troubled peach tree

Feb 06, 2016 18:10:21

My peach tree is not doing well. I'm not sure how old it is or what variety, it was mature when we moved here. We have only gotten a couple peaches each year (this will be our 3rd year here). It blooms well and makes plenty of baby fruit. They look green then before they actually get ripe, they get brown and rotten on the tree. We have pruned the tree and removed all the old peach corpses but still no luck. I would really like to save this tree if possible. And prevent whatever it's got from spreading as we have multiple apricot and plum trees and another peach (which we added last year, too small to be productive yet). I'm looking for suggestions. I ran across this and it looks very interesting http://www.nutritionsecurity.org/PDF/Brix.pdf. Hoping that perhaps improving the soil and available nutrients will allow the tree to fend off whatever is causing the fruit to rot. Has anyone else used brix to gauge the health of their produce? Would something like mycogrow watered in to the area help? Thanks for reading.

Kara

Feb 06, 2016 20:08:37

Kara,

Fret not, it's only brown rot.

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/peach/brown-rot-fungus.htm

http://www.agroecology.org/Case%20Studies/brownrot.htmlher

Remove all down fruit, remove all mummies, remove all down twigs, prune well, remove everything from site and burn. Do it every couple weeks once fruit appears until finished after dormancy. Disinfect pruning equipment and clothing(gloves, don't forget the gloves!) Organic fungicide from bud until it says to stop on the product directions you use. Should keep your losses under 30%.

Jun 29, 2016 20:04:42

Along with the brown rot on my peaches I also have weeping branches and trunk. Is this all part of the same problem?
Thanks

Jun 30, 2016 16:37:36

They are both likely fungal problems.

Here are two good resources regarding dealing with brown rot specifically:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1514816/what-are-my-odds-of-beating-brown-rot-organically

https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/BP/BP-45-W.pdf

Both sources emphasize meticulous clean up protocols.

It helps a ton if you plant a resistant variety. Humphhhhh... more of a long term approach.

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