Sunscald
Risk near you, next 48h
See whether your local forecast favours this disease right now.
When it strikes
About
Sunscald is a physiological injury to fruit and bark from intense sun and heat, common on tomatoes, peppers and apples when foliage is thin from pruning, disease or defoliation.
Symptoms
Pale, papery, blistered or sunken bleached patches on the sun-exposed side of fruit that may later rot; on tree trunks, cracked, sunken dead bark on the south-west side.
Organic Treatment
Maintain healthy leaf cover for shade, use shade cloth in heatwaves, and avoid heavy pruning that exposes fruit. Paint young tree trunks white to reflect sun.
Chemical Treatment
Not applicable — sunscald is environmental and managed culturally, not chemically.
Prevention
Avoid over-pruning, control leaf diseases that cause defoliation, provide afternoon shade in hot climates, and whitewash exposed trunks.