Earlitreat has produced some nice crops for me and has had fine flavor. Last year, I lost the whole crop to brown rot, and I tried to prevent it this year by spraying with Daconil after petal fall. Unfortunately it is already affecting my fruit when it is still a week or so away from being ripe. It starts softening at the blossom end, the spreads through the rest of the fruit until it drops from the tree with a soggy ‘splat’. I am trying to salvage what I can by picking them at the first sign of rot and cutting them up. They don’t have much flavor ant the pit has not even hardened. I hate to throw away usable fruit when i have nothing else, so it can be tossed into oatmeal as it cooks or sweetened with honey.
Last year, Earlitreat was the only peach/nectarine so affected out of about 14 varieties. I will be harvesting Flordaking in about 2-3 weeks and will keep my fingers crossed. Is anyone else having this problem?
Another question; I am seeing tiny black beetles in and around the affected area. Are the a causitive or contibuting factor?
