North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[sherwin <sherwindu@att.net>]

On 9/5/2013 5:37 AM, Alan Haigh wrote:
> I use a fungicide to stop them from rotting so that I can let them get tree
> ripe.  Not the French but the several I grow, including Castleton and
> Valor, the two I most recommend here in the southern NY area.  I would
> never want to harvest any plum before it obtains full sweet richness of
> tree ripe, that is what growing them should be about as far as I'm
> concerned.  When people taste my plums they are amazed that such a fruit
> even exists- it is that different from industrial plums picked hard and
> sour.
>
> I find I get adequate protection from rot here in the humid northeast with
> something like Monterey Fungus Fighter (I use something packaged for
> commercial growers called Indar) applied once about a month before fruit
> begins to ripen.  That way I can't "taste" the fungicide but the tree
> ripens without rotting.
      Seems like there is a variety of opinions on how to ripen plums.

      Some internet sources insist they should be picked while still unripe
      and immediately placed in storage at various recommended temperatures
      ranging from near freezing to just cool.  Other sources say it is 
variety
      dependent, like Seckel that will ripen on the tree.  I am a great 
believer
      of letting fruit sweeten on the tree, but it is tricky with 
pears.  It is hard
      to get the timing accurate and they can get over ripe quickly 
from the
      centers outward to the skin.  Close monitoring could be called 
for certain
      varieties, checking ripeness by lifting the fruit to the 
horizontal and seeing
      if they snap off.  Other tests could be depressing the pear near 
the stem
      to check for some give.  Although, there are claims that pears 
should be
      ripened off the tree, I think this may be variety specific, so 
keeping them
      on the tree with close monitoring may yield the sweetest fruit.

      Frequent fungicide spraying appears to have had a big benefit in 
saving
      my Stanley Plums, this year.  First good crop in three years. Of 
course,
      weather may have played a part.

                              Sherwin Dubren
                              Morton Grove, IL