Peach Tree borer or something else?

[mississippiEric]

I'm just south of Memphis TN in Mississippi - 7b

I discovered quite a bit of what I believe to be fras at the bottom of my early elberta and late elberta peach trees in February. I cleaned it all out and used some Moth Crystals - Paradichlorobenzene - to fumigate the trunk for the past ~4 weeks.

Everything was cleared out to the bare ground. 1.5 oz weight of moth crystals were placed 1" from the base of the tree in a circle, covered with fresh dirt, and mounded up 8-10" high. this was left for about 3-4 weeks and removed today. I still have some ooze at the base and some ooze coming from the trunk up to the first crotch.

I've uploaded some videos (assuming I can post these) since it's easier to view than it is for me to describe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZvOy_AkMt4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKuMhFtyTnE

I also noticed there may be worms in the peaches...

I suck

[JONA]

There are several borers that can cause this gum ( gummosis) on your tree Eric.
If you find little holes at each site...poke a piece of wire into the hole and try to stab the little blighters. At least your taking care of future problems!
Peaches produce this sticky gum from any wound..and on the whole they shrug it off without too much damage.
As to worms in the fruit.
Once the worms there ..there's nothing you can do.
There are three or four creatures that can cause the worm( maggot) from a particular moth to a species of wasp. Try and enquire locally as to what the major problem is in your area as regards peaches. Many pests can be monitored or controlled by pheromone traps etc...but you need to know the beastie involved.

[alycat1990]

aww you don't suck

Poor tree, it really isnt your fault! In fact where I live in Niagara Ontario this pest is a HUGE problem, and can whipe out whole orchards. I am actually having the same problem with my tree right now! I just posted it in the forum actually... I have a Frost peach tree that is 3 years old and JUST started to flower this year... I was SO excited to see so many flowers, because I know this means peaches! I myself, caused the borer problem and am learning from my mistakes. 1. I used a plastic tree guard around the trunk for 1 growing season and winter. don't do this, as I think it gives the borers a nice little hiding place in your tree. 2. I over-mulched around the base of the tree... it moistened the bark and gave perfect entry for the tree, also another hiding spot.

I dug away and mulch and took the wrap off for a start. My damage is only at the rootstock. Here is a link I found very useful

https://www.arbico-organics.com/category ... er-control

A couple things I want to mention... In canada they sell spray on tree paint at lowes, canadian tire, home depot blah blah blah.... its all the same spray cans and its BLACK never use black paint on a tree it absorbs heat and can cause cracking in winter thaws/high temps. You are better off going to a hardware store and buying a paint brush with acrylic/ latex paint and painting the tree WHITE as it reflects light and stops bark cracking. When I drive by stone fruit orchards all the tree trunks are painted white. It will deter the bugs and stop cracking ( an entry route)

Also buy a spray of pyrethrin. Only do spot sprays in growing months because it does affect good insects as well as bad... do total sprays in off seasons. It is a natural extract from flowers, not to be confused with permethrin (synthetic compound used to manage headlice, scabies, and also used in gardening) its more toxic.

There are 2 kinds of borers... one that attacks the base, and the others the branches. You may be able to prune off the branches heavily affected. and treat the base of the tree. Poke any holes with wire, and try and find some good pheromone sticky traps. (I would personally place them at some distance from the tree....

I would personally rip off any blossoms and forgo any fruiting this year. Try the spraying, and by sacrificing the fruit you may be able to get the tree to heal itself from the damage (also protect the bees from the spray)

for the base I also watched a video on youtube of a guy who created a cup around the tree and flooded the base with a hose for a few hours to drown them.

anyways I wish you the best of luck with your trees... it really is a horrible pest. Sorry if I wrote a story here, but this is what I've learned from my experience.

Also, if you have any other stone fruits (plums, cherries, apricots...) these will all be affected by the same pest so I could treat them the same proactively.

[alycat1990]

Also one more thing LOL

the crystals are a good idea to deter the moths (adult) but the larvae is already in the tree (they may have overwintered) so the crystals are good to deter more from coming, but you need the other treatments I mentioned to kill the pre existing larvae thats in your tree that do the most damage.

[JONA]

After reading alycats response l just looked up as to how great a problem borer is on peaches over there in the States....oh boy...it sounds like you've got a real problem in some areas.
There seems to be three chemicals that may be available to the garden sector.
Pounce and Ambush.....both contain Permethrin : and Asana which contains esfenvalerate.
The third I'm afraid is Sevin. ( by far the most harmful to other creatures).
Commercial growers try to alleviate the collateral damage spraying may cause by using pheromone traps to signal adult numbers present and give better indications of when to spray. I understand that some universities and agricultural centres offer warnings when outbreaks occur. Worth checking your local areas?