You nurture your tomato plants until you have beautiful fruit maturing on the vine.Upon closer inspection, you discover that somet
06.06.2023 - 17:09 / gardenerspath.com / Helga George
How to Identify and Prevent Apple Cork SpotIf you see spots on your apples, you may be tempted to think “Oh no! Fungal or hail injury.” However, there may be another cause, especially if your apple trees are York Imperial, Golden Delicious, or Delicious cultivars.
It could be an easily curable physiological condition known as cork spot.
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Read on to find out what symptoms to look for and what you do to prevent this hideous but superficial disorder.
What is Apple Cork Rot?Cork spot is a disorder of the tree’s physiology and has nothing to do with a disease. The condition causes the fruit to have an unappealing outside appearance and a corky texture on the interior. It typically occurs in fruit that are low in calcium. In some cases it may also be due to an imbalance among potassium, magnesium, and calcium.
While the fruit are technically edible, they will be difficult to sell, they they may have a bitter flavor. If you run a small commercial orchard, your customers may fear that your apples are contaminated with mold.
SymptomsThe first sign that something is amiss will be little green dimples or depressions on the outer portion of the fruit’s flesh. This process typically starts in the early summer and can continue as the fruit grows and enlarges.
Eventually, the little spots grow and become corky and discolored. The spots may be as much one half inch across.
Why does this happen, you might ask? There are several reasons why the fruit may become low in calcium. The obvious one is a shortage of calcium in the tree. This is typically due to low pH in the soil.
However, other factors can contribute to the development of
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