Black Spots and Bloches on Apples
We have a delicious apple tree that has given a large crop. The apples are of good size and feel firm. However they all have black spots, blotches or lines. Some are almost totally black.
Nothing beats the flavor of homegrown fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately apples have quite a few pests that blemish the fruit. From your description it sounds like your apples may have apple scab, bitter pit and apple maggot. Apple scab is a common disease that causes spotting on leaves and fruit. Fall cleanup and preventative fungicide sprays during bloom will provide some relief. Bitter pit is common in overfertilized, overpruned and drought stressed trees. Summer drought may be the cause of your crop’s bitter pit. Try regular thorough watering if drought conditions return next season. Apple maggots lay their eggs on the outside of the fruit. The egg hatches and a translucent larvae feeds through the fruit leaving a brown trail. The fruit are edible but don’t last long in storage. Many gardeners use them for sauce, jelly and juice.
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