If the crop load is very light it can be difficult to keep the insects out of the few fruit you have. As your crop size increases the problem should lessen. A switch from Trazicide to Sevin (the new formulation with zeta cypermethrin) may also help.
Brown rot is a beast. Destroyed my peaches last year. I sprayed this year but looks like I’m not spraying enough. As the peaches get ripen the rot descends to claim them.
I could probably spray more but I’m a casual gardener and not motivated or meticulous enough for a heavy spray schedule
What are you spraying for brown rot? What schedule for spraying are you using?
Infuse is systemic, still does not have any effective on brown rot?
Are you adjusting the pH of the spray water to be acidic when you spray Captan? Half the Captan is destroyed if the water is basic in less than 15 minutes. Also you need to spray at 10-14 day interval to keep active fungicide on the trees and fruit. If there are heavy rains you may need to spray weekly during that period.
If the pH of the Captan spray water is acidic then I would suggest mixing Captan with the Infuse for each spray and see if that helps as well as shortening your spray interval. Also are you buying the Captan by it’s self or is it part of the Fruit Tree Spray you have pictured? I remember someone mentioned that the Fruit Tree Spray doesn’t include Captan at the highest rate.
Look at this thread there lots of good info on preventing brown rot. Olpea has some posts in it and he grows peaches for a living.
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No it’s really my fault. I need to up my garden game, but other things get in the way. I’m Not acidifying the water. Spraying intervals too long. Not picking up ground fruit. Wet year as well. Peach Trees’s are from seeds so may be rot machine. May try a more resistant variety
My post in the thread I linked above lists the few peaches that are brown rot resistant. But I don’t think the resistance is high enough that you can avoid spraying. Most peaches are susceptible or highly susceptible unfortunately.
Captan does need acidic spray water. It would be nice if they mentioned that on the label since it’s critical but they don’t. You would want to adjust the pH and check it with pH paper. A pH of 5-7 is okay with 5-6 being best. You can lower the pH with Citric acid which is found with canning supplies at stores.
Two helpful links for the importance of pH with spray materials
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What is the PHI Of Captan? Can it be used closer to the harvest?
PHI of Captan is zero. Captan alone can use the day of harvest.
Re-entry is 24 hours.
Thanks Tippy, my peaches can use some Captan
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Indar should help with that, and it doesn’t kill all the beneficial insects.
Does anyone have a problem with Japanese beetles on peaches, or does the fuzz deter them. They’re into my nects, and I had to spray
The Japanese beetle are not deterred by peach fuzz, they eat my peaches
Can you acidify the Captan soln with vinegar?
You can use vinegar to the lower the pH of your spray water. It will take a larger volume of vinegar to do this than with citric acid. You will want to add the vinegar to the water first, mix, then check the pH with pH paper and then add the Captan. Don’t add the Captan first and adjust the pH.
For my local city water I can add 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid to 2 gallons of water and bring the pH down into the 5-6 range. The amount of vinegar or citric acid needed will vary depending on the starting pH of your water source.
I found Japanese beetles on my peaches too. It also eats my jujube. What pesticides I can use at this stage, about two weeks to harvest?
@wardog … I am in southern TN… and will not spray chemicals on my food either…
As you can see from most of the advice you are getting here… that seems to be the only way to get clean peaches… well they may look clean but if the fruit has been sprayed repeatedly with chemicals… is it really clean ???
I have my doubts on that… which is why I do not spray chemicals on my food. It is a decision that each grower has to make. Some choose not to spray… and others fight that battle every year over and over…
I have had the most success with no spray peaches… with my earliest ripening variety. Early elberta… mine ripens fruit mid june… and I actually get some nice clean fruit from it. Notice I said some… unfortunately many of them have oriential fruit moth larvae and the later ripening ones did suffer from brown rot this year. Out of 200 or more peaches… I got something like 30 or 40 clean usable fruit.
My other peach tree ripens in early July and the BR wiped out 300 or more peaches from it. I might have found 10 usable peaches on it. So sad.
If you are determined to grow no spray peaches… I think you might have a little better luck with a early ripening variety. I have.
Good luck to you.
TNHunter
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I may try some elberta trees. And thin out the more brown rot susceptible seedling trees I have. I think I saw some elberta trees at Lowe’s or stark bro
@TN-Apple … note… thar my elberta is a early elberta… got it from starks around 2002.
It ripens peaches early in TN… mid June.
I think a regular elberta may be more of a mid season tree… like red haven … but not sure of that.
I think the best bet for no or low spray peaches might be a variety that is very resistent to brown rot… and in the early ripe ing group.
TNHunter
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