Sooty blotch and Flyspeck: Sooty blotch and flyspeck are surface blemish diseases that commonly appear together on apple or pear in late summer and fall. Although these diseases may shorten the storage life of fruit due to increased water loss, they do not cause decay, and losses are attributed to unacceptable appearance. During wet growing seasons, losses of 25 percent or more are commonly found even in orchards treated with fungicides.

Management: The diseases are managed exclusively by fungicides, and the effectiveness of the fungicide program may be improved, in some years, by orchard sanitation. Removing reservoir hosts, especially brambles, from the orchard and surrounding hedgerows helps reduce the amount of inoculum from external sources, but in wet years this practice alone is not adequate for disease control. Some cultural practices may help reduce the severity of sooty blotch and flyspeck. These include dormant and summer pruning to open up the tree canopy and thinning to separate fruit clusters. In addition to facilitating the drying of fruit after rain or dew, these practices favor better spray coverage and improve fruit quality. Both diseases are difficult to control in orchards with restricted air movement.