What's eating my quince tree?

I have a quince tree in my backyard that flowers each year and yields buckets full of fruit. However, the fruit has little dots on the outside and, when you cut into it, the dots reveal what look like little tunnels that go to the core of the fruit. The core is all black and rotted, leaving almost no healthy flesh to eat. If left on the tree, the blackness makes its way through the whole fruit. A huge disappointment because quince jam is delicious!





Is there anything I can spray on the tree so I can get healthy edible fruit? (It's already flowered this season)





thanks in advance

What's eating my quince tree?
It sounds like your quince have been attacked by an insect called the "Plum Curculio", which is found in apples, quince, plums, peaches and other fruit trees.





"These worms are a stage in the life-cycle of a beetle called the plum curculio. When the fruit is young, the plum curculio lays its eggs on the surface of the skin, cutting the skin and folding it over the egg. When the egg hatches, the worm then crawls to the center of the peach. You may notice a small crescent-shaped scar on the surface of the fruit shortly after the egg has been laid. After the eggs have hatched, it is too late to spray; spray with Sevin or Malathion before the eggs are laid, when the flower petals begin to fall (about 5 days after bloom)."





An "organic" alternative is to use a product called "Surround", which is a clay-based product. Surround WP provides substantial control of plum curculio on apples. Surround forms a thin clay barrier around the fruit that repels adults and prevents them from depositing eggs in the fruit. Begin spraying Surround on the trees at petal fall and continue applications until one week before harvest.


Surround WP is available to the home gardener through a variety of mail-order sources.





Hope this information will help you obtain a great harvest of quince! GOOD LUCK!





-Certified Professional Crop Consultant with over 30 years of experience and a Degree in Plant Science
Reply:Same thing eating the Gilbert Grape?





Seriously, though, you need to go to a local nursery with a sample and ask them. There should be someone there with the expertise to recommend a treatment.
Reply:yeah dont do that anymore