To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Insect damage to young peaches -- clear hard goo ?
Date: Fri, 17 Jun 2005 15:44:18 -0500
Stink bugs are causing your damage. They love peaches and can decimate a
crop. They sting the developing fruits which then abort. In your region
the culprit is the green stink bug (Acrosternum hilare). When I grew
peaches in Texas, the enemy there was the brown stink bug, a cousin which
does the same kind of damage. Stink bugs can also destroy pecan crops. My
defense were sprayings of neem seed oil on the trees, at pink bud, petal
fall and twice (at two-week intervals) afterwards. That controlled the
little monsters.
Doreen Howard
WI-IL Border (Zone 4a-5b), where my worst enemies currently are chipmunks.