Peaches

13 years ago

Peaches finally "In". But the pits are broken and terrible; I even see white worms. I sprayed with fruit spray every 10-14 days. Are they safe to eat, the parts that I can salvage? There are a s--t load of peaches, but none look "perfect". Where did I go wrong?

Featured Answer

olpea

13 years ago

Hocpat,

I see you are in NY, which is a long way from where I live. Nevertheless, I'll venture to say there is a very good chance the worms you're seeing this late in the season are oriental fruit moth (OFM) larva.

It is unusual if you sprayed religiously every 10-14 days to see the larvae. There are two possibilities that come to mind:

First, when did you start spraying? Was it just recently, or have you been spraying the whole season?

Second, and more importantly, what are the active ingredients in your spray (That's what Mr. Baby meant when he asked about formulary)? There are some pretty ineffective Fruit Tree Sprays out there, which have been rightfully criticized by many members of this forum. Some Fruit Tree Sprays have an active ingredient called carbaryl. Although somewhat effective against a range of fruit insects, homeowner formulations of carbaryl have a residual effect of a week at best (generally less). Some Fruit Tree Sprays include Malathion, which is weak against internal fruit feeding worms (OFM).

A better choice would be something like Triazicide Once and Done. It is rated much more effective against a wide range of insect pests, and several members of this forum indicate success with it.

Lastly, a s--t load of peaches may not a good sign. What I mean is that many times people will talk about their peach trees being "loaded". Unfortunately, for the new grower this frequently means they haven't thinned adequately. Un-thinned peaches don't mean a good crop. If you are unfamiliar with the term thinning, Google it and take the information to heart. Peaches really do require massive thinning to produce good fruit.

If you do have wormy peaches, they are safe to eat. Salvage what you can by cutting out the bad spots.

Don't despair, even in my climate, which has lots of pests, a good spray program will yield perfect fruit.

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Comments (8)

misterbaby
13 years ago
Hocpat, sorry for your misfortune. What was your spray formulary? Misterbaby.
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hocpat
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for your ideas. I was using, since mid March or so, and every ten days to two weeks ( 8 applications in all), All Seasons horticultural and dormant spray oil concentrate.. It says for organic gardening; maybe not strong enough?Active ingred. is petroleum oil(superior type U.R. Min 92%) (98 %) and other ingreds. which are not listed.
olpea
13 years ago
Hocpat,

The problem is the product you are using. Oils like these have almost no residual activity. Their mode of action is by smothering the various stages of insects on contact. They're designed to evaporate shortly after application in order to avoid foliage burn. So when you spray, you might possibly be killing some insect eggs the day you spray, but you have no protection for the next 10-14 days, which is why this program isn't working. Even organic growers would not rely solely on hort. oil to protect their fruit.

What you've been spraying is little more than spraying water, and it's unfortunate that someone convinced you this program would work. Try something that has some residual activity.
hocpat
Original Author
13 years ago
thank you--would the product you mentioned earlier, Triazicide Once and done, be the product to use? (I can't say I've seen it around here)
olpea
13 years ago
Yes, I would recommend the Triazicide Once and Done. It comes in different forms. The one you want is the liquid concentrate in a quart sized bottle.

Walmart and Home Depot carry it around here. Since it's a seasonal product, it may or may not be carried year round, depending on the store. It's also available on line.

Unfortunately, it's too late to do anything for this year, but try the Triazicide for next year and see how it works for you.

Good luck.
alan haigh
13 years ago
Once and Done is affective but you can also probably do peaches organically if that's your desire. You'll need to use Surround which has gotten me peaches here in southeastern NY although controlling brown rot as peaches ripen may become an issue. Scott can help you on this, but sulfur works well in the mix with Surround as a fungicide. Scott endorses something called Saf-t-Oil for brown rot.

Monterey Fungus Fighter is the synthetic alternative of choice for brown rot control.

Hopefully you can find these at a big box except the Surround and Saf-t-Oil will have to be ordered from Seven Springs or some other source. Probably the sulfur as well.

Modern chemistry has its advantages, believe me.
hocpat
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks so much everyone. What a great site this is!!