Bleach as a Brown Rot Fungicide?

[mroot]

For a short term solution I would mix Captan with Myclobutanil and spray both together. Captan is pretty effective against brown rot but it’s easily washed off if you get a lot of rain. Myclobutanil is absorbed into the leaf tissue and much more rain fast. It’s much less effective against brown rot but if you get a lot of rain and high winds it will provide some protection until you can get out and spray again. You might also shorten your spray interval to 10 days or less.

Bleach would kill fungus but as soon as it dries it provides no protection. Plus it may damage leaf tissue and its not legal to use as a fungicide any way.

Long term your best bet is Captan mixed with Indar. Using the Captan at either the full or half rate. You could also substitute Propiocanazole for Indar but I don’t think Propiocanazole is labelled for apples so you would need a separate spray mix for apples.

For you guys that have lots of trees Olpea calculated costs on a per acre basis.

Peaches and Nectarines Pest and Diseases Management Guide

On a cost per acre basis, I don’t know of anything cheaper than Indar and Propiconazole. Captan is the next cheapest. It runs something like $20/acre. I think Indar is closer to $15/acre. As you know, propiconazole is even cheaper. I tank mix propiconazole with a 1/2 rate of captan for very good control, at a very reasonable cost.