June Apple Pictures

[MA VT Flatlander]

Liberty, Yellow Delecious, Crimson Gold, Galarina, and Braeburn.

 

[2ndHand]

Looking good - what root stock(s) are you using and what zone are you locating in - Keep up the good work...;)

 

[Maya]

Nice MaVt!

 

[MA VT Flatlander]

Very nice looking apples. What are the plastic cups for?

Apple maggot fly traps. Red solo cups coated with Tanglefoot, Tangle Trap Coating. I found the red solo cups works just as well as the round apple spheres you buy. The flies don't care if it's round or a red solo cup. Two solo cups taped together with a wire hanger worka good for me.http://www.uvm.edu/~fruit/treefruit...rchives/2013/VermontAppleIPMAlert06182013.pdf

 

[MA VT Flatlander]

Looking good - what root stock(s) are you using and what zone are you locating in - Keep up the good work...;)

Most of the Libertys are M 111 or B118, I have one on M106. Galarina are on B118. Enterprise on m111. Massachusetts zone 5 but I am in a frost pocket here so more like zone 4.

 

[greyphase]

Thanks for sharing pics of your beautiful orchard. It gives some of us something to strive for :).

 

[Lot2Learn]

Those are really good looking trees! I hope others will post some pictures as well.

I notice that you've left limbs 'below cage height'; are you planning to leave the trees caged forever, or will you 'limb them up' in the future?

 

[tooln]

Lookin good.

 

[2ndHand]

Most of the Libertys are M 111 or B118, I have one on M106. Galarina are on B118. Enterprise on m111. Massachusetts zone 5 but I am in a frost pocket here so more like zone 4.

Have you noticed measurable difference between the Liberty on M111 and B118? Thanks for your feed back...;)

 

[MM Ryan]

How often, and what are you spraying MA VT? It looks like you can see the residue on the leaves.

Your trees look great, very impressive.

 

[Native Hunter]

That is a first class apple orchard!

 

[MA VT Flatlander]

Those are really good looking trees! I hope others will post some pictures as well.

I notice that you've left limbs 'below cage height'; are you planning to leave the trees caged forever, or will you 'limb them up' in the future?

Cages will come down in a couple years.

 

[MA VT Flatlander]

Those are really good looking trees! I hope others will post some pictures as well.

I notice that you've left limbs 'below cage height'; are you planning to leave the trees caged forever, or will you 'limb them up' in the future?

Cages will come down in a couple years.

How often, and what are you spraying MA VT? It looks like you can see the residue on the leaves.

Your trees look great, very impressive.

Spraying with Captain and Imidan. I use Apple Mans spray schedule .
A spraying schedule made easy is to spray a mix of Imidan and Captan (2 tablespoons per gallon of water) at tight cluster to first pink, no sprayingduring bloom, 2nd cover spray at 90% petal fall, and then 7 to 10 days until July 1st. Then, every 10 to 14 days for the month of July. Most of
the major insect damage occurs during this period. A continued spraying program after this time is necessary to grow high quality fruit. But for
wildlife apple tree plots should prove satisfactory. Its best to keep it as simple as possible. I'm sure you will get more advice, but you need
to decide how much time and money you are willing to invest.

Source: Bill Mayo (Apple Man - Vermont)

 

[MM Ryan]

I have been using the Captan and Imidan mix also. I try to follow the Apple Man schedule as much as possible too. The rain has made it really difficult. I bought the 5 pound WP Imidan bag. Not sure if others have experienced this but mixing the Imidan using 2 tablespoons from a 5 pound bag is such a pain. Not to mention handling the Imidan is almost sickening. I wear gloves, mask and long clothing and it's still challenge handling the powder. The smell alone can make you sick! It would be nice if there was a pre-mixed Captan and Imidan product ready to use. Or something similar and as effective. My trees are too large for Sevins, and Bonide concentrate is useless IMO. Anyways, sorry for the rant. Your orchard is very nice and well maintained, looks great.

 

[Maya]

MM, no question what you just wrote is true. Just always remember the label is the law and proper protective gear is talked about on the label for a reason. Always wear a mask especially when mixing! I have to go by about a two acre rate when mixing my sprays. So in one way it's easy to plunk in a bag in the hopper, but when they do dissolve the dry powder tends to poof up, so it's critical to use a mask. Try and watch the wind too when mixing. I have gotten a whiff of Imidan before and it made me very ill, severe stomach pains. Please be careful and always use a mask. Once you do it enough, it's just another little chore and no big deal.

Be happy guys, with the hail damage I had my crop production rep has me spraying fungicides every week right now to keep the trees from getting black rot!

Great idea w/ the fly trap MaVt. What are you seeing for pests? I saw one apple with European Apple Saw Fly damage in my tall spindle orchard and a lot of damage by them at an unsprayed orchard at the farm I hunt. Never seen them so bad here.

 

[huntall]

nice orchard!

 

[MA VT Flatlander]

MM, no question what you just wrote is true. Just always remember the label is the law and proper protective gear is talked about on the label for a reason. Always wear a mask especially when mixing! I have to go by about a two acre rate when mixing my sprays. So in one way it's easy to plunk in a bag in the hopper, but when they do dissolve the dry powder tends to poof up, so it's critical to use a mask. Try and watch the wind too when mixing. I have gotten a whiff of Imidan before and it made me very ill, severe stomach pains. Please be careful and always use a mask. Once you do it enough, it's just another little chore and no big deal.

Be happy guys, with the hail damage I had my crop production rep has me spraying fungicides every week right now to keep the trees from getting black rot!

Great idea w/ the fly trap MaVt. What are you seeing for pests? I saw one apple with European Apple Saw Fly damage in my tall spindle orchard and a lot of damage by them at an unsprayed orchard at the farm I hunt. Never seen them so bad here.

Maya. not seeing any European Apple Saw Fly damage here. What I am seeing in the last few days ,are aphids or mites not sure wich, on the under side of leaves on the ends of new shoots. They just look like tiny specks on the back side of the leave. Not sure what to do about it.

Have you noticed measurable difference between the Liberty on M111 and B118? Thanks for your feed back...;)

What I noticed is trees on B118 appear to grow faster . I planted Liberty on B118 last year that were just whips and this year there 6' tall and feathering out well. Galarina on B118 I planted in 2011 are the fastest growing trees I have growth is insane.

 

[Maya]

Aphids. If they are on less than 30-40% of the new leaves don't worry. If you see them on most of the new leaves you will probably need to spray malathion. Next spring make sure you hit the trees with dormant oil. There are some better pesticides for them but I think they are prohibited in most states without an applicators license.
I've got some right now but they are only on about 4-5% of the leaves, I'm not going to do anything.

 

[MA VT Flatlander]

This is the first year I haven't really seen any aphids yet. Usually by this time, my trees are loaded with them.

Did you spray them or just not bother?

 

[MM Ryan]

Hey Maya, glad you confirmed the experience trying to mix Imidan and Captan. I figured it wasn't just me, but thought I may be missing something from more experienced guys that spray. I just use a 4-gallon Solo back pack sprayer so I have to mix more than I'd like.. You said it exactly right, for those that haven't dealt with these chemicals, make sure you wear gloves and a mask. Imidan especially is some nasty stuff!

My biggest pest on apple trees have been Japanese Beetles. These suckers can hammer a tree so quickly it's insane. Hoping this year on more of a routine spraying schedule, the damage may be more controlled. Other than Jap Beetles, I have not seen a ton of other real pest concerns.