Hi, I'm a new home orchardist and I think I might have Alternaria Blotch. At least that's the best guess I can come up with from looking at identification pictures online. I have roundish/irregular rust colored blotches all over my leaves. I have three trees espaliered style and my Coxes Orange Pippin is worse than the others (a Spitzenberg and a Gravenstein). What can I do to help this tree out? It was looking very healthy and growing great foliage up until this last month. I did not notice these spots until this last month and I look at my trees a lot. I'm still in the training phase of my espaliers (secpmd season of growth) and I'm afraid this will damage my growth this year.
Is there something I can to do help it out now? I prefer organic methods but will go more extreme if I have to. Is there something I can do for the future? Unfortunately, nothing I found online told me what I could do in language I could understand. Can anyone help?
I find this website very useful; http://plant-disease.ippc.orst...../index.cfm. If you live around the Portland, OR area, take a few samples to Portland Nursery at 5050 SE Powell; they are very helpful in identifying and finding treatments for diseases.
Thanks so much for the link. I'll keep it in my bookmarks. I think I must not be as smart as the internet, because when I went to the site I clicked on the Diseases Book Icon and it lead me to an intro to the web book but there was no links or anything that I could find to help me figure out my problem. I'll try it again later. I live in Newberg and rarely get to Portland and I'm afraid that will too late for my tree. I think I'll call One Green World where I bought the trees. Thanks again!
I use compost tea for diseases. It's 100% organic. Works like a charm.
Those are three of the hardest apples to keep healthy. Don't get me wrong. I love gourmet, flavorful, heirloom apples and I am growing all three of those, but they are among the most disease ridden of all apples.
John S
PDX OR
Wow, John S. thanks for the heads up on my three high maintenance trees. Of course being a newbie I had no idea and they don't really tell you these things in the catalogs. At least I only have three 
I really appreciate the compost tea suggestion. Do you spray directly on the trees or on the ground around them? Can you apply it now or do I need to wait till fall? How often do I apply it and at what strength? Clearly I'm new to this but I love my trees and I love learning new things. Again thanks for the help. I've really not been able to find too much info on this. Do you recommend any books for newbies?
Compost Tea Manual by Elaine Ingham, world's most famous soil scientist.
Check out yahoo groups forum on compost tea:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/g.....a/messages
You can spray now. Most effective for aereated tea is when the leaves are on. You can destroy disease and increase, not kill healthy soil food web.
Spray on the leaves. I would bet that Portland Nursery carries some or Naomi's Organic place in Sellwood. Only buy it if it is actively brewing.
I am able to grow many things that are disease prone (for example, those apples) because I make my own compost tea.
Depending on the size of your yard, you could dilute it, but only with water that has had chlorine and chloramine removed (just by adding compost is easiest way).
John s
PDX OR
Some people have used a product called "Serenade". It's organic and it helps the tree fight against diseases. It's not cheap , but you don't have to use much each time and it lasts a long time I hear.
I have never used it because I make compost tea, which I am making right at this moment.
John S
PDX OR
How long does the compost tea work? What type of sprayer do you use to spread it? I was looking at these hypro spray guns, would these work? Is it something that you should reapply every year or just use it to get rid of diseases on the tree? Also how is alternaria blotch spread? Is it spread from tree to tree through the air or do birds carry it and spread it from tree to tree?
Idyllwild
simplepress
jafar
Marsha H
Viron
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