Your best bet is to use an SI inhibitor fungicide labeled specifically for brown rot control. Propiconazole fills the bill and is available for home use (under 100 gallon applications) in a product called Monterey Fungus Fighter which is available on the internet.

SI's are much more affective than materials you mentioned in previous post and considerably more affective for me than label might suggest. Some sights I may only use one spray in mid-July and the reduction in innoculum controls BR the rest of the season. I rarely have to apply spray within a month of harvest to get rot free fruit and if I've miscalculated and fruits start to rot it can be stopped in its tracks with a rescue application (0 PHI).

What schedule you'll need on your site will depend on weather and other factors but if you spray the first week of July and every 2 weeks thereafter when there has been rain (spray shortly after rain if if comes after 2 weeks) until about a month before harvest, you'll probably have no brown rot in the worst circumstances. SI's are systemic and won't wash off.

Red,
Captan works so so and only if you use it every week. Captan stays on the surface and washes away easily.
Immunox is a great systemic fungicide that controls Brown rot.
A pint cost about $13 in Home depot and makes 32 gallons, more than enough for one season. Immunox controls cedar apple rust on apples too.

The insecticide to use is Triazicide and you can buy it in quarts at Home Depot. Start Triazicide before bloom with the immunox mixed, then spray the mix AFTER the blooms and then about every ten days. You need to stop spraying both the fungicide and insecticide a couple weeks before harvest.

Both Immunox and Triazicide can be used all season on stone fruit and apples so it is easy and works great. That is basically what I use during the growing season.

Serious backyard growers also spray dormant trees with copper and oil or a sticker. Copper sanitizes the tree we believe of fireblight and canker and fungus spores. Oil smothers insect eggs. I am also using Chlorothalonil on dormant peaches for peach scab. I mix in a pine resin sticker to hold the Triazicide on the tree longer called Nu-film 17.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nu-film 17.

Sorry, Ace, but I have to disagree. Immunox (myclobutanil) has failed many on this site and has been rejected by Cornell for any use on stonefruit except to control blossum blight. Here's what Cornell says about it in its pest managment guidelines for commercial growers. "It is neither registered nor affective for control of fruit brown rot".

Hman, Last season I used only Immunox on my peaches, plums, and apples, and it 'rained for 40 days and nights' as you know, there was Very little brown rot. I had to support the branches from the endless rain. see picture.

This season I am actually going start with MFF for PS and BR. Then Immunox mid season, then MFF as needed just before harvest.

{{gwi:56473}}

hman, what does the "SI" designation stand for? Systemic something or other? Imunizer?

Also, does the use of systemics cause a more probable excessive buildup of residual contamination within the developing fruit tissues themselves? Are their better options to avoid this, of a more contact type variety of spray? Or is one then consistantly running into the same type of a lesser result situation as ace with contact types-Captan? As in more continued re-applications, especially after repeated rains?

I encountered a cide labeled as Imadacoprop just the other day at a local farm store who is readying up their yard and garden area for this upcomming season. Pretty optomistic of them at this point! But is this product an Imidan related cide, do you know? Or possibly(hopefully) another name for the same thing? Can I use it as you do the Imidan in your own suggested spray schedule? Are you aware of this one? I have not yet found an outlet for Imidan itself for my home use.

I also seem to have have Brown Rot (or?) showing up on my Honeygold Apples just shortly prior to harvest time. But from my own observations, it is the little black pik-nik beetles that are passing it on into the fruit. Birds start a small peck hole or two, then the beetles take over. Not sure if there is anything that I can do about it at that point? Any recommendations on that would be greatly appreciated. I really don't want to harvest them early before they have a chance to sweeten up.

I want to thank once again all of the experienced folks here who are so dilligent with their own hard earned tips and advice. You guys rock!!!

P.S. Thanks again harvestman, for your emailed ratio pruning guide recently. I will retain and utilize the basic concept where necessary for many years to come!!!q3-Mike

Questor, your question was directed as Hman, hopefully you and Hman won't mind if I jump in.

SI does not stand for systemic. It stands for Sterol Inhibitor. The sterol inhibitors Orbit and Indar are also known as DMI's (dimethyl inhibitors). Every fungicide has a "mode of action" used to kill or suppress the fungus. There are systemic fungicides that are not sterol inhibitors (ex. Topsin M and Pristine). Some fungicides have multiple modes of action (several killing mechanisms, i.e. Captan). Others have a single mode of action (i.e. sterol inhibitors). Mode of action is especially important to commercial growers because they want to avoid resistance buildup to the pesticide. Therefore knowing the mode of action allows one to rotate pesticides appropriately. As an example, one would never rotate an SI like Rally/Immunox with other SI's like Indar and Orbit. Instead a fungicide with a "different mode of action" would be used in the rotation. Note that just because a fungicide has a single mode of action, does not necessarily mean that it is superior to one with multiple modes of action. It does mean pesticides with a single mode of action run a higher risk of developing strains of fungus that are resistant to it.

Systemics do not necessarily cause build of pesticide up in the fruit. The reason is, most systemics are what's called "locally systemic". That means that the fungicide moves throughout the leaf. In other words, if you partially cover a leaf with a systemic, it will spread throughout the entire leaf. However, it will not spread throughout the tree. Also the systemics we are talking about here, do not enter the fruit systemically. They rest on the surface of the fruit.

The imidacloprid you mention is not the same thing as Imidan. They are worlds apart. Imidacloprid is a complete systemic (meaning that it will spread throughout the entire tree, including the fruit) and is not labeled for fruit trees (as far as I know).

Well, Ace, I must say that your peaches are surprisingly clean using only myclobutanil. If they had some scab but still bore well IÂd just assume your site could produce the varieties youÂre growing without fungicide but if Immunox is all you used I understand your faith completely-unless those are early peaches. I still believe that the other materials are a better bet though.

I also failed to mention that your insecticide regimen seems excessive and it's amazing you haven't been inundated with mites which is what has happened at sites I've seen where tree care companys use a similar blanket approach.

There is no insecticide spray regimen that can be advocated cross-regionally, it all depends on local pressure.

As far as apple rots, Captan or better yet, Mancozeb, may be the only option for home growers. I use a "strobe" called Flint but it is packaged for commercial growers and is probably too expensive for most home growers to buy a life time supply, which is how it's packaged.

As far as SI's leaving more residue, olpea may be right, I really don't know. They do penetrate the skin of the fruit and don't wash off in the rain but they still break down in about than 2 weeks to where they don't hurt fungus.

I happen to believe that the fear of residue on fruit is way, way overblown. I'm much more fearful of the synthetic estrogen in some of the plastics we commonly use for food packaging. And then there are the heavy carcinagens in the plywood on the interior of our houses. There are just so many more potent sources for exposure to this kind of thing in our modern lives but people still manage to live longer and longer.

H-man: As far as the Cornell statement is concerned, my Immunox label lists brown rot, peach, plum et al. Wonder what gives there. I can't speak to it's effectiveness though for BR and will defer to others such as yourself and Cornell. A Univ. of GA peach site, sorry, can't list it, I just read yesterday says myclobutanil is ineffective on B. cinerea FWIW.

Thanks for the heads up on the myclobutanil/BR point, I assume Cornell's belief isn't due to the development of resistance.

Michael

No, it's not about resistance. Early on it was believed to be affective against brown rot and I really don't know how it seemed affective in some situations but proved unreliable, just that at first they tried increasing rates, but without success.

The label Cornell wrote about is a concentrated professional formulation of the same chemical. I don't know how Immunox can have the liberty to label it for uses that aren't allowed on commercial formulations. I'd like to know, if anyone reading this has that info.

Hman, Could you give a Cornell link for controlling BR on Peaches and stone fruit in home orchards. Cornell gives a lot of chemical information to commercial growers but most of those chemicals are out of our reach. Cornell recommends 'Fruit Tree Spray' for the home grower and nothing else. Virginia Tech highly recommends Immunox on Peaches and other Stone fruits for home growers, contrary to Cornell commercial guidelines you mentioned.
BTW I was the first one on the board to link to Monterey Fungi Fighter I used a quart last season on plums upstate. I meant to try MFF on my home peaches but didn't get back upstate to retrieve the MFF. This season I will use MFF and Immunox as mentioned..

Here is a link that might be useful: Brown Rot on Peach and Other Stone Fruits

Hman, you're correct that SI's are absorbed in the fruit. Someone I thought pretty knowledgeable once told me they weren't absorbed in the fruit, and I passed on that misinformation. Below is a link (see article on Indar) that Dr. Rosenberger briefly discusses different absorption of various systemic fungicides (i.e. Indar is more slowly absorbed into the fruit, whereas Rally and Rubigan are more quickly absorbed.)

Also it appears that local systemics can move in more than just the leaf tissue. They can move up in the tissues, but not down.

Lastly I said, "Note that just because a fungicide has a single mode of action, does not necessarily mean that it is superior to one with multiple modes of action."

What I meant to say was,"Note that just because a fungicide has a single mode of action, does not necessarily mean that it is inferior to one with multiple modes of action."

I suppose that's enough corrections for one day.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hello Indar

olpea,
Thanks to so much you, and everybody else, for "jumping in"! Extremely valuable information here for a person of my knowledge level. Thanks to you all for putting up with me. I am not going to get from a book, that with which I am getting here from all of you fine experienced folks, in my opinion.

The imidacloprid that I mentioned, (yes, this is the correct spelling also), solely listed use was as a soil drench. And yes, for fruit trees as well!!! I went back and double-checked on that. It is listed for apples, crabapples, asian pears, pears, and quince. That is what made the alarms go off in my head. As has a 12 month residual also. I am so glad that you cleared that up for me. Both Bonide and Bayer have this exact class of product and duplicate labeling at that outlet. I will continue to look for a better alternative for my own home orchard use.

One thing I've noticed over the years, the people who write the information for home orchards available to cooperative extensions can't be the same ones advising commercial growers and the advice is often not researched based or at least not very up to date.

People shouldn't assume that just because it has the apparent stamp of approval of an agricultural (land grant) university, information will be accurate. The fact is that there is no research being done at these institutions involving home orchard conditions anyway. Just one more reason to treasure this forum.

By the way Ace, I don't want you to think that I don't respect your accomplishments as a fruit grower or your input because I definately do. I find your success with Immunox very interesting.

Hman and Ace, thank you very much. These were clear consise instructions I looked up MFF and it said it was not to be used on "Stanley" type plums. I wonder, does thqt mean European plums, or merely Blue plums or what? Do either of you know why they have this exception? I have just gotten started raising fruit the last 9 yrs and have been putting in sev. more starting about 4 or 5 yrs. ago. I now have close to 150 trees of which over half are plums with sev. peach nectarine and apricot. also apple pear cherry etc. Most are just coming into bearing age. I would really like a fungus spray that would work on all and I have quite a bit of Imidan for insecticide. I would like to be able to mix and use on all tree but I have about 25 European plums. What do you think? Thanks again
RED

Hman, the Retail Immunox label lists for 'Brown rot' but Cornell states "It is neither registered nor affective for control of fruit brown rot". Many pesticides loose their effectiveness in commercial orchards because the fungus develops resistance. You can read olpea's Hello Indar report above that talks about disease getting resistant to a similar type fungicide. It says;

"Warning!! Growers who might consider
using Indar for summer diseases face a critical
decision. Using DMI fungicides during
summer will almost certainly speed selection
for DMI-resistant strains of apple scab."

"We know that DMIs are no longer effective
against apple scab in many orchards, so it makes
sense to consider Indar as an option for summer
disease control in these orchards."

My opinion is the author is saying Rally/Immunox is no longer effective on Apple scab and be careful because newly approved Indar will soon loose its effectiveness.

Red

Another maker of the same fungicide says apply no earlier than 21 days before harvest.

Also Found this from Cornell;
[2.5] Note the label warning that Orbit may affect the size and shape of "Stanley" plums.

That's definately interesting although a theoretical leap on Cornell's part. I already use myclobutanil as a primary element of my scab control program and I use Indar well after scab season, starting in mid-july. I wonder if this would give scab any significant added opportunity to develope resistance to SI's. I doubt it.

I've been using myclobutanyl for almost 2 decades and last season was the first time I had any control issues anywhere I've used it, and it was a site where there are no stone fruit. I don't know if my problem was resistance or relentless rain on Macintosh apples. As I've stated here many times, from my thinking and experience resistance issues are much less pressing in the fractional sized planting of a home orchard than in 100 acre plus mono-cultures of fruit trees.

Ace, With the caution to not use propiconazole until 21 days befoe harvest are you still going with your fore mentioned schedule of MFF to start then Immunox then back to MFF? Sounds like hman uses MFF all the way through the season. Has anyone had any experience with Indar. It is supposed to control BR plus sooty blotch and flyspeck on apples. Both of which I had some problems with last yr. Also had a lot of bitter pit. Will adding lime to the soil control that or do I need to do something else?

Indar, the fungicide I use, (fenbuconazole) has a 0 day PHI as does Mon. F F (propiconazole)so I don't know about this warning.

It is rare for me to spray stone fruit closer than a month before harvest with anything, but on a bad year where I see it's not working, I'll use a rescue spray to save the fruit.

I also wouldn't worry about spraying Stanley with MFF because damage would likely only be cosmetic. Commercial growers have a completely different set of worrys.

Hman, thanks, So you do use Indar as well as MFF? Do you ever run into bitter pit problems in any of the apples you work with?

I only use Indar but recommend MFF because it's almost as good and available in home orchard type quantities. I will probably start alternating with Pristine next season. There would be no advantage rotating MFF and Pristine.

I had a lot of bitter pit this year in my late apples. It was a terrible season with so much cool and wet weather that I don't think the trees could get enough calcium. I don't bother with calcium sprays and this is the first year I ever regretted it although I'm not sure it would have helped.

I have read somewhere that applications of lime on the soil will help with bitter pit. My soil tends to be a bit acidic so I was wondering if it would help.