Bart, your posting is timely because I just discovered that one of my apricot trees had borers that had entered via the prior seasons deer rutting damage. I found two borers that were near the surface when I removed my spiral trunk cover. There was a lot of damage underneath (I might use mesh protectors and white paint next year, so that they don't go undetected for so long). I've read that you're definitely not supposed to use the napthaline mothballs and, as jellyman correctly predicted, some say not to use standard PDB mothballs. Are orchard specific PDB mothballs still sold? Also, Edible Landscaping recommends using wood ashes: 'In June, young peaches can be girdled at the soil line by the larvae of the peach tree borer moth. Our prevention is to mound fresh wood ashes saved from last winter's wood heat at the base of the tree. This should be done to young trees especially. It deters the adult from laying her eggs. Timing in our area is about June 15th for the application of ashes or mothballs. Mothballs also work for control. Place mothballs around the trunk and cover with sand.' Here is a link that might be useful: Goospert link

Cut open a peach and let us know what you see inside. The three primary causes of oozing on peach are oriental fruit moth, plum curculio, and environmental damage (the peach grew funny). Most likely you have OFM since it oozes the most, PC barely oozes. Environmental damage usually strikes only a few fruits. If you have OFM there will be an open hole where the ooze is coming out and a trail through the peach that is open. If its PC there will be very little ooze and the trail in the peach will look like a black line, not an open trail. Scott

Can you post a picture of what the symptoms look like or review the below link and see if any of their examples look like what you are seeing? Knowing exactly what you are seeing will help alot? What, if any, pesticides and/or fungicides do you spray on you trees? Ken Millbrook AL Here is a link that might be useful: Clemson Disease Management Web Site

Mabear: Apparently your live somewhere in Michigan, where the oriental fruit moth should be less of a problem than warmer areas of the east and south. But, depending on the weather conditions of a particular year, I am sure you can get it too and you apparently have. Plum curculio can also be an issue on peaches, but it normally occurs much earlier in the season, leaving less of an ooze but rather a crescent mark with a shiny spot. I regard peaches damaged by OFM to be practically useless, and it's not a matter of washing. The OFM larvae burrows in and around the pit, leaving black necrotic areas that must be cut away to make the peach palatable. If you are preparing peaches for freezing or even fresh consumption, cutting out these areas to eliminate the damage is barely practical in most cases. If the blackened/brown areas on the skin are widespread, beginning at the top of the fruit, it is either peach scab or bacterial spot, and I am hard put to tell the difference. Affected areas result in deterioration and stringiness beneath the skin that can be 1/4 inch or more thick. If you are accustomed to peeling peaches, which is normally quite easy on a ripe peach, you will find the task much more difficult and time consuming, as scabby skin does not peel off. The overall flavor, sweetness, and general quality of scabby peaches is also very poor. When you begin to see scab symptoms develop more than one year in succession, you should take active measures to break the cycle that causes it. Prevention, not cure is the key here, since once this disease begins to develop on a peach it cannot be stopped. I dormant spray peach trees twice each season with a strong copper solution (Kocide), and apply a fungicide (I use Topsin but others may work as well) several times on the tiny peaches immediately after shuck split, and for several weeks thereafter. After thinning (which should be rigorous), the peaches should be safe from infection once they reach the half-dollar size. But if you also have OFM problems, you will have to continue to spray with an effective insecticide until approximately one month before harvest. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA