Thanks, Brad
Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? My Gold rush have a dark film on them that wash off with a fair amount of scrubbing. My Liberty had this as well. The residue is a dark olive green. It’s more prominent on one side of each apple but thickest on top. The only things I spray are Surround, Serenade, sulfur and/or oil and Bt. Any info on what this may be would be appreciated .
Brad,
Look up sooty blotch and fly speck. I think that’s what your apples have. Spray fungicide in the summer would help.
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That film/discoloration is harmless as far as I know. I eat apples like that-without washing them- and don’t think twice about it. I certainly would not use a fungicide just to get rid of sooty blotch or flyspeck unless, I suppose, you’re entering your apples in a beauty contest.
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I mostly bag my apples with the Ziploc bags and they don’t get the darker residue like yours are showing. This year I also bagged a few with my Broganza bags (screen) and these have more sooty blotch. This is not a careful observation on my part but I will be using more screen bags next year and I can do a better check. I like a pretty apple but I have no hesitation eating one with a little residue. Usually I give them a rinse off with tap water and dry.
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The apples on the top and right look ok. If eating the skin, I would just scrub them with scrub pad when washing. The one on the left is a different story. In my experience, that much mold could still leave an earthy aftertaste after scrubbing. I think the mold will eventually penetrate the wax and into the skin when it gets to certain stage. Peeling works if you don’t like the aftertaste.
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Timely topic here as I just washed a bushel by hand this weekend and I’ve done many bushels this year. You can spray for SootyBlotch and Flyspec but I quit spraying July 7th and now (4th week of October) the late apples are coming in - some with quite a covering of these two afflictions. Some say this is cosmetic…try this, take a bite out of a clean apple, take a bite out of an afflicted apple…you will taste the fungus - at least I do. And try to fill a drawer in the fridge with SB+FS covered apples. Your wife and daughters will howl you outta the house. Scrubbing under running water works but a good amount of effort is required PER APPLE!
The best scenario is an organic soak where you can spray off the fungus afterwards. I am not convinced this “soak” exists.
Biokleen Produce Wash is a good helper as it lessens the amount of effort - but your still touching every apple. I’ve got to automate this!
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