Does it seem like a particularly bad year for leaf spot for anyone else in the north east? I have two varieties of peach and one nectarine but I am new to them. My majestic peach has a pretty bad infection so I am wondering if it is a bad year or is this variety just very susceptible.
Wow, your 7a zone is way ahead of mine. Just finished my last petal drop on apples today. Pears and peaches great. No leaf spot on peaches!
Good luck, hopefully it is just this tree.
Can you post more pics esp. close up?
Have you sprayed copper or oxytetracycline after petal fall? I am close to you, and I got spotting in 2016 and 2017 when I did not spray, last year and this year I sprayed copper prophylactically when conditions seemed favorable (like this week!)…
Here are some closer pictures. And I did not use any copper based spray. I have been using Bonide Fruit Tree Guard. I have had no significant insect damage or fungus issues thus far and only the bacterial spot on the one tree so overall it seems to be working pretty well. CAR, PC, and June bugs are usually my biggest issues.
That’s not much of bacteria spots. I’d think that our very prolonged wet weather is the cause more than anything else.
I hope so. I have no reference point to gauge bad vs mild spot so the outside opinions are appreciated.
The yellowing of leaves indicates another issue than bacterial leaf spot, which looks fairly mild on that Majestic Peach.
Was curious as to whether you still have your Majestic peach. Tractor Supply still has some Majestic, Elberta, and Reliance trees and I was wondering how yours has done.
I still have the Majestic. I killed my Reliance by not paying attention to my spray mix. Last year was the first that I had any fruit on the Majestic. They were delicious. Hopefully this year follows suit but the fruit set on it looks pretty light. The Reliance set heavily but I never had the chance to try any due to insect and bird damage. I now have a Red Baron that is setting for its first time this year. Hopefully it was worth seeking out.
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Ok thanks for the reply. Like I said, TS has both of those and I’d like to get one to put in the front yard with my apples. I have four other 7 year old peach trees on other parts of the property, but I rarely get any fruit off them because of squirrels. Our dog at least would keep them off my trees in the front yard, hopefully.
Sounds like Majestic would be the one to pick then. Does it bloom earlier than your other peaches? I’ve read it has 800 chill hours, which might cause it to bloom too early.
My four older trees had a handful of blooms this year, probably because it got so cold last winter.
I have a heavy fruit set on my apples tho.
It tends to be on the early side for me which surprised me because in the winter the angle of sun keeps it in shade longer than others which bloomed later even with the warm sun hitting the wood. I had issues with MJ getting zapped by late frost for a few years which made the Reliance my favored tree. That being said the Reliance blossoms are not as showy as the Majestic so if you are hoping for looks I would go elsewhere.
Taste wise Majestic is better? Also bigger? I’m guessing Reliance is more hardy given its longer chill hours. I don’t care about how showy the blossoms are. Production wise maybe Reliance is better because of smaller fruit?
Two of my older trees are massive (Contender and Blushingstar) as I haven’t done much pruning on them. I planted them 18ft apart, but they’re growing into each other now. I should be getting bushels of peaches but what the freezes don’t get the squirrels will. It’s very aggravating.
What happened to your Reliance?
I never had a reliance survive the critters long enough to compare. But me and the family enjoyed the majestic. I use surround with a sticker to hide them from the birds. It seems to work pretty well but once the skin is pecked the cover is blown and they go quickly. I wouldn’t mind sharing if they didn’t eat a chunk of each fruit and leave it to rot.
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