Forum home› Fruit & veg
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

What is wrong with my Victoria Plums

Jsear44Jsear44 Posts: 5
in Fruit & veg
My plum tree has a good crop this year but the many of the plums have something on them. Can anyone shed any light on what is wrong, and are the plums still edible? Thank you.

Jim Sear

Posts

  • Jsear44Jsear44 Posts: 5
    Forgot to upload the photo. Here it is.
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    Hi @Jsear44 & welcome! 

    Is the "something" on your plums a blob of clear, slightly sticky substance?  If so, that's normal and can just be removed.  It's pectin, I believe, the stuff which makes jam set, and is edible.

    If that is not what's on your plums, please supply a photo and we'll try to identify it.   :)
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    You have two problems, insect damage and brown rot. The clear blobs are the response to insect damage and you may find grubs inside damaged fruit. The brown pustules are brown rot. Remove and bin all affected fruit, you may also need to prune out affected branches if it is a bad infection.
  • Jsear44Jsear44 Posts: 5
    Thanks both for the quick replies. The substance is a slightly sticky clear substance and does rub off. The brown is not on all fruits.
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    Sorry, your photo wasn't visible when I posted my answer.  

    As @steephill says, the brown fruit with white fungus has brown rot.  This fungus can also cause twigs to die back - if that's the case with your tree, prune out the dead bits now and bin them together with the rotten fruit.  Take care to pick up any fallen fruit which have rot and bin them too, so the fungus can't over-winter.

    It's good that not all the fruit is affected.  I guess cutting the fruit which have the "blobs" on in half before eating would be good, to make sure they don't have grubs in - I found my Victoria plums often had these pectin blobs without being damaged by insects, though, so you may be lucky.
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • Jsear44Jsear44 Posts: 5
    Thanks.
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    I agree, Brown Rot and misc. insect damage.  Keep an eye on the Brown Rot and remove and dispose of any infect fruit immediately - the one in your photo is at the spore-shedding stage and those will spread it to other fruit.  When the leaves fall, check the branches for any 'mummified' fruit stuck to the tree as those will start the process all over again, next year.  I had to remove about a third of the branches on a badly infected Japanese plum (nearly every fruit infected) earlier this summer.  I'll use a winter tree wash in December, but only time will tell.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • Jsear44Jsear44 Posts: 5
    Thanks Bob
  • IgrowfromseedIgrowfromseed Posts: 284
    Brown rot is a very common problem on Victoria plums probably because of the abundant overcrowded fruit.  Don’t get too worried and just do as suggested 
Sign In or Register to comment.