Peach Tree

[andrewk]

Please if you can help me!
I have a peach tree, the bark is peeling off to the bare wood in spots, the leaves are yellowing and falling from the tree, and the fruit drops off lonfg before it is time to pick, basically from the time it starts to form and the fruit that does not fall seems to rot on the tree and dries up.
This is the second year that this happened, can you give me some insight on what action to take?:(

[Newt]

Hi Andrew,

Unfortunately peach trees are prone to insect pests and diseases more then just about any other fruit.* You don't say where you live, but these trees are also prone to winter injury from freeze and thaw.* It's a problem where I live in the Mid-Atlantic states.*

You may have some type of borer as well as either a disease or pest that has attacked the fruit once the tree was weakened.* Poor pollination due to lack of bees could also be the problem with your fruit.* Borers could be: lesser peeachtree borer, peachtree borer, peach twig borer or shothole borer.* You can read about them here.
http://www.ct.gov/caes/cwp/view.asp?a=2823&q=377864

Here's more info about some of these pests.
Lesser peachtree borer
http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/en.../peachbor.html

Peachtree borer
http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/en...peachtree.html

Brown rot of fruit is another possibility.
http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/plantdise...1/450-721.html

Here are some other diseases of peaches.
http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pp/ext...ne.shtml#peach

Any of that look like what you see?

Newt

[andrewk]

Hi Newt and thank you for your reply, I line in NE Pa. the info you sent me leads me to believe that my problem may be brown rot, it explains the yellowing of the leaves and the damage to the fruit but doesn't explain the pealing of the bark. Last year I felt it was bugs and constitutes a spraying program and followed through up to the present with no results, now I am going to try to find out more about brown rot. Thank You Andy. :)

[Newt]

Andy, you are very welcome!* I'd love to know what you discover.

Newt

[andrewk]

I had also contacted the University of British Columbia and they also believe that my tree has brown rot and peach tree scab but I still haven't found out why the bark is pealing off and on the back side of the bark it is black as if it was burnt*and it smells like rotten moss, can't figure it out.

[Newt]

The black is the fungus that is the scab.* What you smell is the fungus.*
http://www.essortment.com/all/peachesnectarin_rjcx.htm

Newt

[andrewk]

Thank You.

[Newt]

You are so welcome!* Good luck with your tree.

Newt