Field Identification
Brown rot turns stone fruit into fuzzy brown mush—often with tan pustules of spores on mummies and ripe fruit. It hits cherries, plums, peaches, and apricots, especially where humidity stays high and sanitation slips.
Blossoms blight and turn brown; twigs may show cankers with gumming. Ripe fruit rots rapidly and develops powdery spore masses. Infected fruit that hang on the tree or lie on the ground become mummies that shoot spores next season.
How to Deal With It
Organic Control Methods
Sulfur, lime sulfur (bloom timing cautions on sensitive varieties), and copper products can be integrated per local organic rules; biofungicides based on Bacillus subtilis or other listed antagonists help when applied before infection periods.
Antagonistic yeasts and bacteria (e.g., Aureobasidium, Bacillus-based products) applied to blossoms and fruit surfaces compete with Monilinia spores.
Remove all mummies from trees and ground; prune out cankers during dry weather; thin fruit for air movement; avoid overhead irrigation that wets fruit for hours.
Bag fruit, use rain covers in small plantings, or shake out mummies before winter to reduce inoculum.
Choose less-susceptible cultivars; harvest at proper maturity; cool fruit quickly after pick. Scout during bloom and pre-harvest when spore loads spike.
Let Nature Handle It
Natural Enemies
- Antagonistic Yeasts
- Bacillus subtilis (commercial biocontrol strains)
- Competitive Epiphytic Microbes
Threat Map