Hi,

A couple follow-up questions for you. Did you notice flower buds shriveling and dying this spring, or did the tree set fruit normally? And how much of the tree is affected by this condition?

Also, one of your photo shows webbing in a cluster of browning leaves. Did you see a bug in there?

Thanks!

Thanks for the additional information. I can’t be certain what’s going on here, but one possibility is brown rot.

See this page: https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/brown-rot/

And this: https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/brown-rot-stone-fruit

Note that you should prune out the damage on a dry day, cut well below the infected area and sterilize your pruners between every cut. Undiluted Lysol or Lysol Household Cleaner is an easy product to use, or you can also dip pruners in a 10 percent bleach solution.

Another possibility suggested by the location of these branches on one side of the tree is that this might be damage from hail. Either way, you can remove the damaged branches as if the tree has brown rot and see what happens next.

If the canopy is dense, next winter or early in the spring consider thinning the interior of the tree to increase air circulation. Good fall cleanup, raking up fallen fruit and leaves, also is important.

I hope this helps. Good luck.