Sheila, check the link below for more info.

Here is a link that might be useful: Curculios on Peach fruits

Sheila:

You should tell us where you are located, so we can roughly figure the stage of development of your peaches and the types of insects you may face. Zone 7 is not enough.

I don't disagree with Joe that the plum curculio can attack peaches, but the PC leaves a distinctly different type of crescent-shaped mark on the fruit.

The little blobs of jelly (or sap, or pectin) that oozes from holes in the fruit is the oriental fruit moth. This insect, which can have from 5-7 generations depending on where you live and whether there are a lot of abandoned stone fruit trees around, out-competes the PC for damage on peaches by at least 10 to 1. The moth lays an egg or two or three on the fruit, which soon hatch into little worms that tunnel into the fruit. These fruits will drop prematurely, or if they hang on the tree will develop brown rot through the skin penetrations. You wouldn't want to eat the fruit anyway, since the larvae tunnels around near the pit and ruins the peach internally. OFM larvae also tunnel into the ends of peach twigs, causing swelling and twig dieback, and can tunnel into a peach through the stem leaving no mark at all.

Year after year, the OFM has been my biggest peach growing problem here in Northern Virginia. This in spite of rigorous orchard cleanup efforts, and regular dormant spraying of the trees with oil to kill overwintering pupae. The only successful strategy I have found is early and frequent spray applications with an effective insecticide like Imidan. I don't consider the "combination" fruit tree sprays to be effective against this insect, since they contain much smaller percentages of active ingredients. Whatever you use, you must begin spraying immmediately after petal fall, or even before all the blossoms are gone. I "front load" my sprays, with more frequent applications while the fruits are small and tender, and fewer later in the season. However, the OFM will still be around, and can damage peaches nearly up to harvest, although the fruits become less attractive when the skin toughens up and becomes rougher with fuzz. Fuzz is the only natural protection a peach has against this insect.

I just came in the house from thinning my own peaches and pruning off crowded limbs, which make the tree more attractive to the OFM, and make for small peaches if they cut off light to the fruit. My peaches are still around 1/4 inch in diameter, with a few larger, and I see no OFM damage at all, although I am aware it can still happen any time.

My solution to spraying all summer long is to bag the peaches in ziplock sandwich bags with the corners cut off for drainage, and the plastic above the zipstrip also cut off with a scissors. Once the final thinning selections have been made, and the peaches bagged, they are safe from the OFM, but you still have to watch out for earwigs crawling up the trunk and taking up residence in the bags.

If you think growing peaches in a heavily-infested OFM area is bad, don't try growing nectarines or pluots, which are even more attractive to this insect because of their smooth skins. It is a shame to lose perfectly good peaches to this hellish insect, and unfortunate that the remedies are not really easy. But ripe, homegrown peaches are very, very good.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Agree with Don Yellman. Our major problem that caused such Jelly ooze are OFM in our area, but they don't happen that often. I thought of curculio as more likely culprit which can attack peaches in colder zones than us. Not all curculio leaves crescent shape on fuzzy peaches, but on plums and smoother skin stones, you can see the crescent shape clearly. It is best to ask what kind of insect pests on peaches are prevalent in your area, so ask your county ag extension office.

Thank you all for the advice. OFM sounds right on. Should I continue to spray this season even though just about all my peaches seem to be infected or should I let things be and spray with oil over the winter and start a more rigerous spray schedule next spring?

your problem could be the oriental fruit moth.you can find loads of information by using the key word
oriental fruit moth
it could also be the codling moth the damage is very similar
go to key word codling moth you will find much info here.
im having the same problem. best of luck.
art

sheila:

If all of your peaches have been damaged, remove and discard them. But if you can still find some that are not, spray them on a regular basis or bag them. While I have a particular problem with the oriental fruit moth, Joe is right that the plum curculio will also attack peaches. PC damage is a more spread-out shiny area, while OFM damage looks more like a little blob. The result is the same. Both these insects are tough and hard to control, but you can control both at the same time with an effective insecticide or bagging. Also, don't allow your trees to become too crowded with branches. I just gave my peach trees a heavy pruning to open up the trees and reduce their attractiveness to insects. Codling moth comes along a little later, and here at least seems to concentrate on the apples.
And yes, start spraying earlier next year.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

What do you spray with? Do you spray the trunk, branches, leaves and fruit? It is mid June and the fruit is about golfball size. Can I begin spraying now? Lastly, when (month) are peaches harvested? The little fruit seem fine right now. The tree looks old but it is full of fruit so I will do the thinning I read about.
History: We just bought this farm a year ago. I saw a show on how to prune so I pruned all the trees in the meadow around late January to try my hand at pruning but primarily so I could mow around them. Last week (06/14/06) during my first mow of the season I found a peach tree full of little peaches. So I have a peach tree but I don't know what to do next. And yes, I am a novice at farming and forums :)but willing to learn, thank you in advance for any assistance.

And I think we have raspberries or blackberries plants too but poison ivy is everywhere around the bushes so I wont be harvesting them. Any recommendations for an effective poison ivy kill spray?

I Have a 4 year old peach tree with some issue. It grows long limbs and part of the limbs are bald with no leafs on it and doesn't produce buds for fruit. I have cut back some of the these limbs to produce new growth. I also have topped the tree in late fall, early winter. when is the best time to prune the tree.

what kind of oil do you spray peach tress with? and when? Can i get this at a local Home Depot or garden center?

Lady CiCada

Without question I agree with Jellyman. Imidan!