Apples shriveling and rotting on the tree - Ask Extension
Do you know what is wrong with this apple tree? The apples shriveled up on the branch and dry into hard black balls. Some rot on the branch and hang t...
Knowledgebase
Apples shriveling and rotting on the tree #210637
Asked September 03, 2014, 11:46 PM EDT
Do you know what is wrong with this apple tree? The apples shriveled up on the branch and dry into hard black balls. Some rot on the branch and hang there mushily...
Davis County Utah
Expert Response
Hello:
This is fire blight causing the apples to be mushy and to shrivel. New infections happen in spring, at the flower clusters. You can see in the last to pictures that the fruitlets from this spring were infected and never formed. They remain attached to the twig all season.
On some fruit clusters, one or two fruits may have escaped infection last spring and matured to an apple. But this July and August, we had heavy rains which contributed to the spread of the bacteria, infecting the maturing apples.
There is nothing to be done at this time of year. This winter, be sure to prune out all ares of the tree where leaves are still hanging on (indicating the presence of the fire blight infection in the wood).
Next spring, if you want to prevent fire blight, you could spray the open blossoms with Streptomycin ("fire blight spray") at 10% bloom, at full bloom, and then finally when the petals start dropping. After that point, there is no more spraying for fire blight. But you should prune out any fruit/flower clusters that are dead throughout the entire season. (Do not prune in wet weather.)
If you have any more questions about this, please email me directly at <personal data hidden>. Thank you.
This is fire blight causing the apples to be mushy and to shrivel. New infections happen in spring, at the flower clusters. You can see in the last to pictures that the fruitlets from this spring were infected and never formed. They remain attached to the twig all season.
On some fruit clusters, one or two fruits may have escaped infection last spring and matured to an apple. But this July and August, we had heavy rains which contributed to the spread of the bacteria, infecting the maturing apples.
There is nothing to be done at this time of year. This winter, be sure to prune out all ares of the tree where leaves are still hanging on (indicating the presence of the fire blight infection in the wood).
Next spring, if you want to prevent fire blight, you could spray the open blossoms with Streptomycin ("fire blight spray") at 10% bloom, at full bloom, and then finally when the petals start dropping. After that point, there is no more spraying for fire blight. But you should prune out any fruit/flower clusters that are dead throughout the entire season. (Do not prune in wet weather.)
If you have any more questions about this, please email me directly at <personal data hidden>. Thank you.
Thank you so much for this information!
