Fruit rot is the most common damage from brown rot. A tan to brown spot appears on the surface of diseased fruit. In humid weather brownish tufts of spores appear on the rotted surface. Infected fruit will rot completely to become a mummy. The mummies carry the disease over the winter.
Sanitation is a valuable part of brown rot control in the home orchard.
Collecting diseased fruit as soon as they appear and removing infected twigs will reduce the carry-over of brown rot to the next season. If fruit ripening occurs during a period of warm, wet weather brown rot control requires a very rigid spray program. It is important to begin spraying just before the fruit ripen. Delaying a spray program until rotten fruit are evident will result in very poor control regardless of the effort. Black Rot - The disease appears as elongated black swellings or knots along the branches and twigs.