It's like something dug through the branch.

Shallow holes or gouges.

Your second picture looks like the damage from cicadas laying their eggs in the branch. I see this a lot.

Wow. That's gross.

ernie85017: I just did a quick search online and looked at some photos. It does look like cicada damage. Though, it says the females do this in May/June, and it's only April. We haven't heard any cicadas either. Thanks for the info! :)

Its been a warmer winter so everything could have been moved up by a month or two.

First pic; white fuzzy...are mealy bugs, aka wooly aphids though multiple species with same common name incorrectly applied. There is even an winged adult just below them (nice pic). Not a big problem in low numbers.

Second pic; I agree with Ernie...harmless.

Third pic; I'd guess bird pecks, but you can pick that fruit and slice through it to see if there is frass filled tunneling to the pit.

Here is a link that might be useful: mealy bugs

This post was edited by Fascist_Nation on Sat, Apr 26, 14 at 21:49

Thanks, timber!

FN - I also posted this in the Fruit and Orchard forum, and someone mentioned woolly aphids, too. I've just been hosing them off every morning. Is this enough?

Now the damage from the cicadas has already caused a branch to break, because it became so thinned out. This tree is only a year or two old.

Should I try to kill the eggs in the slits with Neem oil or something else? Or if I let them be, will the larvae damage the branches even further when they hatch and come out, or if they feed on the wood or fruit?

I did cut through two fruits with the gouges, and there was nothing inside. No tunneling. Someone in the other forum suggested it was bird pecks as well. Do we need to place a net over the tree? Or put some reflective tape? Or a fake owl?

Thanks!

Those are last year's cicada slits. You would hear them singing before they start laying eggs.

Arizona's cicada eggs hatch the same summer they are laid and the hatchlings drop to the ground and burrow in. There will be twig drop because of this, but there's not much you can do about it.

While the tree is young, you can protect it with bird netting.

The best protection is a neighborhood of adult peach trees. When you have the only one, and it's a baby, the birds can eat the fruit faster than it can ripen.

Thanks, lazygardens! Actually, the damage to the branches is all new, within the last several weeks.

That's why I thought it was weird that people were suggesting it was cicada damage. I haven't heard any.

I agree with Lazy on the cicada damage. You may not have noticed it until the branches began to expand with spring growth. Although the damage may cause the tip of the branch to die, it generally doesn't affect the tree.

As soon as the fruit begins to color the birds begin 'testing' to see if they are ripe. Many times they introduce bacteria that causes the entire fruit to collapse in a gooey mess. Bird netting is the best way to protect a small tree, as has been suggested.