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Problem Solver Plant Marquee

Plant:

Peach and Nectarine
Image of Peach and Nectarine
Flowering
Any good, deep, well-drained soil. pH 5.5 to 7.5.
Adaptation
From the central Southeast up to the Pacific Northwest
Pruning
Peaches and nectarines bear on 1-year-old wood. Prune half of last year''s growth annually. Thin out weak, crossing, or dead twigs and branches. Thin fruits to 6 inches apart when they are thumbnail size.
Soil
Any good, deep, well-drained soil.
Water
For new trees, water enough to keep soil moist but not soggy. Mature trees may need a deep watering during prolonged dry spells.
Fertilizer
Fertilize with tree spikes or plant food formulated for trees and shrubs.
Harvest
Harvest when the fruits are fully colored and slightly soft. With a ripe peach or nectarine, the stem will easily separate from the branch when the fruit is gently lifted.
Related problems

Bacterial Leaf Spot - Peach and Nectarine

Image of Bacterial Leaf Spot - Peach and Nectarine
Bacterial Leaf Spot

Brown Rot - Peach and Nectarine

Image of Brown Rot - Peach and Nectarine
Brown Rot

Leaf Curl -

Image of Leaf Curl
Leaf Curl

Peachtree Borers - Peach and Nectarine

Image of Peachtree Borers - Peach and Nectarine
Peachtree Borers

Scales - Peach and Nectarine

Image of Scales - Peach and Nectarine
Scales

Spider Mites - Peach and Nectarine

Image of Spider Mites - Peach and Nectarine
Spider Mites
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Bacterial Leaf Spot - Peach and Nectarine

Image of Bacterial Leaf Spot - Peach and Nectarine
Bacterial Leaf Spot
Description
Dark, angular spots appear on the leaves. The centers of the spots often fall out. The tips of the leaves may die, and eventually the leaves turn yellow and drop. The surface of the fruit may be dotted with dark spots and become pitted and cracked. Sunken lesions may form on the twigs. Severely infected trees may drop all their leaves by harvest time.
Analysis

This plant disease is caused by a bacterium (Xanthomonas campestris pv. pruni) that also attacks apricots and plums. This is one of the more destructive diseases of stone fruits east of the Rocky Mountains. In the spring, bacteria ooze from lesions on the twigs to be carried by splashing rain to the young leaves, shoots, and developing fruits. Frequent rainfall favors the infection. Trees that defoliate early in the summer are weakened and produce small crops of poor-quality peaches and nectarines.

Solution

When planting new trees, use only resistant varieties.

Close

Brown Rot - Peach and Nectarine

Image of Brown Rot - Peach and Nectarine
Brown Rot
Description
Blossoms and young leaves wilt, decay, and turn brown during the first 2 weeks of the bloom period. In humid conditions, masses of gray spores may appear on infected flower parts. Extensive twig dieback often occurs. Sunken lesions (cankers) develop on the twigs and branches as the season progresses. A second wave of twig dieback may develop around harvest time. Small circular brown spots appear on the young fruit. These spots may enlarge to rot it. During moist weather, the rotted fruit is covered with gray spores.
Analysis

This plant disease, caused by either of two closely related fungi (Monilinia laxa or M. fructicola), is very destructive to all of the stone fruits. The fungi spend the winter in twig cankers or in rotted fruit (mummies) in the tree or on the ground. In the spring, spores are blown or splashed from cankers or mummies to healthy flower buds. After penetrating and decaying the flowers, the fungus grows down into the twigs, producing brown, sunken cankers. During moist weather, a thick, gummy sap oozes from the lesions, and tufts of gray spores may form on the infected areas. Spores from cankers and infected blossoms or mummies are splashed and blown to the maturing fruit. Young peaches and nectarines are fairly resistant to infection, but maturing fruit is vulnerable. Brown rot develops most rapidly in mild, moist conditions.

Solution

Apply a fungicide labeled for this disease, following label directions. Remove and destroy all infected fruit and mummies. Prune out cankers and blighted twigs. Clean up and destroy all debris around the tree.

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Ortho® MAX® Garden Disease Control Concentrate

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Leaf Curl -

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Leaf Curl
Description
Leaves are puckered, thickened, and curled from the time they first appear in the spring. Emerging shoots are swollen and stunted. Infected foliage is discolored. A grayish white powdery material develops on the leaves, which shrivel and drop. Fruiting is poor, and the fruit that is present may be covered with raised, wrinkled, irregular lesions.
Analysis

This plant disease is caused by a fungus (Taphrina deformans) that attacks peaches and nectarines wherever they are grown. Infection occurs as soon as the buds begin to swell in the very early spring. Fungal spores are splashed from the bark to the buds by spring rains. Later in the season, the infected leaves develop a grayish white covering of spores that are blown onto the bark. Infected trees are greatly weakened by the premature loss of foliage in early summer. Leaf curl is most severe when spring weather is cool and wet.

Solution

Infected leaves cannot be cured. Spray trees with a fungicide labeled for this disease, following label directions.

Related Products
Front of package

Ortho® MAX® Garden Disease Control Concentrate

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Peachtree Borers - Peach and Nectarine

Image of Peachtree Borers - Peach and Nectarine
Peachtree Borers
Description
Holes appear in the lower part of the trunk or in the upper trunk and lower crotches. A thick, gummy substance oozes from the holes. Sawdust may surround the holes or collect under the holes at the base of the tree. During spring and summer some leaves and branches may wilt and some trees may die.
Analysis

Synanthedon species These moth larvae are very damaging to peaches and nectarines. The adults are blue to black clear-winged moths that resemble wasps. In mid- to late summer, females lay eggs near the base of the tree. Emerging larvae bore into bark near the soil surface. Their tunnels interfere with water and nutrient circulation, causing twigs and branches to wilt and die. These borers feed throughout winter and into spring. A gummy sap-often mixed with sawdustlike particles-oozes from the tunnels. The borers pupate in early to midsummer in cocoons located at the base of the tree or just inside their tunnels. The moths emerge several weeks later.

Solution

In fall or early spring, kill borers by hand, by removing 4 inches of soil from around the trunk. Locate the hole; kill the larva inside the hole by inserting a wire or by making vertical cuts with a knife. Avoid damaging the bark, especially when planting, as the most severe damage is to young trees.

Close

Scales - Peach and Nectarine

Image of Scales - Peach and Nectarine
Scales
Description
Some of the leaves appear pale green to yellow and may drop prematurely. The bark is encrusted with small, hard, raised bumps that are light-colored or dark-brown bumps with raised yellow centers. There may be severe limb dieback. The fruit may be mottled or spotted.
Analysis

Although many different species of scale insects attack peaches and nectarines, the two most common are San Jose scale (Quadraspidiotus perniciosus) and white peach scale (Pseudaulacaspis pentagona). The scales lay their eggs or bear live young in the spring. In late spring to midsummer the young scales, called crawlers, move about and then settle on leaves and twigs. These small (1/16 inch), soft-bodied young feed by sucking sap from the plant. Their legs atrophy and a hard crusty shell develops over the body. An uncontrolled infestation of scales may kill large branches after 2 or 3 seasons.

Solution

Uncontrolled scales can kill large branches after 2 or 3 seasons. Apply an insecticide that''s lableled for these pests, following label directions.

Close

Spider Mites - Peach and Nectarine

Image of Spider Mites - Peach and Nectarine
Spider Mites
Description
Leaves are wilted, stippled, yellowing, and dirty. Leaves may dry out and drop. There may be fine webbing over flower buds, between leaves, or on the lower surfaces of leaves. Plants lose vigor. To check for twospotted spider mites, hold a sheet of white paper underneath an affected leaf and tap the leaf sharply. Minute specks the size of pepper grains will drop to the paper and begin to crawl around.
Analysis

These pests, related to spiders, attack many garden and greenhouse plants. They cause damage by sucking sap from the undersides of leaves. As a result of their feeding, the plant''s green leaf pigment disappears, producing the stippled appearance. Spider mite webbing traps cast-off skins and debris, making the plant messy. Mites are active throughout the growing season but are favored by hot, dry weather (70&deg;F and up). By midsummer, they have built up to tremendous numbers. Severely infested trees may produce small, poor-quality fruit.

Solution

Spray infested trees an insecticide labeled for these pests, following label directions.

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