Knowledgebase

Fruit trees issues #332310

Asked June 14, 2016, 1:18 PM EDT

I have a peach tree, an apple tree, a plum tree and a sour cherry tree. The sour cherry tree is great. Usually gives us a bountiful harvest although this year am not seeing as much fruit as usual which I hear is normal for some years. The peach tree has had this issue for years with oozing and then the fruit drops off before ripe. The plums also seem to also drop off before fully ripened, although this year, I am seeing we still have some on the trees (a first). The apple tree does produce some apples, but they are misshapen and do not grow to a big size. My husband tries to spray with an organic spray, although the weather sometimes defeats him with rain. What do we have? I have enclosed a couple of photos showing the peach issue.

York County Pennsylvania

Expert Response

I sent your question to the York County Penn State Extension outreach educator. Hopefully, she can give you advice on your fruit problems. If you don't hear from the extension, I recommend you take some samples into the extension office so they can be sent to the plant clinic for diagnosis.
  • Senior Extension Educator
  • Districts 15, 16, 17, 18 & 19

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Areas of Expertise:
  • Tree Fruit
  • Sustainable Specialty Crop Production
  • Support for Next Generation Farmers


An Ask Extension Expert Replied June 14, 2016, 4:13 PM EDT

I just received the following answer from Penn State

Eileen,

These appear to be the common problems with backyard fruit production:

Cherries – the crop froze in the spring due to temperatures in the 20s at bloom

Peach oozing – Oriental fruit moth larvae

Plum drop – multiple causes but often due to inadequate pollination

Misshapen apples that are small – likely a combination of apple scab, apple maggot; possibly rosy apple aphids (there was no photo; only saw the one of the peach); small apples possibly due to not thinning

 

Improper spray timing and frequency is the most common problem in backyard orchards, and that’s why we developed the Orchard Calendar:

http://extension.psu.edu/plants/gardening/fact-sheets/home-orchard-production/2014-home-orchard-calendar

 

Information on the various disorders is here:

http://extension.psu.edu/plants/gardening/fphg

Hope this helps,

Tara


An Ask Extension Expert Replied June 14, 2016, 4:16 PM EDT
Thank you!
The Question Asker Replied June 15, 2016, 8:19 AM EDT
You're welcome. i hope you get good results.
An Ask Extension Expert Replied June 15, 2016, 5:33 PM EDT

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