Fruit spray help

[Jordan Selsor]

Hey guys
I have a bumper crop on many of my apples, pears, peaches and plums this year. Much of my fruit is getting annihilated by bugs. I'm not interested in doing a full spray regimen but I would like to selectively spray some fruit to get a nice representation of different varieties. Would neem oil be my best option to spray clusters of fruit that appear to be in good shape? I prefer to keep it organic in nature. Or am I to late for this season and just hope for a good clean apple here an there etc... Pears look much better at this point.

I appreciate some direction with this gents

Jordan

 

[SwampCat]

I have not used organic sprays that have been effective on peaches or plums. Maybe on apples?

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Hey guys
I have a bumper crop on many of my apples, pears, peaches and plums this year. Much of my fruit is getting annihilated by bugs. I'm not interested in doing a full spray regimen but I would like to selectively spray some fruit to get a nice representation of different varieties. Would neem oil be my best option to spray clusters of fruit that appear to be in good shape? I prefer to keep it organic in nature. Or am I to late for this season and just hope for a good clean apple here an there etc... Pears look much better at this point.

I appreciate some direction with this gents

Jordan

I think kaolin clay is used by orchards to keep fruit edible. It puts a thin film of clay (dry powder, I believe) to deter bugs from wanting to chew into fruit. I don't know the trade names of products that are basically kaolin clay-based. I've read it's used by commercial orchards because it's non-toxic. Kaolin clay is what's in Kaopectate you take for the trots. Try looking up kaolin clay sprays. Hope this helps.

 

[goatman]

Glad you brought this up Jordan. Was just thinking the same thing. Only I don't care if it's organic or not. Just wanting to see some fruit this fall without damage. Not only for insects but is there a general spray that should be done for golf ball size fruit?

 

[Turkey Creek]

Midwest Fruit Pest Management Guide

ag.purdue.edu

Jordan and all others. This is a great publication and for the money it is a steal. Carbaryl (formerly knows as "Seven") is typically the go to when I feel the need. It is not organic. You do need to be careful though as it can thin apples if sprayed to early.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

Midwest Fruit Pest Management Guide

ag.purdue.edu

Jordan and all others. This is a great publication and for the money it is a steal. Carbaryl (formerly knows as "Seven") is typically the go to when I feel the need. It is not organic. You do need to be careful though as it can thin apples if sprayed to early.

Thanks Chris
I was hoping you would respond!

 

[SwampCat]

The old Bonide fruit tree spray worked great for me - but they changed the formulation and I have not has as good of luck with them. I am in SW AR and we deal with hot humid weather and a fungicide in addition to a pesticide is a must. Right now I am spraying a combination of malathion, spectricide immunox, and captan. I have thought about cutting out the immunox next year - but my first picking of peaches was the cleanest peaches I have ever grown. I tried to grow peaches for years with no spray and never - ever - produced a single mature peach. He first year I started to spray it was like magic

Apples are not as difficult as stone fruits - but down here - they still have their problems in the heat, humidity, and rain. Brown rot will take out every apple you have some years. I own 400 acres along with a lease. I plant food plots for doves, ducks, deer, and turkeys. I have open fields to maintain and miles of trails. Water level maintenance - and more. I spend more time in my orchard than maybe all the rest of that combined. Mowing, pruning, predator control, watering, fencing, etc - after all that work - an hour spraying every two or three weeks seems like a pretty small chore to insure clean fruit.

 

[Barndog56]

I like how you spray it with 3 different poisons every couple of weeks, but then call it 'clean fruit'.

Jordan, the link TC gave you lists all possible sprays for everything that goes wrong. Your first goal should be to determine what insects and diseases your trees actually battle, and then address those. You don't want to use things that aren't needed.

In my opinion you then should weigh the good that comes from those sprays against the damage they do. For instance, I could spray a fungicide to battle apple scab, but how much of the good fungus in my soil is that going to kill? Why not fertilize my tree with cobalt to prevent scab instead?

Or why spray for sooty blotch and fly speck when it washes off the apple, or gets removed when my wife peels them to make applesauce or pies?

Should I spray for coddling months if they only damage 25% of my harvest, when that same spray will kill countless numbers of beneficial insects that I've attracted with my wildflower patch?

How did my parents get away with completely ignoring the couple of apple trees in our yard, but still get tons of apples every year?? Wish those trees were still there to get scions from!

 

[bigboreblr]

Your looking to kill bugs. Organic might seem ok or even safer for you. Check everything out well.

Googles, a 3m mask, and yellow n purple 3m cartridges All can be found at almost any home improvement store. Although not organic, malathion is fast acting, has little residual, and is one of the more safer options to spray. Can be found in most home improvement stores.

I spray with that pretty often. I do spray another once a year and well after bees are interested in the trees. I have numerous orchards in my town, so I probably have more agressive insect issues than others.

Several folks have sprayed with malathion on here with good results. I try to spray monthly starting in late may or early june.

There's a recent thread on here about spraying neem oil on trees with leaves. I use that stuff in the late winter to kill dormant insect eggs on the bark of the tree. If buds are a bit green, I have sprayed without noticeable damage.

Whats your problem there? Aphids, caterpillars? Aphids can be handle with lady bugs. You talk of fruit damage, aphids mostly just beat up the leaves. You see ants, you got aphids.

I have yellow jacket problems here too. You can use bee traps made from soda bottles.

I have known many people to use sevins on almost any kind of fruit, vegetable, or ornamental plant. Thats another pretty safe one for you.

 

[SwampCat]

I like how you spray it with 3 different poisons every couple of weeks, but then call it 'clean fruit'.

Jordan, the link TC gave you lists all possible sprays for everything that goes wrong. Your first goal should be to determine what insects and diseases your trees actually battle, and then address those. You don't want to use things that aren't needed.

In my opinion you then should weigh the good that comes from those sprays against the damage they do. For instance, I could spray a fungicide to battle apple scab, but how much of the good fungus in my soil is that going to kill? Why not fertilize my tree with cobalt to prevent scab instead?

Or why spray for sooty blotch and fly speck when it washes off the apple, or gets removed when my wife peels them to make applesauce or pies?

Should I spray for coddling months if they only damage 25% of my harvest, when that same spray will kill countless numbers of beneficial insects that I've attracted with my wildflower patch?

How did my parents get away with completely ignoring the couple of apple trees in our yard, but still get tons of apples every year?? Wish those trees were still there to get scions from!

“Clean” is an ambiguous word. Planting 40 acres of food plots is a drop in the bucket compared to the time I spend in my orchard. I am not confident at all that my store bought peaches have less “poison” on them than mine do - and more likely worse. I know a guy with a commercial peach orchard and he is spraying worse than me.

Unfortunately, It is definitely a trade off. I would say where I am - do not plant a single fruit tree unless you are willing to spray a dedicated schedule. And spend inordinate effort and money on predator proofing the place - to the point of sitting in the orchard until midnight with a thermal.

There is a reason, Georgia, The Peach State - has almost quit growing commercial peaches - 3% of the total. It is too expensive to grow them their now with the demanding requirements to produce fruit

 

[bigboreblr]

Peaches, spray or don'r plant. Apples, peel and/or cook, or spray. Spray 3 times a year on disease resistant trees, you will have fresh edible fruit. That's outside of the racoons, bears, or squirrels.

Commercial orchards, you get 20-30 apples at most from trees in the corners, You get a hundrred or two or three from a center tree.

Bugs are easy to handle. 4 legged buggers, thats another 5 chapters to the book.

3 or 4 coworkers, all weird about insectidies, go to their place and spray once. Nows they're doing it themselves.

Can't be too nasty if they sell it at home depot in NY in 2025........

 

[bigboreblr]

I used to lifeguard as a kid, a old coworker from there is right down the road from me. Her far mis running that sprayer rig a ton. They do both organic and regular. Organic get more sprayer time......... Science is selective, primitive cultural treatment of orchards throughout the centuries, not so much.....

 

[SwampCat]

Peaches, spray or don'r plant. Apples, peel and/or cook, or spray. Spray 3 times a year on disease resistant trees, you will have fresh edible fruit. That's outside of the racoons, bears, or squirrels.

Commercial orchards, you get 20-30 apples at most from trees in the corners, You get a hundrred or two or three from a center tree.

Bugs are easy to handle. 4 legged buggers, thats another 5 chapters to the book.

3 or 4 coworkers, all weird about insectidies, go to their place and spray once. Nows they're doing it themselves.

Can't be too nasty if they sell it at home depot in NY in 2025........

What brand spray are you using?

 

[bigboreblr]

I use spectracide malathion 50%. Aphids and caterpillars knocks them dead. Japanese beetles seems to work too.

This is for critters eating your leaves or exposed to the insecticide while on the outisde of your tree. Insects inside your fruit, or boring into your tree. Thats where actara takes over. That stuff in the neonicotide stuff. Alot nastier for you. Many many people over the years spray malathion with no protection at all.

For spraying I got a extended wand on a hand sprayer. A pentair 90psi 4gpm pump for the 15 gallon sprayer, and a solo backpack blower / mist sprayer. Think it holds 3 gallons.

When using actara with a mist blower, I do not mess around. I use a 3M PAPR supplied air military hood. I have adapter from 3m's twist cartirdges you get at home depot. I get the organic vapor p100 combo ones. Purple / yellow. I adapted the PAPR to use milwaukee M18 batteries. Nurses / doctor learned to hot rod those things during early days of covid.

 

[bigboreblr]

Fedco in maine touts themselves as organic as well as saint lawrence nurseries in northern NY. Maybe look at those stores. They may have organic pest management tips. Fedco might even sell a book on it.

I remember my early days after high school, working nights at an inn. Several people would come over asking for the juice collection of the smoke vaporizer at the bar. Seems organic folks like using that stuff to kill bugs.......

I use the extended wand and handheld pump jug for 3 year old trees. I use the blower for my few remaining 16-18ft tall trees. MY property was an old apple orchard, got about 4 or 5 left alive enough to produce fruit.

The high pressure pump I really do not use anymore. But, would work fine getting to the tops of most maintained apple trees. Think it could 20-25ft tall. Blower does a much better job of getting under the leaves and evenly covering the tree.

I was on a kick last year to cram my backyard 5 or so acre section full of trees for a pick your own fruit orchard. Leave some real late to ripe stuff in the corner so I can hunt after the orchard was closed. Wife talked me out of it luckily. Be a bit too nutty in the fall at home. Days you just want some peace n quiet after work, and you get none........