Brown Spots on Cherry Fruit - Ask Extension
Hello, we have Romeo and Juliet cherry bushes. This is the first year that they have had fruit. On one of the bushes (I believe it is the Juliet), mos...
Knowledgebase
Brown Spots on Cherry Fruit #650796
Asked June 14, 2020, 2:04 PM EDT
Hello, we have Romeo and Juliet cherry bushes. This is the first year that they have had fruit. On one of the bushes (I believe it is the Juliet), most of not all of the cherries themselves have brown spots on the fruit. The spots are often located towards the bottom of the fruit. Could you tell us if the cherries are still edible, what these spots are, and how we could prevent them in future years? Thank you!
Jackson County Oregon
Expert Response
If you cut open one of the affected cherries and find a small worm, you will know that the culprit is Western Cherry Fruit-fly. The holes are made when the larvae exit the fruit. Unfortunately, if this is the problem, there isn't anything you can do at this point other than pick and destroy the affected cherries. Any other cherries that do not show holes may still be affected, so you can harvest them and cut them open to see if there is a small worm inside.. You can find out how to avoid this problem next season by accessing pnwhandbooks.org/ insect pests. There is a search box in which you put "cherry" and it will give you a list of all the possible insect problems. Search for Western Cherry Fruit fly and it will take you to the information.In the event this is not the fruit-fly, other pest identifications are given at the same location. Sorry for the disappointing news.Thanks for using Ask an Expert.
Thank you for the tip. We cut several of the cherries open, but have not found worms in any of them. The spots do not appear to be holes in person.
