Native Plants
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Saturday - March 12, 2011
From: Lake Worth, FL
Region: Southeast
Topic: Non-Natives
Title: Fruit fly maggots attacking non-native Grumichama in Lake Worth FL
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
Dear Mr. Smarty Plants How do I prevent fruit fly maggots from attacking my Grumichama fruit?ANSWER:
As often happens, we had never heard of Grumichama, so we went to the Internet and found this article from Purdue University Horticulture Eugenia brasiliensis, Grumichama. We learned that it is native, as the name indicates, to Brasil and therefore does not appear in our Native Plant Database. It has been planted in Florida and Hawaii with some success. The article went on to say that in Hawaii, the plant has been heavily attacked by the Meditteranean Fruit Fly.
We had heard of that pest, but had no personal experience of it, so we went to this Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service article Pest Alert. We are not saying that is what you have chewing on the fruit on your plant, because we are not entomologists and really have no idea. However, we would suggest you read the Pest Alert article and perhaps contact the Extension Office for Palm Beach County.
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