The cherry fruit fly is a great enemy of fruit growers. The flies spread very quickly and multiply quickly. The cherry fruit fly looks similar to a normal housefly. After the eggs have been laid, the larvae hatch into the now ripe cherries.
Eat the inside of the cherry to the stone. The cherry starts to rot and then falls to the ground. If you don't pick them up and dispose of them right away, after approx. five to six weeks the maggots. They dig into the ground to hibernate. There they pupate and hatch in late May / early June when the cherries are ripe.
How do I prevent the infestation?
You can forestall the maggots. By specializing in early varieties. Then the fruits are ripe at the beginning of June and can be harvested. This means that the flies no longer have a chance to deposit their eggs. Early bloomers include: Burlat, Earlise or Lapins.
You can also lay out fleece under the cherry tree. You can get the synthetic fleece in garden centers and hardware stores. The fleece prevents the maggots from digging into the ground. This means that they cannot hatch in the next year and attack the cherries. You should always pick the fruits that have dried up or are infested. The maggots can move from cherry to cherry with a spider thread.
Nets that are placed over the cherry tree are also good protection. These nets are so closely meshed that no cherry fruit fly can get through. In the case of large cherry trees, it is often quite difficult to slip over the net. It is important that the mesh is completely over the crown. These nets are more likely to be used on smaller cherry trees.
There are also special traps for cherry flies. You can get these traps in summer houses. For a really large cherry tree you need approx. twelve traps to hang in the treetop. It is important to set up these traps on the south side, as this is where the fruits ripen the fastest. These traps can certainly prevent a 50 percent infestation.
Are there any useful enemies too?
Some species of birds eat the cherries from the ground. This prevents the maggots from digging into the ground. Common swifts, as well as some species of swallow, are good ones
Maggot killer. But even those who have chickens should let them run so that they can go to the cherry tree. The chickens also attack the falling cherries.
But if you don't want to rely on our bird life, you can also help.
So you can use nematodes, which are roundworms. Shortly before the ripening period begins, the roundworms are inserted. You mix these worms with lukewarm water and pour the whole thing at the root of the cherry tree. The worms find the maggots penetrate through them and kill them. By doing this you can save 50 percent of the harvest.
