Does Anybody Have An Apple Orchard Spray Program?

[HillStreet]

I have a small orchard and am having trouble with bugs on my apples. I did spray NEEM oil, captan, and Fruit Tree Spray. I read about an IPM Integtated Pest Management program but I am too small for that? when I see bugs it痴 usually too late to spray them. What do orchardists do?

 

[MossRoad]

First, identify the bug.

 

[HillStreet]

Moss, some of these bugs are microscopic. I cannot see them, and when I do it is too late. Sprays have to be the right chemical at the right time and the right intervals.

 

[Fuddy1952]

I have some fruit trees also. I got some wisdom years ago from a local orchard. Either start an orchard or just buy from one. By the time you buy all the sprays necessary it's less expensive to just buy the fruit. When I do get apples, peaches and pears the deer, groundhogs, birds etc. get them first.

 

[Deere Dude]

How often I sprayed made a big difference. I only have 15 trees or so but a few years ago I followed directions on the Bonide Fruit Free Spray bottle which said to spray once after the pedals fall and then late in the season. That is how I interpreted to instructions anyway. It seemed I had bugs galore all season.

This year I waited until the pedals fell and the bees were done with their pollinating and I sprayed, and then every week after that. Worked for me. I am still looking for answers also. Maybe Fuddy1952 had it right in that it would be cheaper to just buy the fruit, but that's not how I do things, or I would not have a garden either.

 

[HillStreet]

I have 8 acres of apple trees, it is not for my consumption. I will sell them.

 

[MossRoad]

Moss, some of these bugs are microscopic. I cannot see them, and when I do it is too late. Sprays have to be the right chemical at the right time and the right intervals.

... and if you don't know which pest you're dealing with, you may spray at the wrong time.

If you read the instructions on, say, Bonide fruit tree spray, and you want to use it on apples, it lists 6 stages of when to spray, but it specifically says to never spray apples more than two (2) times per year. So you have to pick the two best times to spray, based on the specific pests you intend to deal with.

 

[MossRoad]

I have 8 acres of apple trees, it is not for my consumption. I will sell them.

Well, then, just spray the heck out of them and don't be concerned with the amount of poison you're dosing them with....

Just kidding. But really, you need to determine the pests you're dealing with so you can spray proper dosing at the correct time.

 

[rgr33]

I live pretty far from you HillStreet, but this is what I do with my fruit trees. I have 36 trees, including pear, apple, peach, plum, and nuts

Fruit trees have two major enemies, insects, and fungus, to combat fungal disease (leaf curl, rust, etc) you must start spraying in Dec- Jan, to kill overwintering spores. I use lime-sulphur at that time, 2 sprays, one in Dec, and one in Jan.
When fruit is set in spring, I use only captan for a fungal spray, applied every 2 weeks. I have experimented with other fungicides in the past, and done more harm than good.

For an insecticide, I have settled on Sevin. It works well on ants, earwigs and other pests.I do not spray any insecticide until blossoming is finished, and bees have moved on. As with the fungicide, I spray every 2 weeks, and yes, you can combine the 2 in one tank. I used to use bug traps to alerting me to when I
Harmful insects are present, but I find them to be hit and miss here.

This is what I have been doing over the past several years, and the results have been good. Before this program, it seemed like it was always one problem or another denying me the best fruit I could grow.

 

[HillStreet]

Rgr33, thanks for that info. In two years that I’ve been spraying it starts out good, then I get plum curculio and apple scab, followed by coddling moth. I don’t see the bugs but the away guys tell me what it is. It’s too late then, the crop is pretty much ruined.