Donut Peaches Rotting
Q: Every year my donut peaches turn brown and rot when they get about the size of a quarter. I apply fruit spray every 7-10 days from bloom until late May and the same thing happens.
A: You’re right to start early because brown rot fruit disease starts in the flowers of the peach tree. It takes a combination of cultural and chemical practices to manage this disease. Be sure to remove infected and injured fruit during and following each growing season. Prune out any cankered or dead stems and branches. Improve air circulation by thinning fruit so that ripening fruit do not touch each other. Do not leave thinned fruit on the ground. Several fungicides are labeled for brown rot, including Captan, azoxystrobin, chlorothalonil, and myclobutanil. Read your ingredient labels and consider alternating chemicals each time you spray.