Fruit Rot

Fruit rot manifests as soft, watery decay beginning at the fruit base or on any injured area, spreading quickly across the surface under wet conditions. You may notice whitish, cottony growth on severely affected fruit, and diseased fruit often emits a foul odor as secondary molds colonize the rotting tissue. The disease appears most aggressively during prolonged cool, wet springs and in plantings with dense canopies that trap moisture around ripening fruit.

This disease is driven by humidity and overhead water on developing fruit. Your focus should be on reducing the humidity that favors rapid decay: thin canopies for air movement, space plants generously, and switch to drip irrigation or water only at soil level. Remove all diseased fruit promptly and don't compost it; fallen and overripe fruit left hanging on branches become disease sources. Pick ripe fruit frequently, handle it carefully to avoid bruising, and cool it immediately after harvest. Avoid dense fertilization that promotes soft growth slow to dry.