My oddly shaped poncirus fruit

[Citradia]

I picked up this weird poncirus and two small flying dragon fruit today, and a big bucket of regular shaped poncirus.

[Ilya11]

It is a damage caused by  citrus flower bud mite Aceria sheldoni

[Citradia]

Thanks Ilya. It’s the only one I’ve seen. Now I have to figure it how to kill that mite too.

[jim VH]

Yeah, I had a couple of those this year too.



I was bemused.  I don't think we have citrus flower mites in the Pacific Northwest though, but perhaps some other local pest serves a similar function?  I have noticed that the local sugar ants go wild over the flowers, sucking nectar; perhaps they can cause such damage?   They might serve to help pollinate the fruit as well.

Jim

[Citradia]

“We” shouldn’t have citrus mites in western North Carolina either, but although I am the only person I know of with in ground citrus in western NC, I guess the mite could have been introduced by a tree that I brought in from elsewhere. But none of my other trees have it either. I assumed it could have been frost damage since most of my poncirus blooms froze off this spring. I didn’t think I was going to have any poncirus fruit at all since my poncirus go unprotected in winter.

[sc4001992]

Jim, I like the unusual shape of your fruits, especially the one that looks like 3 fruits stuck together.

My best looking weird fruit is my sumo with 10 fingers, each had individual fruit sacks that tasted normal.

[Citradia]

SC 400, are you spraying the tree with something to keep the mites from messing up all your fruit? If so, what do you use? Neem oil? Horticultural oil?

[sc4001992]

No, I only get a few weird looking fruits, the rest are fine. I don't use any bug sprays on my fruit trees.