APPLE MAGGOT

A, Life stages: a, adult; b, pupa; c, larva, or maggot. (All about three times natural size.) B, Adult female making egg puncture in an apple. C, Exterior evidence of maggot damage. D, Halved apple showing damage to flesh and d, maggots feeding inside. (B, C, and D, about natural size.)

APPLE MAGGOT

The apple maggot, or railrcad worm, causes brown tunnels or burrows inside the apple. After an infested apple has fallen or is picked from the tree, the flesh usually breaks down and becomes a brownish, pulpy mass. The adult apple maggot is a fly, about the size of a house fly. It appears in the largest numbers in July in orchards throughout the Northeastern States and northern part of the Midwest. The flies lay their eggs in the flesh of apples, preferably sweet and sub-acid varieties that ripen during the summer or fall. The legless white maggots, or worms, develop in the flesh of the fruit. The insect passes the winter in the resting, or pupal, stage in the soil.

Control: Keep the foliage and fruit covered with lead arsenate or DDT during July to destroy the flies before they lay their eggs. Make two applications of 3 pounds of lead arsenate alone or with an equal amount of hydrated lime, or three applications of 2 pounds of a 50 percent DDT wettable powder per 100 gallons of water (for small quantities of either material this strength equals 8 tablespoonfuls per 5 gallons) 10 to 14 days apart. Spray thoroughly all trees, including any that may not have a crop. In a season when the flies appear late, an additional application is sometimes required. The timing of the sprays is important. In the small home orchard, gather and promptly destroy wormy, fallen fruit; pick up fruit of early-maturing varieties every 3 or 4 days, and later-maturing ones every 7 to 10 days. Ask your State experiment station, Extension entomologist or county agricultural agent for information on when the apple maggot flies are expected to appear in your locality and the best time to apply the first spray.

Do not spray fruits later than 4 weeks before picking. Scrub or peel sprayed or dusted fruits before eating them.