Im noticing a few peaches with clear ooze. Peaches are not very big yet. We did have a hail storm but the ooze seems totally unconnected to any hail damage. I cant find any worms/grubs/larva on dissection. A couple have a straight in tunnel that does not make it to the pit. I dont know if these are split pits or not, it looks like two small brown pits in each peach i cut up. No goo or anything around the pit. The two small brown parts are sunflower seed size or smaller. Im wondering if im early enough that im inside the actual pit?
There arent a ton of peaches with the ooze but if i have a bug problem i need to know how to treat and want to get that done asap. Three trees planted close, two trees (haven varieties) have the same ooze on a few peaches. What to do?
This has bothered me for years. So far, this is what I “think” that I have been able to observe:
Bug damage - especially oriental fruit moth. They can be very small, so look closely.
Split pits - I think the split fractures the flesh, but the skin is more elastic. The pressure of the sap finally finds a way out as a pin hole.
Too much water all of the sudden. I think sap pressure builds and finally finds a way out via a pin hole rupture of the skin. I have noticed this with new terminal foliage as well. After watering it can weep sometimes. I just went through a round of sap oozing young green peaches. I cut them all open to look for worms and found nothing. All I could trace it back to was watering a few days earlier - so, I am suspicious that was the cause. I dialed back the amount I water at one time - we will see.
I would say that 2 and 3 above can be related, especially if too much water is given during “pit hardening”.
Take my guessing as to causes as just that - my guessing.
It has been a couple of years now with zero oriental fruit moth. I still find young green peaches oozing sap from time to time. Being paranoid, I always cut them open and look for worms. I haven’t found one in 2 or 3 years.
I hope you continue to make observations and try to discover a link between cause and effect for this phenomenon. I for one would certainly like to understand it better.
I am curious if it is water pressure as you mentioned. We had hard hail and then significant rain (especially for our area) a couple of days ago. These are also in a lawn. No other signs of over watering tho.
Several of the peaches have no tunnel (i dissected with extreme care) one clearly did, but not to the pit. No outward injury at all. Oddly none of the peaches with hail dings have the ooze. Two had a soft?dark? Spot inside that looked like and excess of sap on what was maybe a 1/4” area.
I read all through your previous post and mine look similar except the pits. I cant decide to cut more open or not but if i do i will photo that. Mine definitely do not look like ofm pictures online. I will set a trap and see if i get any. Everything i read talks about OFM way earlier in the season (or before) i just dont want to let it go and auddenly have an infestation aftet we got literally no peaches last year from cold snap. I cant bear the thought of two years without
I get these on peaches, also with no worms ever. Elsewhere I’ve seen it attributed to stink bugs feeding - no eggs involved, just proboscis feeding. I think it usually doesn’t cause problems, so I save my worries for actual bad stuff like OFM and coddling moth.
My nectarines are always scarred and dotted with little crystals and clear ooze as in the picture, I have assumed it to be damage from thrips. The thrips feed on the flowers and skin of fruitlets during and right after bloom, and are long gone by the time the fruit are at the stage pictured. They are less likely to damage peaches though, I believe because the fuzzy skin offers some protection, so could be something else in your case.
