Fruit Tree He11 Has Started

[bigboreblr]

Curious when folks are done spraying for the year? Also, anybody see less insects after a few years of spraying?

Japanese beetles were very mild this year. June bugs were about normal, but not many on the apple trees. Aphids seem about normal. Caterpillars seem a bit light. Sprayed winter oil in march. Mid may, mid june, and right after 4th of july with malathion. Might spray next week with immacloprid.

Anybody spray in september? Anybody do a fall neem oil? Got to see what's good for scab and CAR. I do have to spray saturn peaches for the peach leaf curl fungus sometime in the fall. MAybe copper sprays might be good for a variety or two that gets CAR.

 

[bigbendmarine]

Sure feel your pain, SwampCat.

Think I'd have to clone myself 3 times to run 24/7 shifts to get much protection from my fruit plantings. Regularly lose the vast majority of my pears, crab apples, figs, peaches, satsumas, and muscadines to squirrels, possums, crows, hornets, and this year these... one sow mama bear took down over 30 limbs from 8 different pear trees, with one fairly productive tree reduced to a single Charlie Brown Christmas tree-like leader branch. Only way I stopped her from tearing down limbs was knocking down EVERY pear down off of EVERY tree. If you don't have bears, can at least take some solace in that...