On 17/08/2016 15:17, David Hill wrote:
On 17/08/2016 09:44, Martin Brown wrote:
On 17/08/2016 09:35, thescullster wrote:
Hi all

I am fearing the worst with my victorias this year!

The fruit have got to about half size and stopped swelling.
Looking closer this weekend I see that some have skins that are
discoloured. Also, one or two have like a resinous eruption appearing.

Sounds a bit like the effects of irregular watering or drought to me.
Most of mine have a few similar marks on and any that slipt will exhude
resinous syrup and attract wasps but they mostly confine themsleves to
damaged fruit. The birds will put holes in any and all fruit.

I think the tree was (very) short of water a couple of weeks back.

Do I see traces of woolly aphids on some of the stems?

I don't think so, but something is obviously nibbling leaves.

But at least with apple trees I have never known woolly aphid do
anything more than make the stems look unsightly even at plague
proportions. My parents fruit trees suffered badly this way in recent
years and would be in a terrible state for the pest and still fruit OK.

I hit them with systemic when I got the chance and meths weekly this
year and apart from the scars the trees are pretty much clean now.

Regards,
Martin Brown