I was all proud and ready to brag on my Red Baron Peach tree that is putting on it's first fruit (its going on it's 3rd summer in the ground). peach 051713 ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) And today while watering, I noticed about 10 of the babies laying on the ground. ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) Any opinions and/or advice?
Perhaps there are too many peaches ant the tree is thinning itself(from having fruit too close). A natural process, unless there is another problem like browning leaves(heat stress) or leaf curl(wet cool spring). Did the tree get enough chill hours? It should get between 600 and 900 hours. Jerry
Jerry... my first thought was that it was self-thinning also. The leaves are all nice and green and we haven't experienced much heat, until today (first day in the 90s this year). And we have had a cool spring... and not in drought conditions (yet). We also had a very mild winter... so I'm not sure about how many chill hours it got. Darn... all of the above sounds like the culprit. Guess I'll just have to wait and see?
The Red Baron peach can get by with as little as 250 chill hours. Typically a chill hour is any hour under 40 degrees so you probably have had at least that many hours during the last winter and spring. And even a few hours of chill deficit might not cause a problem with the next crop. You have fruit which it probably wouldn't have put out if the chill hour deficit had been too great, the leaves are all nice and green, plenty of rain, not much heat. But heat at the right time since Red Baron usually ripens in July. I vote for self-thinning.
no experience myself with peaches, but i seem to remember that for a good crop you should pick off some of the fruit early on. I know i didn't do it with my plums and we had a bad harvest
They will do that if too many peaches too close together. I had to thin ours,,sure did hurt but it was overloaded.
I did thin a little bit... but I guess not enough. I hate thinning (even though I know it's necessary)... it just feels like murder to me! :twisted:
cherylad, Do your fallen peaches have any sap leakage on them? I had that a few years ago and you have to spray a good tree spray.
No Barb... didn't notice any leakage. Should I be spraying it with the mix that I use on the Apple tree that Mart told me about? Dog shampoo with Pyrethrin and iodine?
Well, I really don't know anything about it but mine were falling off and very leaky. that was many years ago. By picking season I had none on the tree..
Cherylad I spray mine about every two weeks or so during the growing season just to keep insects off and those little worms that get inside of the peaches. Once you have the tree doing well when not making peaches, about once a month will do the trick. Or less when dormant. That spray is very light and I only stop it about a week or two before picking.
this is my weekend to spray the apple tree again... I'll also start spraying the peach tree. Thanks Mart
Just finished doing half of my trees. Will spray the other half this evening. That's a job but at least we will have fruit.
I noticed yesterday that my peaches are getting "sappy". So I guess I do have a problem. Maybe some kind of insect? I haven't sprayed yet... but will do so this evening. :'(
Oriental fruit moth? If it is, then the infected fruit has to be removed and thrown away, not composted as the fruit will have larva. The University of California has some interesting information on Oriental Fruit Moths. http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r602300211.html Jerry
