Open discussion for stone fruit.
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I think all the saucer peaches are magnets. You think maybe a saucer holds more dew and rain than a sphere? Old fashioned peaches that were grown in the east before synthetic fungicides tend to be relatively resistant as are some in the Harrow series. Harcrest is an excellent home orchard peach if you can find it that has good resistance. So does Madison and Rariton Rose.
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If your going in reverse I rate Elberta and Loring as my most resistance varieties. That I have.
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Loring is a great peach here, but I’m not that crazy about Elberta. I think Madison is better for a home orchard peach.
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Loring is my favorite. Elberta is here because out of my 15 varieties it’s the most brown rot resistant and popular with others.
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You grow any of the sports like Jonboy? Very similar and spreads the season.
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I have the early elberta. Been slowing down on putting any more stone fruits in. Have close to 50 and some of them are on their way out because of brown rot and size. Might be even more leaving if they wind up on this list.
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Elberta is the old “palisade peach” famous peaches from Colorado and is a extremely good peach in a dry hot climate.
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To me the difference between a mediocre peach and a good one is a point or two of brix. When you aren’t in a humid climate you receive day after day of sunshine and can control the water as the fruit ripens. That should buy you more than one or two points.
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Alan, I am getting a sauzee swirl in March. Your comments about their shape holding more rain makes sense. I will have to hit it hard with surround this year and hope for the best. I had a Saturn previously, but it was doomed from the start–no growth at all-deeply discounted to start and I think the nursery suspected it would never flourish.
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Do you know anything about Harbrite peach? I got some scion wood from UC Davis this year. Their description mentions some disease resistance but no mention of brown rot resistance specifically. The other Harrow series peach they had listed was Harson, which does mention brown rot resistance. Both are referenced as a Redskin x Sunhaven cross.
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Is there anyone working on a brown rot resistant variety? Seems like that would be something that would make quick sales in the east.
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Its also less about how sweet the elberta (Very sweet) are here as much as it has the perfect peach tang. Redhavens were also grown there when i was younger and they were amazing too but elberta’s were the majority and really do have a unique taste. I assume these do not taste the same out east as they are very tasty here.
Nope, the only ones I have experience with are Harrow Beauty and Harcrest. I’m not enamored with Harrow B.
Surround won’t help you against brown rot and I suspect you will need help. Monterey Fungus Fighter might be a ticket, but if you are trying to go organic I can only wish you good luck. Here my neighbor has gone that route and once every 3 years he gets a good peach crop. He didn’t select for BR resistance and instead, based his choices on varieties I grow that he likes.
Laughed when I read that. On that third year I think you will only eat the half not rotten as well.
On that one variety did you say they are claiming some brown rot resistance? @alan
My feeling is the old-timers were growing peaches that ripened much later, because brown rot is much less severe when peaches are ripening in cooler weather. All the really old varieties are either late or very late by modern standards. There is no way they could have been growing peaches otherwise, rot plus hot weather is a real wipe-out if you don’t have modern synthetics at your disposal. This is on any mid- or early-ripening variety; there is no peach strongly resistant to rot only susceptible vs highly susceptible.
These days Bonide Infuse is what has propiconazole, I think MFF got discontinued. Anyway I agree that Surround is not going to have any effect on rot at all.
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Autumn Glow is very late and very prone to brown rot as is Lady Nancy here. LN ripens with Elberta.
I’m guessing things are pretty hot and humid in Georgia when Elberta ripens.
Out of my group elberta and loring have been my most rot resistant varieties. Who would you say your winners are?
My feeling is they were growing late peaches that were also not as highly rot-susceptible. There are still plenty of late rotters, being late alone is not enough. If it is a late rotter it is probably not an heirloom variety.
Georgia peach county of the 1800s was in the northern part of the state in the mountains, it is not that different from my climate.
Indian Cling is my least rot-prone variety (I don’t like to say “resistant” as no peach is resistant in my mind).
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Would be interesting to see if consumers would accept a gmo peach that produces strobilurin like the mushrooms. Strobilurus tenacellus - Wikipedia
Yes, I know this is like dropping a boulder in still water. It is still worth the discussion.
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