The Grounded Orchardist

Or you’ve already met Brown rot! Brown rot is a fungal infection which attacks most orchard fruit. You will have brown, almost swollen, rotten fruit with white pustules still hanging onto the tree. Often next to healthy fruit. As it gets older the fruit will desicate or mummify.

The pic above shows the recently infected fruit. This was probably a wound caused by a caterpillar, bird, tractor or hail damage and the wound got infected. The white dots are fruiting bodies holding spores they’re getting ready to infect other fruits when the time/conditions are right to release their spores. Chances are, that at least one of those healthy apples behind the infected one has been attacked but we’ll see, we may have got away with it. If not it helps with thinning!

The second pic shows infected fruit after its mummified. “Don’t forget the mummies”, that’s what my old boss used to tell me and that’s what I think every time I see them.

You can grab them by hand, when I first started orcharding I remember thinking how grim this was but now I think nothing of it.

So, take the mummies/brown rot off asap and dispose of them so you eliminate the chances of reinfection. Don’t leave them in your orchard!