Duck weather

Duck weather and brown rot go hand-in-hand. And we have duck weather. I am seeing a little more brown rot than I would like to see already, and as peaches, plums, and nectarines mature, expect more. There are many fungicide options on the fruit rot phase of brown rot, including the SI's -- Indar, Orbit, Elite, etc. -- and Captan, Topsin-M, sulfur, Pristine, etc. Resistance development to SI's is a real concern, so rotate classes of fungicides whenever possible. SI's rotated with Captan and/or Pristine would be a wise idea. If the weather stays like this, brown rot sprays applied to ripening peaches will have to be applied every 3-5 days in the one to two week window preceding harvest. Good luck.

Briefly, I noticed the latest issues -- including Spring 2007 -- of the New York Fruit Quarterly are on-line. A tremendous resource and every article should be of great interest to you.

And, check out this Zestar! tree -- would make a beautiful tall spindle.

And finally, Earliglo and Garnet Beauty peaches are being harvested in Belchertown at the UMass Cold Spring Orchard and in eastern Massachusetts.