zxcvbob wrote:

sherwindu wrote:
I don't know what part of the planet you live in, but in the Midwest
here, the yellow jackets can sometimes be a big problem. Haven't
seen many this year, but previously, they went after my peaches. I
had one good sting when I tried to pick up a fallen peach on the
ground, and it took a lot of antihistamine to quiet that one down.

EV also doesn't seem to be growing fruit, or she would not be so
complacent about apple maggots, plum curcullio's, etc. The only time
I stop spraying is when the blossoms are out, since I don't want to
kill my pollinators (bees).

Sherwin

I didn't spray the cherry tree at all this year and the insect and brown
rot loss wasn't that bad -- less than what I lost to the robins.

I live in Southern Minnesota (there's an oxymoron for ya) and the
curcullios and apple maggots are awful here.

Bob,

Try telling that to Rat Lady, who thinks everyone has the same
environment as her Washington home. I believe Apple Maggots,
for one, are predominantly found East of the Rocky Mountains.

I don't spray anything
until after 100% petal drop out of respect for the bees; they're having
a tough time here with the mites. I didn't spray any fungicides this
year and it shows, but a little scab on the apples doesn't hurt
anything. I stopped spraying in July (out of laziness) and was afraid
the apple maggots would ruin everything, but diligent clean-up of fallen
apples last year seems to have paid off. In the past, some years even
with spraying the apple maggots have totally destroyed my crop.

Did you use an effective spray like Imidan? That one really works on
apple maggots, but it is not available to the home orchardist anymore.
If
you can locate a supply of it (farmers can still get it), give it a try.



I would love to get to where insects and disease could be controlled
with just a dormant oil spray before the buds break, followed by
Integrated Pest Management (with a sprayer of malathion standing by,
unused, just in case of emergency.) I don't know if IPM works here or
if the insect load is just too high. I think proper orchard hygiene,
traps, and minimal spraying whenever the traps show a high insect
population might be more effective and more ecological than prophylactic
spraying every 10 days and every time it rains.

My experience is that by waiting too long between spraying, say over one
month,
problems develop. Most years I average about every three weeks. I
missed one
apple tree( Cox's Orange Pippen) on one of my three week cycles, and the
tree
is now showing signs of attack. The leaves are turning prematurely
yellow with
brown spots, and the fruit is being attacked. It may be a coincidence,
but I suspect
the pests found a window of opportunity.

Sherwin D.



Bob