Help with my peach disaster

Link doesn’t work, but you’ve told me most of what I wanted to know…that it is indeed a critter catcher!

I do not imagine TN being that different from Va. One or two sprays of Koicide Copper during the off season after leaves drop and before bud break. Indar and Captan are two great fungicides, if Indar is not available substitute with Immunox. I would do my first two sprays with both fungicides then switch to immunox or indar only. I have found you do not need to spray peaches as often as what is described on the schedule mentioned on the fungicide label if you do not get a lot of rain. The first two sprays are very important. I have gotten by with as little of two sprays. The only effective insecticide against plum curcilio that is not commercial that I have found is permethrin. It can be sprayed near houses. Pemthrin should be used for peaches only - on apples and pears it will kill good bugs which will lead to other issues. You should start spraying peaches immediately after petal fall for plum curcilio.

Prop. is not longer available in a backyard grower formulation as Monterey Fungus Fighter has been taken off the market. This is a lot of money for too much fungicide, but I wonder if Luna Experience (apparently named in honor of Jimi Hendrix) isn’t a more affordable substitute for Indar. I am considering using it in rotation but I want to learn more about it.

I would be inclined to rely on a combination of Captan and sulfur rather than Myclo. However, I’m not speaking out of the more reliable realm of experience, but I do believe that Myclo is not all that effective. I don’t know if you have to keep applying Captan and sulfur during the entire development period for stonefruit or if you can begin a month before ripening. I would try the latter.

LOL
Not really funny . . . But ME TOO. I feel your pain. I have the same one!
I too - got no fruit last year . . . . . well . . . does ONE apple count?

I think it probably takes doing it - for several years - to get the hang of it. And I think it takes an almost weekly date with our sprayers. Yippeeeeeee!

I’m still foggy about what to do between the ‘dormant oil/copper spray’ and bloom?
That would be the ‘second spray’. Is this spray a continuation of fungal control? Should I be spraying weekly after that first spray - up until buds open up? Always alternating chems? Not at all?

:dizzy_face:

I guess it would be a lot simpler if everything was at the same stage - at the same time. But the apples and pears are dormant. The stone fruit is about to bust out in bloom. The figs don’t look too good. ? Have NO idea what to do about them . . . if anything. Grape buds are just peeking out. I know I need to spray . . . But I freeze - so afraid I’ll put something on a tree that is in a ‘sensitive’ stage and that should not be sprayed with sulphur, or not sprayed with copper again . . . or sprayed with something totally different? Is there some simple way to get a handle on this?

I think I’m going to follow @Drew51’s schedule. It seems quite straight-forward. And I’ll keep my eye on Scott’s, as well. I ordered Surround this week - impossible to find locally. But found that I was not the only one asking the ‘heavy duty’ garden centers around here, about Surround. Maybe by next year someone will stock it. Meanwhile - I ordered it from 7 Springs.

My final question is this . . .
Considering the price of Indar. If I add up all the other chemicals I’ve purchased - maybe they cost more than just getting the Indar! And then what would I need - to rotate with the Indar? If it could be just Indar . . . and one other. That could be doable.
@mrsg47 - what would you suggest?

I’ll be watching all the answers to @TN-Apple . Same issues. Southeastern VA.

That’s not true, Bonide still makes it in the product called “Infuse”

That is a very good point. I try to get one spray in between copper and bloom. During bloom you do nothing until pedal fall. Let me go over my sprays and why I use them. If you can bear with me.
My main targets are brown rot and the plum curculio .AKA PC.
Because often home products have both a fungicide and an insecticide , at times I need only one. But we just don’t have any good option sometimes.
Bonide’s Fruit Tree and Plant Guard has a pyrethroid insecticide that kills everything including PC. Very effective. And it contains 2 fungicides that are very effective against brown rot. These fungicides are only available to the home orchardist in this product. It uses a different mode of action against brown rot than all other brown rot products available for home use. It is the most effective brown rot control you can buy for home use. Brown rot also causes a blossom blight besides the rotting of fruit. So you want to get this product on at least once before bloom to prevent BB.

Bonide’s Infuse which replaces Fungi Fighter (same chemical). It also works fairly well against brown rot. Uses a different method of attack than Plant Guard. So using these two attack brown from 2 flanks.
( Flank attacks on the strategic level are seen when a nation or group of nations surround and attack an enemy from two or more directions,) This devastates brown rot. Indar uses the same mode of action as Infuse, although it is better than Infuse. So use one of these not both! Since they attack exactly the same way. I don’t want to go into detail but to understand how these work. Indar and Infuse belongs to the sterol demethylation inhibitor (DMI) class of
fungicides or target site of action Group 3 fungicide. Plant guard works differently a Group 1 or Group 2 fungicide. I forget? And don’t feel like looking it up.

This approach has eliminated brown rot completely from my garden. Always follow all label directions, it’s the law for one thing, and it works better if you do.

Bonide’s Fruit Tree Spray has Captan and Malathion in it. So I actually use three fungicides to stop brown rot, and other fungal diseases.

You can spray the dormant copper to try and prevent fig rust. Besides that no other sprays. If SWD fruit fly becomes a problem I bag with organza bags.

I spray lime-sulfur once grapes form. Some grapes cannot be sprayed with sulfur, test a small area and see how they do.

I covered that above.

I don’t grow apples, so I cannot advise, I do know many if not all products mentioned can be used on apples. See product labels.
So after pedal fall I spray for brown rot and the insecticides are for PC and SWD, and Japanese beetles. SWD will eat stone fruit too. Looking at my schedule I attack early in the year. Usually by July I no longer need to spray PC is gone. I have some late ripening fruit and may continue the brown rot sprays. But don’t spray more times in a season than the label allows.

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Thanks Drew. I searched for the ingredient and couldn’t find the Bonide formula. That is what I would recommend for home growers- hopefully the label calls for a strong enough app for it to be effective.

I hadn’t researched what was available for home growers for a few years. This is helpful for me when my DIY customers ask me what to use. I’m going to update my spray schedule here in guides.

In the northeast I routinely get sound harvests with only 2 insecticide sprays but the longer the growing season the more the pressure, especially in humid regions. That said, I believe that home growers can usually get by with far fewer sprays than commercial growers in the same region but the only way to know how low a spray schedule you can get away with is to take some risks and observe closely. I’m glad I took those risks early on- it has saved me dozens of unnecessary sprays over the years,

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The only thing I can think of is Surround, but It really doesn’t address rot issues. I shipped Surround to France by mistake, but it got through. I will use copper and a sticker(olive oil) and one fungicide. Thats all I have so far.

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Thanks for the tip. I headed them back as well

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Just wanted to mention - nice training/pruning job!

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Thanks so much, Drew, for taking the time to spell this all out. I really appreciate it.

  • Karen
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My pleasure, and to prove it works, seeing is believing.
My photos of harvests
Indian Free peaches

PF Lucky 13 peaches

Arctic Glo nectarines

Spice Zee Necataplum

Dapple Dandy Pluots

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Drew, I remember that shot you took of all those beautiful peaches on your table!
I have an Indian Free peach tree and maybe this year I’ll see some peaches! :crossed_fingers:t2:

And @TN-Apple . . . by the way - what is that black tube thing on the 2x4 in your tree ? Are you training squirrels to run through it and do circus tricks on your trees? :joy:
I know there must be a perfectly sane answer . . . but I’ve never seen ‘whatever that is’ before!

Drews plan is excellent! And similar to mine in the states. Here I have to start from scratch, sorry, mis-read your question.

Drew’s is a blanket program that calls for, by my count, 11 sprays!

Maybe this is what is needed to get sound peaches in Tennessee, I wouldn’t know, but commercial growers around here use this many for pristine fruit during a particularly wet season while I rarely need more than 3 to harvest sound peaches.

In Tennessee you would probably need more than what we get by with, but you can never find out what you really need if you use a blanket program and year after year spray much more than you really need to.

No risk, no learn.

I really don’t think Drew should need to spray his trees 11 times to realize great harvests where he lives although some people want perfect looking fruit. If that’s the case you should certainly do what serves you best.

My customers that opt for pristine usually get a total of 7 sprays here and we probably have more disease pressure than Drew. Of course, I also use commercial formulas, so Drew knows more about what he speaks regarding what you can buy in small quantities. He is paying attention.

Neither of us are expert in managing peaches in Tennessee. Pest pressure can vary greatly from site to site within miles. From here to Tennessee is huge.

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Well done !

Yes. You are correct - in NY state you don’t have the disease pressure that the southeast suffers. Where I live in Virginia - it is a virtual steam bath. I’ve learned the hard way . . .
‘You’re not in NY anymore, Dorothy’.
And certainly not in San Diego!

I’m tired of putting in work, and hope and money - and still not getting even ‘half-way decent fruit’. Not even fruit that if we were willing to chew around worms and rot - we could at least taste!
So - if it takes 11 sprays . . . so be it.
I’m willing to try this - to see if this will get us something . . . even if the fruit is not perfect.

The reality might be . . . I probably should plow it all under and try raising ‘crawdads’ instead! :upside_down_face: (But I’m too stubborn for that!)

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Persimmons, mulberries, and jujube’s do not need bug sprays. Those who wish not to spray could try those fruits. I don’t grow persimmons as I do not like them, many do though! The other two I grow. They do need to be netted. Netting is essential too. The green bird netting is awesome from American netting.

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The best part about American green bird netting is that it doesn’t get tangled in the branches and comes right off!

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I get it and many home growers just spray throughout the season every 2 weeks so they don’t have to put much thought into it. That’s fine if it suits them or you.

However, I’m not sure how much more brown rot pressure you have there than here. It seems not as bad when temps get real high speaking from anecdote and we have had some very long stretches of humid weather in the mid to upper '90’s and even crossing that line in seasons past.

You might try a little experimentation and try leaving a small part of your harvest to less protection. Realize that Drew’s program isn’t based on your level of pressure either- I believe he gets less rain and humidity than I do. Try not applying brown rots fungicide on some fruit until a month before it gets ripe and see if it really is a problem there on small, green fruit. Wait till you see some flagging before worrying about OFM and some catfacing before spraying for stinkbugs. Just on part of your crop.

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Good idea! I’m not sure that I can keep it all straight . . . but I’ll see about tagging what ‘got the program’ and what didn’t! I am confused enough as it is! :crazy_face:

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