Can anybody recommend an organic spray for apple trees with a schedule? I maintain orchard bees so that is a concern also. The neighbors on both side of me each have a huge standard apple tree witch is not pruned or maintained in any way. They are havens for insects so I must spray often. I try to adhere to organic principals in my garden but if I want any useable apples I must spray. Any help would be appreciated.
John
Hi John,
I have used Aerobic compost tea spray, and it worked very well up until 2007. The problem is that Portland started putting a new chemical in the water supply instead of just chlorine. Chlorine wafts out of water left for one day, but the new one (choramine?) stays permanently in the water. I sprayed my compost tea, but now it is just dirty water, because the chloramine kills all of the good bugs in the aerobic compost tea spray.
I am going to try this year in the Spring with rain water. If you want to purchase it, I've heard that Willamette ORganics is a brand with good quality. Make sure it is fresh. Preferably still bubbling when you buy it.
John S
PDX OR
these are some trade names:
Cyd-X is the granulosis virus that targets codling moth specifically. timing is crucial, and relies on trapping to establish a "biofix" date for the moths, and then reliance on an internet computer model that tracks degree days based on your local weather data to time your sprays. here is the link for the degree day model: [url:3vc9lvg2]http://pnwpest.org/cgi-bin/ddmodel.pl?clm[/url:3vc9lvg2]
Surround is a clay spray that protects apples from bugs by masking them - so bugs don't lay eggs on the fruit surfaces. also helps with sunscald.
Trilogy is a neem oil product listed for (soft) insects, and as a summer fungicide.
it's hard to just give out spray schedules. a big part of IPM and organic spraying is timing the sprays to the life cycles of your pests, so that you can spray once or twice at the right time, rather than 5 times when you think something might be going on. figuring out how to use the online degree day models has helped me understand better when to spray.
good luck,
karen
To successfully grow apples organically one must recognize that the limited number of organically approved insect and disease control chemicals that are available leave them particularly susceptible to two major insect pests, Plum Curculio and Apple Maggot since no real good organic controls have been devised for these insects.
Major diseases of apples can be controlled but require many frequent sprays particularly from silver tip to 4 weeks after petal fall.
Disease control should concentrate on Apple Scab and Powdery Mildew since they can reduce crop dramatically and even cause near total leaf loss.Controlling Scab and Mildew early in the season will insure little or no problem later in the year unless your neighbor's trees are heavily infected. Better yet, plant scab resistant apples.
Begin your control program as soon as you see green in the apple buds. For the rains occurring prior to when the green tissue is ½ inch long copper or lime sulfur can be used either just ahead of the rain or within 48 hours of the start of the rain. Copper should be discontinued at ½ inch green tip or russetting of the fruit will result. Sulfur is applied every 3 to 5 days or prior to every rain from ½ inch green tip until 4 weeks after petal fall. If you cannot spray prior to a rain, use lime sulfur within 48 hours of the start of the rain. For summer disease control and if you have Scab infected leaves 4 weeks after petal fall you should continue sulfur sprays on a 2 week interval until harvest or the end of August whichever comes first. Spray until leaves are dripping. Leaves which fall from the tree should be mowed or removed and composted since the scab fungus overwinters in fallen leaves. Powdery Mildew overwinters in infected buds.
[quote="arboretum":2640yj7q]these are some trade names:
Cyd-X is the granulosis virus that targets codling moth specifically. timing is crucial, and relies on trapping to establish a "biofix" date for the moths, and then reliance on an internet computer model that tracks degree days based on your local weather data to time your sprays. here is the link for the degree day model: [url:2640yj7q]http://pnwpest.org/cgi-bin/ddmodel.pl?clm[/url:2640yj7q]
Surround is a clay spray that protects apples from bugs by masking them - so bugs don't lay eggs on the fruit surfaces. also helps with sunscald.
Trilogy is a neem oil product listed for (soft) insects, and as a summer fungicide.
it's hard to just give out spray schedules. a big part of IPM and organic spraying is timing the sprays to the life cycles of your pests, so that you can spray once or twice at the right time, rather than 5 times when you think something might be going on. figuring out how to use the online degree day models has helped me understand better when to spray.
good luck,
karen[/quote:2640yj7q]
Actually, Bruner and Jones have redone the Codling Moth model in th elast year so that it doesn't require a biofix any longer. Cool stuff actually...
I would recomend visiting [url:2640yj7q]http://das.wsu.edu/[/url:2640yj7q] for ideas on organic control.
Idyllwild
simplepress
jafar
Marsha H
Viron
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