Jamie: Have you looked closely at your developing peaches before and after they fall off? Growing peaches in Virgina calls for some up close and personal observation. There are two insects that commonly attack young peaches: plum curculio, which strikes early and has only one generation, and the oriental fruit moth, which is around for the balance of the season and can have 4 generations. Visits by either of these insects can be clearly seen on a developing peach in the form of a small crescent-shaped scar for the P.C. or a small blob of pectin on the skin caused by the OFM. When peaches are attacked by either of these insects their development soon slows and stops, and they eventually fall before attaining full size. I spray my peaches very early, soon after fruit set, with Imidan, although Permethrin would be an acceptable substitute. Then I thin the peaches to a spacing of 6-8 inches apart (another requirement for growing full-size peaches) before spraying them again. At that point I install nylon shoe store try-on footies on the little peaches, tying them over the branch or twig with a single knot. If I did not thus protect the peaches, I would have to spray at about 10 day intervals all season long. Your peach trees may be strong and sturdy, but if you do not prune them regularly to thin out the centers, the peaches will receive insufficient light to develop into first-class fruit. The best time to do this is just after harvesting the peaches, but if your trees are very tall and crowded, do it now. You must be able to easily reach the peaches from your ladder to thin them (and bag them, if you are inclined to do that), and it is much easier to spray a 12 foot tree than one that is much larger. It may take you a couple of years to fully understand the requirements for growing peaches in our bug-infested, humid, mid-Atlantic climate, but it can be done and it is worth it. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

"According to the label, that fungicide can't be used on Stanley type plums, which are my main brown rot problem." Are you sure about that? I use Bumper which is the commercial equivalent of Montery Fungii Fighter. The label says, "Applications of Bumper 41.8 EC during bloom to Stanely plums have occasionally caused fruit to be less oval in shape and smaller size at harvest. To avoid this, do not apply Bumper 41.8 EC to Stanley plums earlier than 21 days before harvest." To me, a strict reading of the label wouldn't necessarily prohibit applications of the compound, especially if one was not concerned about the shape or size of Stanley plums, or if it was used closer to harvest. Frank, In some cases, if the compound causes cosmetic issues, the label will address it. Such is the case with Captan (and Bumper above). Commercial formulations of Captan used to be labeled for pears, but manufacturers were forced to drop that labeling because of occasional russeting caused by the compound. Strangely, home formulations of Captan are still labeled for pears.

Hi Kellascat- Sorry for being a little late to the party, but I agree with everyone here. Throw out that Bonide Fruit tree spray. Below is from another post I made a while back. -Glenn Hi Pam- Question for you Why are you spraying the fruit tree spray? Do you know what insects and diseases you are currently trying to fight? Many people on this forum (and I can now add myself to this list) are not big fans of all-in-one fruit tree sprays. The reasons are: 1.) The quantity of some of the ingredients is often insufficient to actually accomplish the task. Take for example the quantity of Captan in there. Many people here have argued that it is not nearly the strength required to be effective. Compare the quantity in there with that on the plain Captain container. 2.) In the all-in-one spray, you are often spraying chemicals that you do not need, for pests and diseases you do not have. 3.) The all-in-one says it controls things that it does not. It says it controls Cedar Apple Rust, but with itÂs only active fungicide being Captan, it can not, as Captan does not control CAR. WhatÂs the alternative you ask? Indentify your pest and your diseases and treat them individually. If you know those, let people know what they are. In some cases, you can even use things that are considered organic (Copper is often considered organic) to fight a very nasty disease like CAR. Or, "bag" your apples to handle many of the insects. Reply to let others know youÂre still listening and interested and IÂm sure people will help you. -Glenn

Many useless products are sold that do not work. We invest a lot in our garden, nobody here should take your word. Until an independent party states they work, I would avoid them. If you want to stay organic and take care of PC try Surround. Proven to work with users here. Nobody from that company has ever posted here either. I am not affiliated with any pesticide company. Backyard orchardists have a hard time finding good products because we do not have applicator licenses, and the home products are often diluted down to uselessness. Also ready to use products are not that great and very expensive as I see the shrill products meet that criteria. Not much bang for you buck when you have 25 trees. I'm not organic and find the best OTC product for PC is hard to find. Commercially Assail is very good. And luckily Ortho sells that product for homeowners: Ortho 0349010 Flower, Fruit and Vegetable Insect Killer Concentrate. This will work very well against PC. And is not diluted down much compared to other OTC products. It's also not a bad idea to use stickers with some products. A fairly good sticker available to homeowners is Nu Film 17.