Sounds like you have Brown rot fungus. You want to remove the spoiled fruit ASAP. The mummies produce more spores that will ruin all the fruit, even for next year if they are left near the tree. Brown rot will also kill the branch tips. Prevention is the best remedy. 1. remove all mummies 2. cover spray using fungicide.3. prune to open vase to allow light and air circulation 4. dormant spray I am not an organic grower. I use Captan fungicide. I have read it is approved in fruits after picking and cosmetics so it is least toxic.

I've always felt that I needed the good mechanical pull that a budding rubber provides, and to keep it from drying out I think it needs to be sealed with parafilm or wax. Parafilm is my first choice because it breathes a little. But it's not enough by itself to make me feel secure! I used the Ace rubber tape this year on clefts and felt like it worked really well. Rubber tape or bands or rubbers all seem good to me. I think that if you use the wide budding rubbers or tape and overlap thoroughly then the parafilm/wax precaution is probably redundant, but it's cheap redundancy and I do it. I use wide and long rubbers also because it's easier to wrap them off- you have so much to work with, and they're cheap enough that you can afford to cut off excess. Like MiHiGirl I'm in the Rockies, but not at a mile high! We're at 3200 ft, give or take a couple of feet. But it's definitely an arid environment: we get about 12-13 inches total precip per year.

Californian: planted Snow Queen this year and REALLY looking forward to it. Last few days FIRST TIME ever seeing FIG BEETLES which I really adore! Neighbor has junky huge peach tree hanging over my fence - we pick up all lousy peaches and get onto compost immediately. Today I was cutting down the overhanging branches and pulling the fruit and found no fig beetles at work nor telltale damage but peaches has to be why they're here because they ain't eating my figs. Try trapping them with sacrificial fruit as my compost pile seems to be, or putting out soda bottle funnel traps with nasty sweet water if you aren't ready for mechanical harvest by one animal or another. It's also possible the beetles are as repulsed by my baby-cooing at them as rattlesnakes appear to be and are fleeing in disgust - so you might want to try that.

I've examined the related posts on this topic, and seek additional advice from growers with that experienced the same thing. Sorry for length, but want to give detail to precisely describe the situation. Situation: - Arctic Star nectarine. It is spring 2016, it's 2nd year in the ground (planted spring 2015). Sourced bareroot from a retailer who sourced from Dave Wilson. - Oozes gel-like substance (not sticky/tacky, but more like hair gel) on pruning cuts on branches - I've also seen ooze at the base of where new (3" - 4") branches begin to form. The young branch wilts and dies. - I see no evidence of borers. No sawdust. No holes. There is no oozing or any unusual circumstances at the base of the tree. Ooze happens in the branching of the trees, on pruning cuts or new branches trying to grow. - This is not the fruit oozing, as I've seen other threads on that topic. Fruit is still small and the tree has lots, despite being only 2nd leaf. - Tree look very healthy and vigorous. There are a few leaves here and there with curl, but that should not be a big deal, I'm told. - Ooze seems to pick up when it rains. We've just had a day's rain, and the attached pics are after the rain. Prior, there was not ooze at these points. Actions - When I first saw ooze, I talked to my local nursery and he said that my best bet is prune out wood where I see the ooze. Better safe to hack the young tree than let the disease live on. - My tree had two main leaders. I cut off one entire leader (half the tree) well below where I saw the ooze. As I said, better safe than sorry. I placed tar on the cut because it was a 1" branch or larger. Check out one of the pics. Despite this low cut, I see a little ooze flowing out of the tar. - On the other half of the tree, I would cut off any branch where I saw ooze, at least 6-8" below the ooze. Now, even those pruning cuts are oozing today after the rain. Again the tree looks totally fine other than this. Questions: - I'm thinking of potentially taking out the whole tree before it infects nearby ones. Is that too harsh? One poster said it's normal for young trees to have high sap pressure, especially after a rain, and it will "take care of itself". - Does anyone have the same experience and tried to wait it out? What happened? - Would it hurt to see how the fruit forms and tastes? Will that be any sort of indication? - I'm a home gardener with high-density planting. If I take this out, I'd want to put another peach in the same spot. Would that be unwise? Again, looking for someone who has this experience, instead of general advice of not planting the same tree in a diseased location (for a tree only a year in the ground). Thanks! I know it takes a lot of time to read and respond, so it is much appreciated! Nectarine Ooze Pictures