As an apple lover nothing is more disappointing than biting into a beautiful, ripe apple only to find dark blemishes marring the otherwise pristine fruit. These unsightly black spots certainly diminish the appeal of the apple but should they stop you from eating it altogether? Read on to learn what causes these spots, whether it’s still safe to eat spotted apples, and how to prevent black spots from plaguing your apple harvest in the future.
What Causes Black Spots on Apples?
The main culprits behind black spots on apple skin are two fungal diseases – sooty blotch and flyspeck. Sooty blotch manifests as dark brown to black blotches ranging in size from a speck to over an inch wide. Flyspeck produces clusters of tiny, round black dots resembling fly droppings. These two fungi often strike in tandem, collectively marring apples’ skin.
While mainly a cosmetic issue, both fungi thrive in warm, humid conditions with prolonged wetness Infection typically occurs between August and September as apples near maturity For this reason, sooty blotch and flyspeck are sometimes called the “summer diseases” of apples. By spoiling apples’ appearance, these fungi can cause significant economic losses for apple growers.
Are Apples with Black Spots Safe to Eat?
The good news is that apples affected by sooty blotch and flyspeck are completely safe for consumption. Both fungi colonize only the fruit’s waxy cuticle, never penetrating the flesh. So while apples may look unappetizing with black splotches, the edible interior remains untouched.
You can safely eat apples with black spots after peeling off the blemished skin. However, cutting away all the discolored areas can become tedious and waste a lot of apple flesh. A better solution is to simply wash the apples well before eating them.
Preventing Black Spots on Apples
While sooty blotch and flyspeck won’t harm your health, it’s still desirable to avoid or minimize infestation. Here are some tips to keep your apples free of black spots:
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Prune apple trees to open the canopy. This promotes air circulation and allows fruits to dry quicker after rain or dew.
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Thin fruit clusters so apples aren’t touching. Close contact facilitates fungal spread.
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Remove fallen leaves and fruits, which can harbor inoculum to reinfect next year’s crop.
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Apply fungicidal sprays containing captan, mancozeb, or Topsin M as fruits develop. Organic options include sulfur, neem oil, and copper.
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Harvest apples as soon as they ripen. Left on the tree longer, they’re more vulnerable to infection.
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After picking, promptly refrigerate apples to slow fungal growth.
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Consume or preserve apples soon after harvest. Fresh apples don’t store well long-term.
With vigilance and preventative care, you can outsmart these fungal foes and enjoy applesauce, pie, and fresh snacks without the eyesore of black spots. Don’t let surface blemishes stop you from reaping the bounty of your apple harvest. Just take steps to prevent infection, and you’ll have bushels of picture-perfect apples this season and beyond.
Remove the leaves from the ground
To prevent this, you should rake old foliage away from under your trees. That reduces the infection pressure, says Stensvand.
At the end of the summer, the spores stop spreading from the old leaves. He says that you can put these leaves in the compost, but you should cover them so that the spores don’t get into the air and spread.
These spots show that the apple tree has scab. The tree can get sick again next year if the leaves are left on the ground with spores from the fungus on them. (Photo: Rolf Langnes / NIBIO).
You can do a lot to get rid of apple scab on this summer’s apples, but you have to act now, in May.
Apples grown in stores have smooth, pretty skins, but the apples in your garden might not look nearly as healthy.
The apples in many people’s gardens are marred by large or small black dots.
This is called apple scab.
Professor Arne Stensvand at NIBIO is an expert on apple scab. (Photo: Anne Lise Stranden)
The risk of infection from this disease is highest now, in May and early June.
Scientists in Norway often find scab on apple and pear trees. This is due to a fungus, according to Professor Arne Stensvand at NIBIO (the Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy Research). no.
His office is in Ås, which is outside of Oslo. He puts a bag of dry, brown-gray leaves on the desk.
He says, “The fungus is hard to get rid of, but there are a lot of things you can do to make the scab on your tree smaller.”
10 Common Apple Tree Diseases and How to Treat Them
FAQ
Can you eat apples with black spots?
What is the black spot disease in apples?
How to treat sooty blotch on apples?
What are the dots on apple skin?
What causes black spots on apples?
Black spots on apples are commonly known as apple scab, a fungal disease caused by Venturia inaequalis. This fungus can infect the leaves, shoots, buds, blossoms, and fruit of apple trees, posing a threat to their overall health. Apple scab is particularly prevalent in regions with high rainfall and humidity during the growing season.
What causes black marks on dark skin?
Black marks on the dry skin can be caused due to hyperpigmentation in which body starts producing more melanin which then starts depositing over the face and other areas of the body.
Can black spots on apples be prevented?
Yes, the homemade remedy for black spots can also work for preventing black spots on apples. The mixture of baking soda, water, and dish soap used for roses can also be effective for preventing black spot disease on apple trees. It’s a safe and natural solution for both plants.
What causes dark smudges on apples?
Sooty blotch causes dark smudges on the surface of the apple. Both fungi are limited to the surface of the fruit and do not cause rot. Manage these diseases by maintaining good air circulation within the tree. Fruit with sooty mold or flyspeck are edible. Smudges on the apple’s surface that are gray, green, brown or black.