Peach Scab

Overview of peach scab

Peach scab is a fungal disease that causes small, greenish round spots to appear on the peach fruit, often more concentrated at the stem end. As spots age, they may become black and velvety, and heavily infected fruit may be deformed or cracked.

Image of a peach with a case of peach scab
peach with a case of peach scab

Type of Sample Needed for Diagnosis and Confirmation

The Iowa State University Plant & Insect Diagnostic Clinic can help you to investigate and confirm if you plant has this disease. Please see our website for current forms, fees, and instructions on collecting and packing samples. Contact information for each states diagnostic laboratory for U.S. residents can be located at the NPDN website.  If you have a sample from outside of Iowa, please DO NOT submit it to the Plant & Insect Diagnostic Clinic without contacting us.

Management of peach scab

  • Prune appropriately to promote air circulation
  • Fungicides may be used 10 to 12 days after the shuck split stage of bud development, for about six weeks.

Links to this article are strongly encouraged, and this article may be republished without further permission if published as written and if credit is given to the author, Yard and Garden, and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. If this article is to be used in any other manner, permission from the author is required. This article was originally published on September 1, 2016. The information contained within may not be the most current and accurate depending on when it is accessed.