I agree. If the tree is truly large and there is dead wood then it is best to remove
the tree. Clean up the area very well. Then find a very very good apple tree
supplier that is SPECIFIC for your area and plant apples on dwarfing rootstock. It
is very important to get the right rootstock for your area. Forget Starks and other
"magazine" suppliers. in the same area you could have a whole orchard of different
varieties that ripen at different times.

1. you will need to stake dwarfed apples cause the size of the apples are normal and
will pull the tree over.

2. you will need to be on a spray schedule anyway. but do look for rust and other
resistant varieties if you dont have a favorite variety.

Ingrid

On Sun, 15 Jun 2008 14:24:46 -0500, zxcvbob wrote:
"Organically grown" apples is a nice concept, but it doesn't really work
unless you are just making cider. There's something called "Integrated
Pest Management" that can greatly reduce the amount of pesticides that
you use. It mostly involves good orchard hygiene and continual
monitoring for pests so you spray at precisely the right time instead of
spraying prophylactically.

Bob

On Jun 15, 12:49 am, Charlie wrote:
On Sat, 14 Jun 2008 22:14:21 -0500, zxcvbob
wrote:

I spray with diazanon
Bob

Note to Self...."Skip Bob's house at Halloween."

Diazinon was banned in 2004- for very good reasons.

If you're still using stock from before then, it's likely degraded
quite a bit.

http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsh...-factsheet.htm

Chris

A Haa.. Good i dea.

On Jun 15, 12:24 pm, zxcvbob wrote:
Zootal wrote:
"SteveB" toquerville@zionvistas wrote in message
...

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?

Many worms lay their eggs in the flowers, and the worms eat their way OUT
of the apple. Noting can be done after the fruit sets.

Steve

So am I basically SOL? Is it too late for this years crop?

Of all of the worms that typically infest apples, how many are already
there, and how many can I prevent by spraying?

If diazanon is evil, what are the alternatives?

Check with your county agent (remember Mr. Kimball on "Green Acres"?) or
your state agricultural extension service web site. They should have a
spray schedule for apples for your area. Early sprays are for fungal
diseases and apple curculio. Summer sprays are for "apple maggots".

Here in Minnesota, the serious damage is done by apple maggots, in mid-
to late-summer. (that's why I switch to Diazanon in the summer, it is
more persistent than Sevin or Malathion)

The pest that aggrivates me the most is a new one; Asian lady beetles.
After the first frost when most of the other small insects are gone for
the year, the ALB's attack my apples.

"Organically grown" apples is a nice concept, but it doesn't really work
unless you are just making cider. There's something called "Integrated
Pest Management" that can greatly reduce the amount of pesticides that
you use. It mostly involves good orchard hygiene and continual
monitoring for pests so you spray at precisely the right time instead of
spraying prophylactically.

Bob


Definitely check with your extension agent. Not only for help on
controls, but some areas REQUIRE pest management of home trees and
orchards. I live in a significant apple growing region and in an
attempt to reduce the pest population in the area, any homeowners
failing to "maintain" their trees will find themselves slapped with a
fine. On the flip-side, they've recently started a program where for
each apple tree you allow them to cut down (they will happily do it,
saving you the labor), they will provide two boxes of apples each
year, of the variety of your choice, for the next 10 years... and yes,
there are organic apples available.

Cheers!

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

For 50 years I have just been eating the caterpillars in naturally grown
apples, with no apparent ill effect.

================================================== ===========================
"Sherwin" wrote in message
. ..
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