fruit fly resistant fruit trees

Diana Lakiss starts with ...
I have HUGE problem with fruit fly but would like to grow some interesting fruit trees. Any suggestions on what I could grow in a fairly small garden that is fruit fly resistant.

Diana Lakiss says...
Sorry John have been away. I really don't know what sort of fruit fly does it make a difference?

HappyEarth says...
Hi Dianna,

Not sure where you live but for a small garden you could possibly grow:

Avocado: wurtz
Bananas
Blueberries
Citrus except Meyer lemon
Custard Apple, cherimoya
Grapes,
Grumichama
Jaboticaba
Kiwifruit
Longan
Lychee
Macadamia - dwarf
Mulberry, sometimes affected
Nashi Pears, sometimes affected
Passionfruit
Pawpaw
Persimmon, early varieties like Fuyu are susceptible
Pineapples
Pomegranate
Pitomba

Im sure their are many others

Rich

Karan says...
You could also think of growing dwarf varieties of the susceptable trees and then bagging the fruit to avoid them getting stung. i personally haven't done this but a friend has with her peaches and it worked well. Don't you just hate fruit fly. We were in Melbourne in January picking and eating plums of a backyard tree I was so envious.

HappyEarth says...
Hey Elf, not sure why blueberries and grapes are not affected - you'd think they would be. As with mulberries - this happens on occasions here in Wollongong but id say you be fairly safe in Albury. the first time i discover fruit fly in mulberries was when i was boiling the fruit for jam and the little grubs came up to the surface. Normally you cant see them!

As for tomatoes, I only grow cherry tomatoes (the ones that come up in worm castings or compost) as they seem resistant to fruit fly - so yeah its possible some tomato varieties are resistant and id say that is what they would be selling you.

Hope this helps,

Rich
www.happyearth.com.au

Elf says...
Thanks for your advice Rich and Julie. Do you think Pawpaw is growable in Albury or is the climate too hot and cold? I'd like to get the cutting grown one from Daleys when they're ready.

Really like the blog you and your other half have Rich, great garden. Green with envy :) Good luck!

Elf says...
Thanks for your advice Diana, I was worried about my strawberries, they have just started to fruit - I really know nothing about fruit fly, but clearly I need to learn if I want to have fruit.

So does Albury have QLD brand of fruit fly?

gardana says...
First harvest of grapes - huge, bountiful delicious, all subsequent ones sickeningly
destroyed by fruit fly. Do not plant grapes in Brisbane unless you have some magical answer to this problem....

Julie says...
I used to use old pantyhose to bag my grapes - not against fruit fly, but birds. (I guess it could work with fruitfly).

Seemed to work for a while, then they just poked through the bags and wrecked the fruit. Same with peaches. If they can see through it they will have a go.

MyrtleTurtle says...
What should be safe in Sydney: Garcinias, Ice-cream-beans, Jaboticabas, Soh-sang, Lychee, Peanut Butter Fruit, pomegranates, dragonfruit, Pouterias, Kiwifruit, passionfruit, most Citrus, most berries.

What hasn't been safe for me: cherimoya, guavas, feijoa, fig, early persimmons, stone fruit.

davewastech1 says...
I've also found that some of my Fuyu Persimmons (early season) get attacked (although I have more problem with ringtail possums).

Not attacked include cape gooseberries.

There are vastly more fruit fly around during the warmer half of the year, so anything fruiting during the warmer time is more likely to get attacked. Sometimes my ruby red grapefruit ripen too early (February) and are attacked, whereas the ones that crop normally (September) are not attacked.

Also some thick skinned fruit like passionfruit may be attacked but the pest doesn't get through the skin.

QRcode says...
It does depend on the season and whether the conditions are favourable (ie. wet and humid)and the pest pressure in your neighbourhood.

Figs: definitely prone. Though they tend to get stung when they are ready to be picked. I have only occasionally found maggots in the fruit.

Citrus: grapefruit definitely susceptible due to the thin skin, though they have thick pith. Even though the egg/maggots may not penetrate the white pithy section the fruit gets a fungal pathogen at the sting site and drops. I always lose a certain % of grapefruit at colour break. Fruit held late spring will develop maggots if not protected.
Oranges: susceptible to being stung at colour break, causing them to drop prematurely, usually from secondary fungal infections.
Lemons: any left too long on the tree will get stung in spring and be ruined.

Raspberries: contrary to what some sites say and the claim from what someone living in QLD told me, raspberries are very prone to fruit fly. So much so that I regretfully pulled all mine out.

Avocado: haven't noticed any stings or damage.

Feijoa: = magnet; net or expect zero edible crop.
Pink Guava: see Feijoa.

Stone Fruits: goes without saying, these will be decimated without netting.

Apples: will get stung early after fruit set; the fruit tries to heal the wound--but the weeping clear sap like fluid invites fungal infection and the fruit drops prematurely.

Passionfruit: will occasionally get a few stung, but yet to see any make it to the pulp.

This year I noticed first hand that immature baby pumpkins with thin unhardened skins, being stung by fruit fly. The question now is whether these pumpkins will keep or develop mould in storage at the sting sites.

davewastech1 says...

Thanks Edward,
Re persimmon tree - I've been using medium size fruit fly bags (organza bags) which work well for fruit fly, but they're no use against ringtail possums.
The tree's getting a bit big for me to get a net over, but it's a possibility.