Plums rotting on tree

[miniplot]

Hi,I expect this is due to all the recent rain and the heavy crop on the tree but I was wondering if there was a way to prevent this. I am removing any fruit that looks mouldy but that's all. The tree is only 6/7 yrs old and the branches are on the ground with so much fruit!

[blackkitty]

I've got the same problem, but worse I came back from holiday to find that two of the branches had split they were so heavy. We've tied them up and splinted them with twine and have fastened up the other branches. You probably need to do something similar to let the air circulate around the fruit. We hammered in a fence post just next to the tree and have used this as a 'maypole' to fasten the branches to.

[WrexTheDragon]

I find plums have a very short period before they are ready, look for wasps and birds at the fruit about a week before you need to be pick.

With mine it is only about a three day window. If I don't pick in time I get a white spotted fungus growth on the plum and it is sour and starts to shrivel.

I have picked all my crop that I can get too and it is either now jam or in the freezer as stewed fruit.

[rustylady]

I'm having the same problem with my Victoria this year, inspecting daily and removing the rotting ones. I did thin them this year, but it's still cropping heavily and I think the wet weather hasn't helped. Found this on the RHS website - don't know if it's any help Royal Horticultural Society - Gardening Advice: Brown Rot

[WrexTheDragon]

YES, that looks like some of mine (Brown rot).

I picked about 3 kilos last night that looked fine and put them in my jam pan. This morning about 10% had the white fungus and had to be removed.

[FB.]

Brown rot seems the likely cause.
Strangely, despite my Victoria being planted in semi-shade, the fruit are all in excellent conditio with no fungal damage (although thanks for the "heads-up" - I'll look out for brown rot).

[miniplot]

Yep, that's the culprit! I only had 3 plums last year and was looking forward to these. They aren't even ripe yet!

[rustylady]

Neither are mine, but I picked around 14th August two years ago (no plums last year) and they look as if they are just starting to ripen. I am picking out infected fruit daily, and still hoping for a good harvest.

[BFG]

I find plums have a very short period before they are ready, look for wasps and birds at the fruit about a week before you need to be pick.

With mine it is only about a three day window. If I don't pick in time I get a white spotted fungus growth on the plum and it is sour and starts to shrivel.

I have picked all my crop that I can get too and it is either now jam or in the freezer as stewed fruit.

How do you stop the wasps? I've got plums for the 1st time this year and the wasps have cut open all the red ones. I thought/hoped they might just stick to one.

Might have to try a waspinator.

[rustylady]

My mum used to hang jamjars in various places in the garden, with diluted jam in the bottom. The wasps used to fly in and drown in the jam.

[BFG]

The wasps have wrecked my plums and are now working on the apples.

I made a trap out a plastic bottle and put jammy water in the bottom, but not a thing caught in over a day. They're just not interested. Maybe I should put a plum in the bottom too!