Knowledgebase
jenky apples on tree: why/how to rectify? #803477
Asked July 28, 2022, 12:10 PM EDT
An unattended apple tree on our property is producing misshapened fruit with small brown spots/holes. I am wondering what the problem is and how to rectify it. Could you please help me with this issue?
Thanks!
Huron County Michigan
Expert Response
There are a number of different things attacking your apples and causing them to be discolored and misshapen. To address each issue is beyond the scope of what I can do via this platform (Ask Extension).
Briefly, it looks to me like you have plum curculio attacking the fruits, which causes the brown russeted patches that are roughly D-shaped. In addition, you may have codling moth boring into the fruits. This is what causes what looks like chewed up apple bits to be deposited on the surface of one of the fruits in your picture. The distorted fruit growth can be caused by a number of things, but feeding by stink bugs (Order Hemptera, family Pentatomidae) or other hemipteran insects is pretty likely.
These are all very common problems that we see in apples in Michigan and they can be resolved. I would recommend that you check out these resources to help you plan for next year so that you can have a more enjoyable harvest next time around:
General tree fruit care and culture:
Considerations for growing backyard tree fruit http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/considerations_for_growing_backyard_tree_fruit
Pdf: https://www.canr.msu.edu/uploads/resources/pdfs/backyard%20tree%20fruit%20-%20web.pdf
Pruning and training backyard fruit trees: https://www.canr.msu.edu/resources/smart-gardening-pruning-and-training-backyard-apple-and-pear-trees
Pdf: https://www.canr.msu.edu/home_gardening/uploads/files/smartgardening-pruningfruit-web.pdf
Renovating old fruit trees:
Oregon State University
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/berries-fruit/restore-those-old-fruit-trees
Growing Apples in Wisconsin: https://learningstore.uwex.edu/Assets/pdfs/A3565.pdf
Michigan Fruit Management Guide (for commercial fruit growers) E154 available for purchase at local extension offices or at http://shop.msu.edu/product_p/bulletin-e0154.htm .
Home fruit spray schedule from University of New Hampshire Extension:
https://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource005256_Rep7402.pdf
Managing pests in home fruit plantings (Purdue University Extension, ID-146-W):
https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/id/id-146-w.pdf
Bagging fruit to protect it from pests and diseases:
https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef218
https://www.clemson.edu/extension/peach/commercial/diseases/clemsonfruitbags.html