What is brown rot?
Brown rot is a fungal disease of tree fruit, caused by the fungi Monilinia laxa and M. fructigena. The two fungi are very closely related and indistinguishable to the naked eye. M. laxa more commonly causes blossom wilt on pears and stone fruit, and a specific form, M. laxa f. sp. mali is restricted to apples. M. fructigena can cause brown rot in most fruit trees.
Many fruit trees and their ornamental varities are affected, including apples, pears, plums, cherries, nectarines, peaches and apricots.
Rotting fruit are found from mid-summer onwards.