Calling all experienced gardners! Can you tell me what is happening to

[BethieofVA]

my necterine fruit? I planted this tree last year and it is loaded this year, but I am having issues with something killing the new fruit. Here are a few pics. If you can give me some direction how to treat I would soooo appreciate it. I did spray some organice insectide, but that must have been like throwing water on it!!

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

I don't have an answer and just want to commiserate with you. I, too, have a nectarine. I planted it the first spring after we moved in here--about 6 years ago. It's gorgeous and every year sets tons and tons of fruit. However, I have never actually tasted any of that fruit because, no matter how much or how little I spray and no matter what I spray with, all the fruit rots and dies. Sometimes it's bugs and sometimes it is brown fruit rot. Sometimes it is whatever causes the clear sappy stuff to drip all over the fruit. Whatever it is, the results are always the same: the fruit rots and falls off long before it can ever ripen. One year it did actually seemed like I might have some success with a few of the fruit...but a small tornado ripped through here and literally blew all the fruit off the trees!

So if you ever do succeed in harvesting any fruit...think of me while you're enjoying it!

Rusty

 

[Britney]

May be a parasite?

 

[mtngrl812]

Looks to me like you have some type of worm burrowing into the fruit to nest or eat. You need a stronger insecticide to help kill of the worms. If I was you I would also pull off some of the fruits so the tree can work on maturing the fruit. The tree sounds a little young for so much production

I would leave only one fruit where there are 2 or 3 growing. If you like organic or more gentle methods of keeping parasites off you could maybe spray with a solution of Dawn and water

but you need to do something quick or those darn worms are going to have all your fruit ruined.

Good luck!

 

[darkmatter]

Yes, the damage is caused by an insect like the plum curculio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plum_curculio

There are several methods you can use to prevent.
I use wooden balls (actually wooden eggs) painted bright glossy red and coated with sticky trap goop. Any insect which lays its eggs on fruit are attracted to shiny colored spheres and can't take off after contacting the goo.
I also use old Clorox/style jugs hung up in the tree with a baseball size opening cut into the top and a pint of apple cider with a teaspoon of molasses in the jug. Insects smell the fermenting odor and fly in and drown.

You can have your fruit trees in the barnyard with calves and chickens, the calves rubbing against the tree will cause the Plum curculio to drop off and the chickens will eat them.

Or you can get advice from the agriculture salesman, get a insect fogger, fog your orchard once a week killing everything that walks, crawls, or flies whether its a good or bad insect, poisoning the air, water, and soil. ( and yourself and family)

 

[BethieofVA]

Thank you all for the information!!

"If I was you I would also pull off some of the fruits so the tree can work on maturing the fruit. The tree sounds a little young for so much production"

I have had one branch break on its own from being too heavy. I guess I need to do just that!!