In article ,
zxcvbob wrote:

Bill Rose wrote:
In article ,
zxcvbob wrote:


I don't see anything wrong with occasionally using small amounts of
chemicals, where they are biodegraded rather than running off or soaking
into the ground water.

Bob

Never hurts to see if there is a better way. IPM. Just check it out.
- Bill
Coloribus gustibus non disputatum (mostly)


I'm headed that way, slowly, with my apples. Been reading up on IPM. I
pick up all the drops every year and pull off any "mummies" in the
winter. Gonna try using red sticky traps this year. But I don't see
how I can avoid one dose of diazinon in July (otherwise the apple
maggots will ruin every single one), and one or two sprayings with
fungicide in the spring. That's still better than the 6 or 8 sprayings
that the Extension Service recommends. I stop spraying by the end of
July and it's OK if the bugs get a few in August, they won't have time
to ruin them all.

My neighbor has a sickly mature apple tree and just lets them rot, so
good hygiene with my tree doesn't help all /that/ much. I've got new
neighbors living there this year, maybe they'll either take care of
their tree or cut it down.

Bob

It is a heck of a deal. By nature, most of us just want to kick-back and
enjoy the fruits of our labors but it seems that there is always a
learning curve waiting around the next corner. Maybe in the course of a
conversation, you could mention to your new neighbors, how you take care
of your tree.
- Bill
Coloribus gustibus non disputatum (mostly)