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Fruit Pests and spraying
Got "The Fruit Expert" by Dr. DG Hessayon to help me look after the
recently planted apples, raspberries, gooseberries and blueberries. Am ALARMED at the number of pests and diseases I shall be facing! It seems the birds will eat everything, although the apples might escape. But he prescribes spraying the apples at SIX specific times during the year. Is it really that grim or is the good Doctor something of a pessimist? (He does a vegetable book as well but I don't think I dare even look at it in the shop!) Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com |
#2
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Fruit Pests and spraying
In article , Steve
Harris writes Got "The Fruit Expert" by Dr. DG Hessayon to help me look after the recently planted apples, raspberries, gooseberries and blueberries. Am ALARMED at the number of pests and diseases I shall be facing! It seems the birds will eat everything, although the apples might escape. The birds will eat any apples that fall, or that you leave on the tree too late. But you won't find them a problem. On the plus side, the birds will et an awful lot of greenfly and other pests. Gooseberries get gooseberry sawfly, which strips all the leaves. Doesn't seem to worry the plants overmuch though. But he prescribes spraying the apples at SIX specific times during the year. Is it really that grim or is the good Doctor something of a pessimist? I don't spray mine at all. OK, they're not the healthiest trees in the world, but the apples are OK and the crops are good. And it's the heck of a lot less bother! It's very difficult to spray against harmful organisms and avoid killing some goodies as well, My experience has been that, after several years of not spraying, the pests are becoming less and less troublesome. -- Kay Easton Edward's earthworm page: http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/garden/ |
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Fruit Pests and spraying
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Fruit Pests and spraying
Steve Harris wrote in message ... Got "The Fruit Expert" by Dr. DG Hessayon to help me look after the recently planted apples, raspberries, gooseberries and blueberries. Am ALARMED at the number of pests and diseases I shall be facing! It seems the birds will eat everything, although the apples might escape. But he prescribes spraying the apples at SIX specific times during the year. Is it really that grim or is the good Doctor something of a pessimist? No, it isn't generally that grim and you don't generally need to spray 6 times per year. In many cases you can get away without spraying at all. However, fruit is a highly attractive thing to eat for wildlife as well as us, and some fruits have been highly bred for taste, leaving them more vulnerable to diseases than their wild counterparts. They're also a permanent crop, so you can't easily reduce the pest count by replanting the next year in a different place as you do with veggies. I'd suggest that you try without spraying initially, and you patiently assess any problems you get- use Hessayon's book as a guide if you get problems. Be aware that apples etc seem to me to be more vulnerable to problems in their first couple of years. It may well be that your experience will depend on the varieties you've chosen. In my garden Cox & possibly Greensleeves have not been able to yield a crop, so they are coming out as I don't want to bother spraying, and the same applies to my Comice pear. have fun -- Anton |
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Fruit Pests and spraying
Kay Easton wrote:
: Steve Harris writes :Am ALARMED at the number of pests and diseases I shall be facing! It :seems the birds will eat everything, although the apples might escape. ......... : Gooseberries get gooseberry sawfly, which strips all the leaves. Doesn't : seem to worry the plants overmuch though. Depends. There can often be a couple of generations of sawfly - if your goosegog is stripped bare early on, it can affect them. I've had goosegogs stripped, and had a rest on the following year from fruiting. :But he prescribes spraying the apples at SIX specific times during the :year. : :Is it really that grim or is the good Doctor something of a pessimist? : I don't spray mine at all. OK, they're not the healthiest trees in the : world, but the apples are OK and the crops are good. And it's the heck : of a lot less bother! Heartily agree with Kay. You do have to be vigilant thought. Checking for sawfly, and other infestations very regularly and manually removing. Also for apples and pears I find you have to be eternally vigilant for canker and similar and cut out infected branches promptly. But then there's nothing like having a good idle potter round the garden, secateurs in hand - not exactly arduous, and very relaxing! : It's very difficult to spray against harmful organisms and avoid killing : some goodies as well, My experience has been that, after several years : of not spraying, the pests are becoming less and less troublesome. I've read that older gooseberry bushes are less susceptable to sawfly than newer bushes! Jim |
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