On Jun 8, 8:22 am, "Charlie Pridham"
wrote:
"Jim Jackson" wrote in message

... rehn wrote:
I have small white worms in my pears. After a while they go black and
fall off. This has happen for several years now. Don't know what to
do. Any suggestions ?

Image:
http://hem.bredband.net/b233107/pear.JPG

It's probably Pear Midge. We get it some years - someyears it is very bad.
Sorry but I've no suggestions as to what to do about it.

Jim

It is definitely Pear midge damage.
We have pear midge on a Williams Pear, could never control it so asked the
RHS pest dept! there are apparently no approved chemical sprays, they
suggested the removal of all effected pears (obviously have much smaller
pear trees than us!) but the other advice was better, plant different
varieties as pear midge is a very short season pest and if a pear flowers
just a week or two later it can escape damage and this has proved the case
as a nearby 'Conference' is unaffected.
You can also break the cycle by preventing the falling pearlets from
reaching the ground, as those little white maggots have to overwinter in the
ground to complete the life cycle.
I have to admit that we always get some pears on the Williams despite pear
midge and as they don't keep I am not sure what we would do with the surplus
:~)
--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collections of Clematis viticella (cvs) and
Lapageria rosea


Thanks for info.
Have checked for Pear midge on the net and it is definitely what I
have.
What I will try is to catch the falling pears in a net, the kind net
that are used to harvest olives.
What worries me is that I read somewhere the maggots might leave the
pears before the fell, so maybe I have to put something on the ground
too.
One others thing I also found out is that it might help to cover the
ground in the spring. If I use all possible means I might break their
life cycle.

Regards
John Rehn