrus other than limes so I hope they stay intact. I don't think I have fruit piercing moths either- how can you tell?

Time: 3rd October 2012 10:08am

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ivepeters says...
hi all
My Guava Hawaiian is in fruit for the first time,was wondering at what size do I bag them.

Time: 20th December 2012 3:04pm

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Diana says...
I would net / bag once there are no more flowers to pollinate and you just have small fruit.

Time: 20th December 2012 11:47pm

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