Spotted this the other day. What is it and what can I do to prevent it from happening to the other 4 little apples? baby apple problem ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden )
First pick it off and toss it. I think that is a fungal disease not an insect problem. OR it could have been a mark from hail if you have had any and damage to the skin could also look like this, as it will start to rot and not heal over. Do you spray your trees with a broad spectrum fungicide/insecticide for the growing season on a regular schedule? We have to here in order to get a crop of any kind from the trees.
Carolyn... there hasn't been any hail here (in ages). And the tree is only 2 years old. This is the first fruit it's set... so there has been no spraying of any kind. And I did toss it. Since the tree is so young and I'm really not expecting any kind of crop for at least another year or so... do I still need to spray it? And if so... what should I use?
Cheryl, We buy a "fruit tree spray" ready to dilute and spray. My FIL does most of the fruit tree spraying for the trees. He sprays a dormant oil spray before the leaves are out to saturate and kill any and all insect hiding in the bark crevices Then he sprays an insecticide and fungicide combination on as regular of a schedule as he can keep every 7-14 days (due to the weather here, it is hit and miss) all summer long. Your best friend for this advice would truly be the county extension office. You should be able to get a fruit tree/orchard production guide for the trees and it is specific to your area. It will indicate what is advised and when to spray, too. And, yes, you should be spraying the trees even though you aren't expecting to get any fruit yet. There are too many insect and fungus diseases that will attack the trees before they are able to bear fruit. Insects damage is usually immediate and visible, fungus damage can be so gradual you don't notice it quick enough or the tree just doesn't thrive, it only survives.
Thanks Carolyn... I know who to ask on advice on this problem. :idea: My boss' son's business partner. He's a local "authority" on what grows around the Houston area. He's also one of the lead volunteers at Urban Harvest... where we got the fruit trees. Dang... I don't think I have his email address here at the house. But I'll definitely contact him on Tuesday when I get back to the office. But in the meantime... do all apples take that much "tending to"?
Looks more like a worm. We have had a few on our apples !! Did you cut the apple open and look at it ? You could have seen a trail if it were a worm. Other option is a bird peck that just rotted around it. We have had those too. Doesn`t look like a fungus. But you can kill two birds with one stone by getting a spray bottle and adding a tablespoon of dog shampoo that has either pyrethrin or permethrin as active ingredient. That cheap seargeants is what I use, the green stuff, then add a tablespoon of betadine or a tad more,, wont hurt,, fill the bottle slightly over half full to start and spray the entire tree. You can use this weekly if you wish. Can add more water later for maintenance spray. The dog shampoo takes care of any bugs or worms, and the betadine is antiseptic and antifungal !! Works better than anything I have tried.
I did notice a woodpecker hanging around it today. It landed for a bit and then moved on. And no... I didn't cut it open. I just tossed it over the fence. Can you describe better how a worm trail would look like? I'm jotting down your "recipe" right now!
Mart, That is an awesome recipe. I think I will try that on a few of the new trees and see if there is any difference at the end of the season...if I can keep up with it all. What is the amount of water for your recipe, though. A spray bottle is never going to do for me I need a sprayer size quantity. thanks Cheryl, YES, they take this much tending to here, at least, in order to get a crop of any kind at all. Between the pruning, spraying and thinning they can be very time consuming. They are not my favorite part of the garden.
If I knew they were that "needy" I would have never asked for one. But... now that I have it, I'd better learn how to take care of it. Thank you both for the info... at least I have starting point.
I would figure about 4 tablespoons per gallon for the shampoo and the betadine is not critical at all so if you get a bottle from the feed store or drug store just give it a squirt. You want the water to color a bit but not enough to waste it. Go with two tablespoons per gallon with it to start. Then one tbsp. as a maintenance spray. I cured a really bad fungal problem on my nectarine tree with this spray and took care of the bugs and crawly critters at the same time. I use it in my garden and on my trees. It will not take care of the birds though. Just had to toss two nectarines with bird pecks. Guess they weren`t ripe enough, they tried two and quit. You could see the little beak marks. Carolyn, you can also get permethrin and pyrethrin at the feed store in a bottle it just doesn`t have the soap in it. So if you go that route which would probably be easier for your quantity, add a squirt of dish soap to your sprayer as surfactant and use one or two tbsp. of the straight stuff. Both are safe and pyrethrin is used on organic gardens but permethrin is not organic. Soap makes the spray stick to the surface of the leaves and fruit. Not going to do much good if it all drips off and leaves no residue. So dont forget the soap. A worm trail looks like a tiny tunnel going through it. Sometimes it will have a slimy look, sometimes not. But they usually eat their way through to the middle. Remember the joke about whats worse than finding a worm in your apple ? / Finding half a worm.
I noticed this big spot on one of them. Is this the fungal disease? spot on baby apple ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden )
Yes. :-x it looks like black rot to me. Here is what my fruit book says. Black rot is caused by a fungus (botryospheria species) that also attacks pears. The fungus spends the winter in rotted apples, deadwood, and old fire blight cankers. When the temperatures reach 60f and higher in the spring, spores are produced on infected tissues and splashed by water to the foliage and the fruit. Branches and trunks may be infected by black rot, especially when the bark has been infected by the fire blight or weakened by sunscald, cold or heavy shading. As the fungus decays the wood, cankers form, weakening the branches and reducing the overall vigor of the tree. Fruit infection is generally more sever in the in warm moist areas, and canker formation is more prevalent in cooler climates. Solutuion: Spray with a fungicide containing captan as soon as infestation is noticed. Remove all rotted apples from the tree and ground, and destroy them. Prune out dead wood and branches infected with fire blight. Destroy all prunings. Thin densely branched trees to provide adequate light and air circulation. The following spring, begin spraying when buds break. spray every 10 to 14 days. Cheryl, I hope this sends you in the right direction. I assume the diseases you have there are pretty much the same as we have here. This is why spraying on a schedule is of utmost importance in order to get a crop in the fall. Work, Work, Work.... to have an orchard or just a few fruit trees, even.
Captan did not help my nectarine tree. The betadine did. If its a fungus pull off the apples that have a spot and trash them. Mix the betadine spray a bit stronger than I said before, add a squirt of dish soap and spray the entire tree all the way to the ground. I would spray it weekly for a while. That does look similar to what happened to my nectarines last year. This year I have a lot of fruit and no spots.
It only put on 3 apples (only it's second spring of being planted). I'm thinking it won't produce any more this year? Do I still need to go ahead and spray?
I am not an expert in any way but if it was me, I would be treating the tree and trying to keep any fungal growth from getting a foothold with or without fruit production. Around here, once fungal or pest damage gets started you have to get rid of it quick or fight 10x as hard just to save the tree. So I would treat the tree and make sure I didn't see any other signs of disease all year. But that is me and is what I have to do in my wet soggy climate.
