Evaluation of hydrophobic and hydrophilic kaolin particle films for peach crop, arthropod and disease management.

Hydrophobic and/or hydrophilic kaolin particle film treatments to peach (Prunus persica (L) Batsch) trees were evaluated for crop and pest management capabilities in six studies from 1997 to 2000. Unsprayed control and standard treatments, the latter consisting of a commercial pesticide program, were included for comparison. Treatments in initial studies were applied via handgun, which resulted in a uniform and heavy deposit of kaolin after the first application.

Relationship Between Apple Fruit Epicuticular Wax and Growth of Peltaster fructicola and Leptodontidium elatius, Two Fungi that Cause Sooty Blotch Disease.

Sooty blotch severity varied among apple cultivars or selections surveyed in 1989 and 1992. No mycelial growth was observed on russetted areas of the cuticle that are considered impermeable. Ursolic acid and n-alkanes were the most prominent components of the epicuticular waxes of the cultivars or selections evaluated.