North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Steve <sdw12986@aol.com>]

fuwa fuwa usagi wrote:
> Well this year I faced for the first time a new pest, the Japanese beetle.  
> My yard, apparently was a paradise for them.  I a have never encounter these 
> loathsome creatures before, nor do I ever wish to again.  they devastated my 
> cherry and plum trees, ate my raspberries and devoured my grape plants...I 
> noticed they avoided my pear tree and all my apple tree but on variety, they 
> singled out my honeycrips, all three of them even though interplanted with 
> other apple trees!!!
>
> I can only speak of my yard, but with 18 varieties, I find it odd that the only damage is to each of the three honeycrisp trees.  
>
> the fluffy bunny

I went a couple of decades free of Japanese beetles after other areas 
were having problems. Then a few showed up. More and more each year. I 
feel that finally there are fewer this year than last year but it could 
be that's it has been so rainy that I haven't been out to see what they 
are doing. Your wish to never have to deal with them again will 
certainly go unfulfilled.  :-(

You are exactly right about the Honeycrisp apples. I have only 4 apple 
trees. One is a Honeygold and the other 3 have multiple grafts. Up to 9 
cultivars per tree. Two years ago, the Japanese Beetles were all over my 
grapes and I noticed them on one of the apple trees. A closer inspection 
showed that every beetle was on a branch grafted to Honeycrisp. Not a 
single beetle or any evidence of damage to a single leaf that wasn't 
Honeycrisp.

Steve in the Adirondacks