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Plum Pockets

Taphrina pruni

36 host plants

Last updated

Data Coverage 3 of 6 dimensions
Causal Agent
Host Plants
Symptoms
Management
GDD Threshold
Regional Notes

Plum pockets cause swollen, hollow fruit on plum and cherry trees, particularly in wet springs. Remove affected fruit from trees to reduce inoculum for next year. Improve air circulation through pruning. Avoid overhead watering. Apply fungicides preventively during spring bloom if disease pressure is high. Monitor your plants closely and implement integrated management strategies. Prompt removal of infected material helps limit disease spread.

Prevention works better than treatment for plum pockets. Choose resistant varieties when they exist, site plants where air moves freely, and maintain good sanitation by removing debris and infected material. When chemical intervention is necessary, timing matters more than product: apply protectants before the infection window, not after symptoms appear.

Quick Reference

Causal Agent
Taphrina pruni
Host Plants
36

Management

Vulnerability Window

The leathery skin may later become covered with a whitish coating of fungal spores.

Cultural Controls

  • Plant resistant cultivars.
  • The European plum (Prunus domestica) and the Oriental plum (P.
  • salicina) are reported to be resistant, while American plums (cultivated and wild) are susceptible.
  • Remove infected wild plums in the vicinity.
  • Prune out and destroy infected twigs, branches, and fruit.
  • Rake up and destroy fallen infected fruit.

Host Plants (36)

Prunus americana Wild Plum American (Red) Plum August Plum, Goose Plum Prunus armeniaca Apricot Prunus avium Sweet Cherry Prunus besseyi Sand Cherry, Western Sand Cherry Prunus blireiana Blireiana Plum Prunus caroliniana Carolina Cherrylaurel American Cherrylaurel Prunus cascade Prunus cascade Prunus cerasifera Cherry, Plum Prunus cistena Purpleleaf Sandcherry Redleaf Sandcherry Cistena Sandcherry Cistena Plum Prunus dream Prunus dream Prunus emarginata Bitter Cherry, Wild Cherry, Quinine Cherry Prunus first Prunus first Prunus fruticosa Steppe Cherry, European Dwarf Ground Cherry, Mongolian Cherry Prunus glandulosa Dwarf Flowering Almond Prunus ilicifolia Hollyleaf Cherry, Holly-leaved Cherry Prunus laurocerasus Cherry, Laurel Prunus lusitanica Portugal Laurel Prunus maackii Amur Chokecherry Amur Cherry, Manchurian Cherry Prunus mume Japanese Apricotc Japanese Flowering Apricot Japanese Flowering Plum Prunus newport Newport Flowering Plum Prunus okame Okame Flowering Cherry Prunus padus European Birdcherry Common Birdcherry Prunus prostrata Rock Cherry, Mountain Cherry Prunus sargentii Sargent Cherry, Sargent's Cherry Prunus serotina Black Cherry, Rum Cherry Prunus serrula Birchbark Cherry, Paperbark Cherry, Tibetan Cherry Prunus serrulata Japanese Flowering Cherry Prunus snow Prunus snow Prunus subcordata Klamath Plum, Sierra Plum, Pacific Plum Prunus subhirtella Higan Cherry Prunus subhirtella var. autumnalis Autumn Flowering Higan Cherry Prunus tai Prunus tai Prunus virginiana Prunus virginiana Prunus virginiana var. demissa Western Chokecherry Prunus virginiana var. virginiana Common Chokecherry, Eastern Chokecherry Prunus yedoensis Yoshino Cherry, Somei-yoshino Cherry, Tokyo Cherry