I have a 25 year old September Ruby apple. A few years ago scab began to be a real problem so I’ve been spraying it for that in the spring. This year I sprayed twice, once when the buds were showing and again shortly before flowering, using up the last of a product I had called something like Wilson’s Fruit Guard, which was a combination insecticide and fungicide. That was enough to control most of the scab, but as the apples came close to ripening they began to develop these brown patches and became knobby and misshapen. Some are okay for juice but that’s about it. I don’t see any visible worms or exit holes but that doesn’t rule them out. Ideas on what caused this and how I can prevent it? Thanks.
Possibly apple maggot.
Stink Bug Damage
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I agree it is most likely stinkbugs, but you are a lot further north and there may be something else going on up there which I don’t see where I am. This kind of damage probably occurred somewhere in the middle of their growth. Next year be on the lookout for bugs on the fruit at that point. You will always find stinkbugs if you have an infection that bad, just keep looking often enough.
Or corking from calcium deficiency. I get it on certain varieties here- I don’t do calcium sprays like the commercial growers. It’s easier just to focus on varieties that aren’t so fussy. If it is stinkbugs, you’d likely see it on more than one variety. They love peaches, pears (especially Asian) and russet apples.
Stink bugs, eh? Interesting, I don’t think that would have ever occurred to me. I certainly get some stink bugs on the saskatoons in July, more on the raspberries in July and August, and lots on the blackberries in September. Several times each year I make the unfortunate mistake of tossing a handful of berries into my mouth without checking for stink bugs first. Yuck. I would have thought that apples were too tough for stink bugs, but the google pics certainly do look like the damage on my apples, so I’ll definitely check for or spray for them next year, and maybe make a few of those traps too. Thanks for the replies!
This video/tip is great!
Looking online it seems stinkbug damage looks like bumps on the apples, not dimples so much. This looks more like apple maggot damage…
It looks like there are small holes burrowed into the apples just below the outside in your pics. Look like the same type of holes apple maggots make .
I was thinking apple maggot also.
I never came across any apples that I cut open that had visible maggots in them – those worm-like structures that can be seen in the pics above are actually hardened “veins” in the apple, not maggots. Not sure if the holes are related to the hardened veins or not though. The damage could be apple maggots though, as growers say apple maggots have been moving into this area over the past few years. Guess I just need a good spray program, and the days of being able to only spray a couple times in the spring is over for me now.
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You almost never do see the maggots, just the tracks they leave in the apple
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