American brown rot, Michigan orchards

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IPM Scouting in Stone Fruits

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American brown rot - Monilinia fructicola (G. Wint.) Honey

American brown rot is common on apricot, peach, nectarine, plum and cherry. On fruit, small, circular, light brown spots enlarge rapidly to rot the whole fruit pre- and post-harvest. Rotted fruit shrivel, eventually becoming mummified. Infected blossoms wilt, turn brown, shrivel and persist into summer.

Oval sunken brown cankers develop at the base of infected blossom spurs and fruit of peach, nectarine and apricot; later, the bark at the edge of the canker cracks, gum oozes out and a callus forms.

Ash-gray tufts (sporodochia) bearing conidia of the fungus often develop over the surface of the infected tissues. The presence of conidia on lesions is the most distinctive characteristic of brown rot.

Fruit decay and shoot dieback from brown rot.


Brown rot on tart cherry and sporulation of the pathogen.	Dieback of peach shoot tip from brown rot; note sporulation.

Additional information

For more monitoring information and evaluation of available pesticides:
Michigan Fruit Management Guide
MSU Diagnostic Services for assistance in pest identification.
MSU Fruit Crop Advisory Team Alert newsletters for current pest/crop conditions.

Images on this page provided by Alan L. Jones.

This information was developed from A Pocket Guide for IPM Scouting in Stone Fruits by David Epstein, Larry J. Gut, Alan L. Jones and Kimberly Maxson-Stein. Purchase this in a pocket-sized guide for reference in the orchard from MSU Extension (publication E-2840).

The MSU IPM Program maintains this site as an access point to pest management information at MSU. The IPM Program is administered within the Department of Entomology, fueled by research from the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, delivered to citizens through MSU Extension, and proud to be a part of Project GREEEN.
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Updated 7/24/07