peach tree issue

I had about 6 peach trees. I'm down to 1. I over fertilized some of them and killed them. Cut some of the struggling ones down. Each was a different type of peach for cross pollination.

Anyway, each year the trees would produce plenty of peaches. They would grow to be about the size of a ping-pong ball. Then the peaches would start to ooze a liquid from them, like a bead that would dry up on the surface of the peach.
Then they would die and dry up. (theres one in the picture below from last year). This happened for 6 years.

What is going on with these peaches?  

It sounds like plum curculio damage. I get it on my peach trees also.

Your description does sound like curculio but the shriveled brown peach in the last photo looks like brown rot to me?

Are any of the peaches ripening? I get some curculio damage but they generally still get full size and ripen where as brown rot will cause them to fall off young.

Ours only get brown rot when the summer is wet and humid.  

Judith Browning wrote:Your description does sound like curculio but the shriveled brown peach in the last photo looks like brown rot to me?

Are any of the peaches ripening? I get some curculio damage but they generally still get full size and ripen where as brown rot will cause them to fall off young.

Ours only get brown rot when the summer is wet and humid.  

the peaches really dont get any bigger than what they are now before they start oozing that resin and die off

What do you use for brown rot?

In my limited experience the brown rot is introduced by the cerculio damage. Search for cerculio on here and you will get lots of threads.

Tj Jefferson wrote:In my limited experience the brown rot is introduced by the cerculio damage. Search for cerculio on here and you will get lots of threads.

I see your from Virginia too, what part?
I'm in Petersburg area


Here's a picture I took today. You can see the oozing on this peach.

I am trying one spray of neem oil and one of spinosad this year. They are supposed to be organic. So far, the peaches and plums look great.

Luke Tyler wrote:

Tj Jefferson wrote:In my limited experience the brown rot is introduced by the cerculio damage. Search for cerculio on here and you will get lots of threads.

I see your from Virginia too, what part?
I'm in Petersburg area


Here's a picture I took today. You can see the oozing on this peach.

Between Richmond and nowhere on the west. Petersburg is my happy place because of Agrisupply. Unfortunately its an hour away... That place is so great.

Its cerculio. Make sure you remove all mummies from under the tree! I used DE last year with modest success, got about eight peaches. Noticed that I had no assassin bugs after the first application. This year I'm letting nature take its course, with removal of the mummies as I have time. Most mummies I have done necropsy on do not have viable worms in them, which means the tree is getting healthy (its only been in for two years) and the gum is smothering the grubs. Last year there were viable grubs in most.

I planted mint and monarda under the trees to try to get a scent barrier since thats how cerculio find the trees, and walk at night up the trunk. So far I have not been impressed. All peaches are affected. So would say not successful.

I'm sticking with soil health and have trap trees planted in one area (cherries) that will have chickens under them during the susceptible period. Cherries are the first target and they hopefully will attract the emerging bugs. Eventually we will probably get a pig to do the cleanup of the mummies, but thats a year or more out.  

Targeting zinc levels specifically for cerculio but generally good soil under the peaches. My understanding is apricots get hit even worse. I dont have time to do Surround spraying every year.

Making a mash of monarda and mint and applying it to the trunk might work if reapplied a few time, really only needed until the fruit is from dime size to near harvest so maybe a monthish.

Spinosad kills everything, but yes its organic. I use it at my friends house to try to wean him off Sevin. This year I have lots of assassin bugs and Im hoping that changes the game in a few years.

Tj Jefferson wrote:

Luke Tyler wrote:

Tj Jefferson wrote:In my limited experience the brown rot is introduced by the cerculio damage. Search for cerculio on here and you will get lots of threads.

I see your from Virginia too, what part?
I'm in Petersburg area


Here's a picture I took today. You can see the oozing on this peach.

Between Richmond and nowhere on the west. Petersburg is my happy place because of Agrisupply. Unfortunately its an hour away... That place is so great.

Its cerculio. Make sure you remove all mummies from under the tree! I used DE last year with modest success, got about eight peaches. Noticed that I had no assassin bugs after the first application. This year I'm letting nature take its course, with removal of the mummies as I have time. Most mummies I have done necropsy on do not have viable worms in them, which means the tree is getting healthy (its only been in for two years) and the gum is smothering the grubs. Last year there were viable grubs in most.

I planted mint and monarda under the trees to try to get a scent barrier since thats how cerculio find the trees, and walk at night up the trunk. So far I have not been impressed. All peaches are affected. So would say not successful.

I'm sticking with soil health and have trap trees planted in one area (cherries) that will have chickens under them during the susceptible period. Cherries are the first target and they hopefully will attract the emerging bugs. Eventually we will probably get a pig to do the cleanup of the mummies, but thats a year or more out.  

Targeting zinc levels specifically for cerculio but generally good soil under the peaches. My understanding is apricots get hit even worse. I dont have time to do Surround spraying every year.

We are just a few miles from AgriSupply. Hit them up all the time. We were visiting our son in Radford. There is a Rural King there. Wish we had one here!!!
I'll be honest with you, after reading all this I'm not sure this tree is worth it. Cutting it down like the others might be in its future.

if you are thinking you might sacrifice it anyway, you could try to graft onto it a different variety.
the "frost" peach and also "blood" peaches are two varieties that have resistance to peach leaf curl, and other funks.

it may be that you just dont have an ideal climate for peach growing, the funky issues with rot and leaf curl are caused by either excessive moisture and humidity or extremes and uneven watering - too much, then too little.
if you really want to grow peaches you could try a different spot in the yard, close to a wall with an over hang (the funks come from too much rain), or somewhere else.

or you can pick up the habit of spraying every year. there are better and worse things to spray of course.

I have been trying not to using anything, but they have ruined every single plum and some peaches.   Since it might be hard to get fresh fruit this summer, I decided to try the Spinosad.

Do assassin  bugs kill many curculios?

MYbe. I’m tired of messing with it. I’m banking on the predators.

Sorry to hear about your peaches. That hurts!

Actually, I have a similar problem. But I don't have the energy to fight nature with sprays. Cleaning up the drops, improving the soil, thinning fruit, attracting predator insects, and planting helpful companions makes a lot of sense to me, though. If that doesn't work, I'd just move on.

For me, I think I'm swearing off growing peaches. Or maybe I'll try a super-tough variety next time, as Leila suggested. Peaches and European plums just seem to be so much bother! In my region, it seems way easier to grow Asian pears, paw paws, mulberries, bush cherries, beach plums, and a ton of other random fruit, berries, and fruit-like vegetables like rhubarb. There are so many things that are easier to grow! I'll try anything once but, when something doesn't work, I just don't force it. My one exception is figs. Figs are a pain in the ass to over-winter in Rhode Island, but I'll do just about anything for a fresh fig - and they're crazy expensive!

Anyhow, good luck with those peaches! I'm keeping an eye on this feed to see if I hear about a silver bullet! ;)