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Deformed/diseased apples #761017

Asked July 10, 2021, 4:02 PM EDT

Hi, we planted two apple trees two years ago. We noticed today that there are a lot of apples growing but most are deformed and almost look diseased. Are you able to tell what is going on and is there something we should spray on them? Thank you!

Carroll County Maryland

Expert Response

Hi- there are many different possible causes for the symptoms in the photos. Caterpillars, beetles, and weevils can chew fruit and leave egg-laying scars, and true bug feeding, aphids, diseases, and cold weather at pollination, are some of the things that can cause fruit distortion 

At this point, you should remove and discard all affected fruits to interrupt insect pest and disease lifecycles. 

Apple has many potential pest and disease issues. Some cultivars have decent resistance to a number of common diseases while most do not.

We suggest that you learn as much as possible about apple problems and make decisions about how much effort you want to invest in preventing and managing problems. Spraying insecticides and fungicides on a schedule is usually necessary to produce edible fruits.

HGIC information on tree fruits:

https://extension.umd.edu/programs/environment-natural-resources/program-areas/home-and-garden-information-center/food-gardening/fruits-home-garden

VA Tech home fruit pest management guide (section 3 starting on page 85) which includes detailed information on organic and synthetic pesticides and spray schedules:

https://mgnv.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2021PestManagementGuideHomeGroundsandAnimals.pdf

Jon

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