Finally, just got done with bagging peaches, plums ( a bit of nects and pluots). I don’t have time and energy to bag pears yet. They usualky do OK without protection.
I’ve left a few stone plums unprotected to see how much insects pressure I will have. So far, the pressure has been pleasantly light. I sprayed Triazicide twice two weeks apart. I took me over a week after the 2nd spray before I had time to bag the plums and peaches. Only few bite marks on A plums, nothing on peaches or E plum, amazing.
It could be that I was lucky and picked up a new batch of Triazicide ( orange cap, new this year) or it could be because of the prolonged cool weather we had this spring. Night temp was in the 30-40 so many nights, not the temp insects esp. PC like to emerge to. Or, it could be a combo of both factors.
So far this year I don’t have any insects except for aphids. Only thing I’ve sprayed so far is safer soap. It took care of the aphids. I haven’t done any other sprays for insects. Just copper early spring and sulfur. Fruit look perfect so far. Except for loosing a lot of fruit to what I think is June drop no issues with peaches. Grapes getting hit by black rot, did another copper spray this week. Next year I’ll do one spray of immunox and avoid multiple sprays of copper as many here suggested.
I’m surprised no insects so far. Expecting Japanese beetles in 2 weeks. Have to cover my grape vine before that.
Turned out, it got to be Triazicide. Just walked over to my neighbor’s peach tree hoping to help her bag, A few fruit she has are all damaged. It’s OFM, not PC, judging from the holes they made. So they are there ruining fruit. Still, the cool temp probably slow them down a bit.
Last year I covered it with tulle. This year I bought a net curtain from Ikea. I throw it on and staple around. It helps a lot. But doesn’t get rid of the beetles, they just move to something else.
I have use plastic zip lock bags to bag apples for 4-5 years now. I cut two bottom corners for ventilation without any issue.
This year I bagged peaches with Clemson paper bags and quit after acwhile because it was difficult to do. I used organza bags with ease but ran out of them.
So, I made bags from perforated bread bags. I cut two bottom corners like the apple zip lock bags. It was easy to use the bags on peaches. Thought I was all set. Today I saw two plum curculios, one on each peach inside the bread bags. They are dead now but the fact that they could crawl in through the vent holes makes me very worried. I did not have time to close those holes this evening. Not sure what kind of damage my peaches will sustain after tonight.
Note to self. No vent holes when using bread bags on peaches and plums.
I used perforated sandwich bags on plums and did not spray for 2-3 weeks. The last week or so I saw a lot of damage INSIDE the bags on the plums that I am sure were fine before. I am afraid that I am going to loose many plums this year. The bugs can lay their eggs through the tiny perforation holes if they touch the fruit skin. Tomorrow I will make the picture of the plums.
Two years ago, I used footsies on peaches. There are several signs of OFM and PC inside the footsies. Not sure they were there before I bagged or not but I have not used footsies on peaches since.
Due to very shot stem the bag touches the plum surface and you can not se it very clear but it has tiny perforation holes ( about 1 mm). PC were able to do their damage through the holes, this is remarkable, considering that they work in the darkness. It seems like they even like bagged fruits more then the unbagged ones. My theory is that they find the fruits by smell and the bagged fruits smell stronger. PC like to put their eggs in tight protected spaces. For example in the cluster of plums they prefer to lay inside the cluster where the plums touch each other. I have many damaged plums in the bags and I think that somehow PC got to them, from outside or crawling inside the bags, I am not sure.
Maria,
Do you see a cut on the bags? PC cuts a crestcent shape on fruit. It should have left a similar mark on the bag, I assume.
On my obsevartion, I start seeing a few damage inside my peach bags. Two things I think happened
those damages on fruitlets were made before the peaches were bagbed. The damages could be so small and that I did not notice them before I bagged.
i made my bags the be like the zip lock sandwich bags with two vent holes on the bottom of each bag. I saw PC inside two bags. Must have gone in through those holes. I stapled those holes after the fact.
With bread bags the same design as sandwich bags for apples, Fruit do not touch the bags. This eliminate an issue of OFM or PC laying eggs or making holes through the bags.
I bagged ten peaches and later I observed one that was similar to yours and the other nine looked okay. I think that the bites occurred before bagging in my case. The blemished one was discarded and the other ones still look good as of today.
