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Spotty Apples

peter piperpeter piper Posts: 43
in Fruit & veg

All the apples on my container "Braeburn" have developed spots, as shown in piccie, is there some wise person out there who can tell me what caused them and will they affect the "edibility" (if that's a word) of the fruit,?

T.I.A. pete

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Posts

  • PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,038

    Mild attack of Scab. Not much you can do about it, but the apples are still edible when peeled. Braeburn is rather susceptible to it. You can see it on the leaves too. Next year try spraying before the fruit is ready with a fungicide.

  • peter piperpeter piper Posts: 43

    Thanks a lot Berghill, will be ready next year

  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 7,947

    Peter Piper, I'm afraid there are no fungicides approved for use on edible fruit crops in GB (ie you could use a fungicide on an ornamental crab apple, provided you were just going to look at it, but it wouldn't be safe to use anything on your Braeburn).  You can try collecting and destroying all the diseased material (that's those manky-looking leaves) which will harbour spores over winter, but more spores may well blow in from other peoples' trees.  Unless the scab causes the fruit to crack, it'll probably only affect the skin.

    Does your Braeburn do ok in W.Yorks?  It was bred for hot New Zealand summers, and tends to produce its best flavour in the south of England.

    If you're interested in replacing it, I recommend the Orange Pippin website where you'll find a list of cold-tolerant, disease-resistant apple varieties.  I'm in W.Yorks too, and if I had a sunny garden (mine faces NE, sadly) I'd try Honeycrisp I think, or Fiesta.  Definitely not Cox though for round here... nor Braeburn, in my experience.

    "The one who plants trees, knowing that he will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life."  Rabindranath Tagore
  • PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,038

    As a fungicide I have used Copper sulphate in the past, but not sure if you can still buy it. Other folks have used Rose clear, but that is not cleared for use on edible crops. I would think that if you used it before the fruit set it should do no harm, but don't quote me on that. I do not spray any of our fruit with anything except a Winter Wash in December.

  • pansyfacepansyface Posts: 21,555

    I WAS JUST WONDERING IF IT MIGHT BE BITTER PIT.

    DO THE MARKS GO INTO THE FLESH LIKE THIS

    image

    OR ARE THEY ONLY ON THE SURFACE OF THE SKIN?

    Apophthegm -  a big word for a small thought.
    If you live in Derbyshire, as I do.
  • Paul B3Paul B3 Posts: 3,010

    No fungicides for use on edible fruit crops in the UK ? There doesn't have to be , they're all coming in from abroad !

    Next time you buy oranges , lemons , limes , bananas, grapes ; even certain apples ; look at the little attached label reading something like "Imazalil treated , or treated with Imazalil wax " for preservation .

    Imazalil thiabendazole is a known and dangerous carcinogen liberally applied in many fruit growing nations ; I've seen pictures of fruit packers wearing masks for personal protection ; we're eating it !!

    How many unsuspecting Mums are packing their kids off to school every day with one of their 'five-a-day' fruit portions ; might as well give them 5 cigarettes to smoke at school .

    Google Imazalil for some quite eye-opening information .image

  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 7,947

    True, Paul B3 - but at least if you grow your own fruit you have the choice whether to use chemical controls on them or not.  And you can of course buy organically-grown fruit, not treated with these nasties, so that you can still eat things like citrus & bananas which can't be home grown.  

    Berghill, Bordeaux mixture (copper sulphate) was withdrawn from sale in 2014 and is no longer approved as a fungicide.  Personally I prefer not to consume added chemicals with my fruit... and particularly, I wouldn't dream of using, on my home-grown fruit, controls not cleared for use on edible crops.  I'm old enough to remember my dad using DDT...

    "The one who plants trees, knowing that he will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life."  Rabindranath Tagore
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 7,947

    Not as a fungicide, obviously, but I remember his horror as the side effects began to be known.

    "The one who plants trees, knowing that he will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life."  Rabindranath Tagore
  • Paul B3Paul B3 Posts: 3,010

    Apparently , even the 'organic' produce imported has been treated , although in a much limited manner .

  • peter piperpeter piper Posts: 43

    Morning all, have just peeled one of the apples and it looks like Bitter Pit, thanks to Pansy face for the input

    Liriondendron, it seems I made a mistake getting the Braeburn, it was part of a purchase two years ago, from a newspaper advert, along with pear. cherry and plum trees, the cherry,(Stella) this year produced 3 cherries, the plum, (Victoria), did much better, giving a dozen fruit, nine of which fell off when the wind blew it over ,but the other three tasted very nice!, the pear, (Conference), has grown nicely but has not produced any fruit, yet, which was expected. 

    Thanks for the lead to the "Orange Pippin" website, will be perusing for next year.

    The advice given on this forum has been invaluable as usual, thanks a lot folks!!!

    pete

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