38 responses |
marilyn starts with ... Hi I have a three year old nectarine tree this is the first year the fruit has stayed on the tree.The fruit is green but is starting to shrivel we dont know if this is from the heat or the tiny black ants we found in the seed pod when we opened one up has any body got any ideas.I am learning as i have not had much to do with growing fruit. Thankyou. | About the Author maz1 north east victotia 26th January 2008 10:09pm #UserID: 615 Posts: 5 View All maz1's Edible Fruit Trees |
| About the Author John10 SB South Australia 2nd February 2008 7:25pm #UserID: 549 Posts: 127 View All John10's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
|---|---|
marilyn says... Hi John Thankyou for your advice.The fruit started falling off so I have picked it all,they are egg size,soft ones taste ok,skin is like leather.I thought if we pruned it a bit harch the roots may establish more,we do water it every night,what fertiliser would you recomend,I have been using a fruit tree fertiliser maybe it needs more. Thanks allot Marilyn. | About the Author maz1 north east victotia 3rd February 2008 2:31pm #UserID: 615 Posts: 5 View All maz1's Edible Fruit Trees |
John says... What you did is the same as my neighbor. The tree would probably have now grown large branches all over the place. This autumn reprune the tree not so harse. You need to do this for the next 2 years to regain the shape you want back. As for the roots, they sound ok but try some seasol (seaweed extract). As for fertizer a complete D with an adition of 10% potast will make a complete fertilizer for you. By the way egg size fruit is not bad, mine were from that to a duck and becuase of my conditions here my trees take an extra 2 years to fruit. | About the Author John10 SB South Australia 3rd February 2008 2:42pm #UserID: 549 Posts: 127 View All John10's Edible Fruit Trees |
| About the Author Dekka Newcastle 3rd February 2008 5:02pm #UserID: 102 Posts: 219 View All Dekka's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
| About the Author maz1 north east victotia 3rd February 2008 7:15pm #UserID: 615 Posts: 5 View All maz1's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
| About the Author John10 SB South Australia 4th February 2008 11:43am #UserID: 549 Posts: 127 View All John10's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
| About the Author Carl1 16th March 2008 12:24am #UserID: 776 Posts: 1 View All Carl1's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
| About the Author Patricia6 central Victoria 6th May 2008 8:52pm #UserID: 933 Posts: 1 View All Patricia6's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
| About the Author Dekka Newcastle 7th May 2008 8:14am #UserID: 102 Posts: 219 View All Dekka's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
| About the Author david11 adelaide 6th January 2009 10:24am #UserID: 856 Posts: 35 View All david11's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
| About the Author John20 Perth 6th January 2009 11:13am #UserID: 1094 Posts: 287 View All John20's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
| About the Author rinne Melbourne 2nd February 2009 1:07pm #UserID: 1944 Posts: 6 View All rinne's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
| About the Author JohnI Melbourne 14th October 2009 8:41pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
| About the Author Ellen Smithfield 15th October 2009 8:00am #UserID: 1339 Posts: 309 View All Ellen's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
| About the Author JohnI Melbourne 15th October 2009 9:46am #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
Jantina says... Hi John 1, slugs hide in things and under the soil during the day,have you tried going out with a torch at night? Multigard has petsafe slug and snail pellets ( the active ingredient is iron). Sometimes earwigs chew on things if there are a lot of them. How big is your tree ? Some fruit I protect with little bags I make from old net curtains from the op shop (one mans trash is another mans treasure etc etc). | About the Author Jantina Mt. Gambier S.A. 15th October 2009 10:11am #UserID: 1351 Posts: 1272 View All Jantina's Edible Fruit Trees |
John I. says... Hi Jantina, I would have thought that slugs would have left a slimy path where they have been (particularly on the fruit itself). There is no indication of this. We do get a lot of earwigs but I've found no signs of them either. I thought maybe thrip but the damage is more extensive than the sample pictures I've seen of thrip damage. | About the Author JohnI Melbourne 15th October 2009 11:37am #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
Tiggerbow says... My dwarf nectarine has very similar damage. I thought it was because the tree also has leaf curl. I think it is slug damage - we have been going on slug patrol each night and the first night we found approx. 200 slugs, the next about 100 and then considerably less after this. The slime marks left by the slugs are a bit hard to see as the slugs are actually quite small. I suggest slug hunting at night with a torch and using the Multigard slug pellets. This years 'crop' is a write off but hope to get something next year. Good luck ! | About the Author Jodie Perth WA 15th October 2009 1:57pm #UserID: 2578 Posts: 28 View All Jodie's Edible Fruit Trees |
| About the Author JohnI Melbourne 15th October 2009 2:30pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
Jacquelynn says... John, I think you may have caterpillar damage. I have the same problem - immature fruit with skin eaten off. Your picture is exactly the same as my damage. I looked on the underside of leaves in the area and found one caterpillar - I think it is a looper variety as it has legs only at the top and bottom, therefore loops when it moves. I can actually see the path the caterpillar has taken on my baby nectarines. It is hard to pick, but if you have a freshly eaten one you can easily see the eating lines. In older ones the flesh dries a bit and maybe starts to look like dry scab damage. My caterpillar is blue with yellow stripes. They are hard to spot and when you remove them they spray a silky thread which is quite strong. Happy hunting! | About the Author Jacquelynn melbourne 25th October 2009 2:55pm #UserID: 2945 Posts: 1 View All Jacquelynn's Edible Fruit Trees |
| About the Author JohnI Melbourne 25th October 2009 9:57pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
| About the Author JohnI Melbourne 26th October 2009 9:49pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
| About the Author Roleystone WA 28th October 2009 8:44pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
Elf says... Earwigs are evil - I used to think they were cute until I started gardening. They eat all my seedlings. Here were some ideas I found on the net (have yet to implement them). I tried pyrethrum spray, but it didn't make much diff. Easy: http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Get-Rid-Of-Slugs-and-Earwigs There are a couple of ideas on this page: http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/forum/1/1/General-gardening/topic/179 | About the Author Elf Albury 1st November 2009 4:52pm #UserID: 2913 Posts: 11 View All Elf's Edible Fruit Trees |
| About the Author JohnI Melbourne 4th November 2009 12:50pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
| About the Author Elf Albury 5th November 2009 2:15pm #UserID: 2913 Posts: 11 View All Elf's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
Jannette says... Hi John, this happened to our nectarine last year, and it turned out to be earwigs. Organic solution for earwigs: Jars at the base of trees and shrubs, half filled with water, and a dash of tuna oil (found in the fishing aisle of department stores). Earwigs are attracted to the smell, fall in and drown in droves! Only empty jars when getting too full, as the smell of rotting earwigs seems to attract more of them. | About the Author Jannette Christies Beach SA 28th December 2009 3:12pm #UserID: 1630 Posts: 9 View All Jannette's Edible Fruit Trees |
Eileen says... My tree, grown from a stone is about five years old and about 8ft tall, trained as espalier in large polytunnel. Last year had lots of fruit, nearly all damaged in the same way as you describe. I put it down to slugs, cut off the grazed skin, stewed and froze the fruit.This year even more blossom and fruitlets. Yesterday I thinned out the fruit, and pruned. There are no signs of slugs, but a lot of the fruit is damaged. I wondered about earwigs and set traps last night. None found. Long report online about thrips - too complicated for the layman, but it may be the answer. Shall have another look. Good luck! | About the Author Eileen West Cork, Ireland 11th May 2010 9:59pm #UserID: 3709 Posts: 2 View All Eileen's Edible Fruit Trees |
Bee says... Fascinating reading. I have this problem for the second year in a row. Very healthy nectarines. great crop. All damaged by the same markings. We have tons of ear wigs. The kids love hunting them. I will send my husband off for some tuna oil and report back if it works. I've also been thinking about getting some chooks. Perhaps they will help. Bee | About the Author Bee2 Vic 15th October 2010 1:36pm #UserID: 4416 Posts: 1 View All Bee2's Edible Fruit Trees |
amanda says... I'm curious - why do some gardens have loads of earwigs causing problems and not others? I have a few/the odd earwigs around the place - but the population never seems to get get out of control and they don't give me any grief - I wonder what eats earwigs etc? Are they attracted to certain living conditions or such? Just thinking out loud here...maybe a permaculturalist can help? :) | About the Author amanda19 Geraldton Mid West WA 15th October 2010 5:45pm #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
| About the Author amanda19 Geraldton Mid West WA 16th October 2010 12:43pm #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
| About the Author Chris27 Richmond Victoria 16th January 2011 12:09am #UserID: 4789 Posts: 1 View All Chris27's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
| About the Author Hayden bateau bay nsw 16th January 2011 9:34pm #UserID: 4312 Posts: 43 View All Hayden's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
lcra9254 says... I just trimmed my nectarine tree, it's the 4th yr but it was so bad I had to. It also has a fungus or something, it even deforms the fruit. Puts brown streaks or spots and sometimes dents. Sometimes there is a sap looking like stuff coming from the spots. What is that? What can I do and was it ok to trim right now? | About the Author lcra9254 Bakersfield 15th July 2011 9:06am #UserID: 5544 Posts: 1 View All lcra9254's Edible Fruit Trees |
Eileen says... Further to my previous report (May 2010). I had another huge amount of blossom this spring, but I had been unable to prune properly the previous autumn, so had far too much growth, and decided I would have to prune when it was in blossom. As a result there were fewer fruits, but they grew to the size of large oranges. I was away in June and my polytunnel was watered by a neighbour. The weather was dull, and I think she probably was too generous in her watering because the beautiful big ripe fruits went mouldy. I wonder if it might have been helpful to remove some of the foliage to allow more air to circulate? I cut away the mould, and the fruit was juicy and delicious, so at least I know that it should be possible to grow very good nectarines from a stone. I should mention though that the huge growth is hard to manage! I still have to sort out the problem of earwigs (?) - not quite so bad this year. I intend to try Jannette,s remedy next season. | About the Author Eileen West Cork, Ireland 27th July 2011 5:49am #UserID: 3709 Posts: 2 View All Eileen's Edible Fruit Trees |
copingwithclay says... I have been using a couple rings of sticky paper ('masking') tape wrapped around fruit tree trunks to stop the crawling bugs from reaching fruit or tender leaves. Many kinds of bugs, including ants, get their multiple feet stuck on the tape when it is snuggly wrapped around smooth. round places on the trunk. Of course the sticky side faces outward and the ends are lapped over to secure the tape ring. I use 1" wide tape, but wider tape is also good. I try to avoid the wider tape because small lizards that also climb get stuck sometimes, and it is easier to free them from narrower tape. After a week or 2 the tape may begin losing it's grip, so I just put a fresh wrap on top. Because a large slug population here also goes up the fruit tree trunks, I have to battle them. The tape is no problem for slugs, so I tried to keep them off the fruit trees with a different plan. Our grocery stores bag the purchased goods in very thin plastic throw -away bags. I very loosely wrapped a bag around each of several fruit tree trunks and fastened them in place with a bit of tape. I then sprayed some aerosol ant poison on top of the bag, and all the way around the very fluffy bag. I thought that the slug's big brain would think that this fluffy, stinky, plastic bag was definitely not 'tree trunk' and make a U-turn back downward. The slugs agreed. I spray a fresh coat of the stinky mist after a week or so. I have seen no more slime trails heading up the trees that had this. As far as having a Texas Slug Round-up, once in a while I look under any kind of hiding place, such as beneath plant pots, and use a serrated knife to slice the uncovered slugs. If I return in 1/2 hour to the uncovered spots, there is a gathering of surviving slugs having freshly sliced slugs for lunch. Cannibals get sliced also. | About the Author growandtell Texas 29th July 2011 1:19pm #UserID: 5060 Posts: 8 View All growandtell's Edible Fruit Trees |
| About the Author Tania3 Albany WA 23rd January 2012 7:37pm #UserID: 6231 Posts: 2 View All Tania3's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
| About the Author 24th January 2012 4:20pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
