Hello everyone. I am considering spraying my trees this year for Plum Curculio and other pests. Some of my trees I think will bear their first good crop and I don’t want to be lazy and ruin my shot at a good harvest.
I hesitate to use synthetic insecticides because I keep bees in my small property. I have two hives within 8-50ft of any one of my trees.
I have read Alan Haighs spray schedule as well as Scott F Smith. Is triazide considered the best beginner spray for the Northeastern states? I am in NE Ohio.
I am not opposed to using insecticides if you guys think utilizing good practice can mitigate most risk to my bees. I just want good fruit without killing my bees.
Whatever you decide to spray with my best advice is to spay at night when there’s no pollinators.
Also you shouldn’t be spray anything that still have petals on so there shouldn’t be a risk.
Does anyone have product suggestions? I am considering Sevin liquid, Triazide, and Immunox.
I also have Ortho Garden Disease Control which is chlorothalonil. I know there are limits on the chlorothalonil especially for stonefruits, but I figured an early spray with that and then Immunox later might be a good option for alternating to avoid resistance issues…and I would just like to use it up.
I also have liquid copper as well. As far as what each of these products really targets I’m not so certain. I would think the copper would be an early season spray for Peach Leaf Curl, as well as maybe CAR and Apple Scab?
This is pyrethrin. It is organic. It is not persistent. Use it at dusk on first warm evening after petal fall for plum curculios on apples. It’s largely gone by the following midday, so pollinator exposure to it is minimal. I believe it’s effective, but timing is everything. Note that commercial packages do not list curculio, but a couple of university sites about curculio do list pyrethrin.
Immunox is good for most disease, but some are immune. Daconil seems to pick up the slack for me. I would not use triazicide on anything after the blooms pop. Good for apples and pears because they leaf out before they flower. That gives you a brief window between when the insect eggs become vulnerable, and when spraying it might toxify your flowers and/or fruit. Captan won’t poison the fruit and is good right after petal fall; but can burn fruits and leaves if there is any oil/wax on them. That tends to make apples and plums vulnerable. Malathion smells awful, but is less dangerous than Triazicide.
Once the flowers have set fruit, you will want to use the liquid Sevin. It is not the same as Sevin dust, or the old liquid Sevin. Permethrin based, if I spelled that right.
Follow the instructions, because Daconil can not be sprayed on all trees at all times. I use Immunox as a generic disease treatment, and Daconil for what Immunox does not kill. Copper spray for Autumn/Winter.
I hear that Surround is a good organic choice, but requires an investment when compared to the other options.
As far as curculio goes, it may not exist in my neighborhood yet. My neighborhood has rather vanilla taste in landscaping. If it becomes an issue for me, I will have to develop a plan.
I do have a five year old Callaway crabapple that puts out delicious, albeit small, fruits every year. I’ve yet to notice any catfaced fruits, wormy fruits, etc… Although I do have a mature apple tree of unknown variety from the original owners of my place. If I had to guess I would say it’s at least fifty years old. It fruits fairly reliably but by ripening time most of the fruit is destroyed, so I would assume it’s either curculio or maybe apple maggots?
I have considered cutting the mature apple tree down because it’s just ugly and in need of renovation, but I am so busy it just seems pointless. Although this year I had the idea that it may be a good distraction crop. My property is quite long and terminates at a woodline. This mature apple is about 40 feet from the woods, whereas the rest of my trees are about 300 feet away. Could I be on to something? Or would this maybe actually be inviting more pests into my area?
Thanks for the detailed breakdown Justin. I’ll be looking into Daconil. Do you only use that on stonefruit? I don’t see pomes listed on the label at all. The active in that is chlorothalonil so smae as the Ortho product I mentioned. I appreciate the words of advice!