Zootal wrote:
Here is yet another apple tree question. My old apple tree has a bazillion
apples on it. Question: Exactly what do I do to it to keep worms from eating
the apples? Every year, almost every apple has one or more worms in it. Is
there a spray that can be safely used? And - here is the important question
that I haven't found an answer to - exactly how do I go about applying it,
IE what equipment do I need? This tree is 30-40 feet tall, and 30+ feet
across, it's quite large. My wife bought me a hand sprayer (bless her soul
LOL), but it isn't quite up to the task. How do I spray a huge apple tree?


Your biggest problem is the size of this tree. It makes netting and
other similar measures impractical. If you are crazy about the taste of
this apple, you can preserve it by grafting it to another tree or
rootstock. What ever you do, if you replace this tree, do it with a
dwarfed version that you can more easily handle. I have several dwarf
apple trees and have been able to almost eliminate spraying by covering
the fruit with ziplock bags as it emerges. I still have to do the
dormant oil spray and possibly one insecticide spray before petal
emergence. Covering all your apples may be impractical however. If you
have an apple maggot or codling moth problem, I have found that Diazonon
aka Imidan or Sevin works on them. Sticky traps will slow them down,
but they are expensive. I make my own sticky traps with plastic balls
coated with red foil and Tanglefoot. Stopping Apple Maggots and Codling
Moths is very tricky as you have to spray in a short window when they
emerge as flying adult insects. Commercial guys do fancy things with
degree day calculations to figure when this happens and also carefully
monitor traps to decide the best time to spray them. As home growers,
we can only hit them very week or so to hopefully get them at the
correct time. As flying adults, you should be able to knock them out
with something like Sevin. Plum Curculio is another pest that attacks
apples. The ONLY thing that will kill them is Diazonon.

So I recommend removing your old tree. Replace it with a dwarf tree.
Cover the fruits you value with bags or these 'footsie' nylon socks. I
think those are your best choices.

Sherwin