This is not a spray schedule. Instead, it is what I have on hand and could use based on past experience and current observations. We are out among our fruiting plants almost every day and thus notice things as they occur.
Note that for some plants there are multiple options. This is because I keep track of usage and rotate through different modes of action to reduce a build-up in pesticide resistance.
This list is geared for our climate and soils and so the application of each line to other locations will vary.
This evening as the bees were going home I sprayed a majority of our plants with Rally 40WSP fungicide (Group 3). I used my Ortho hose-end sprayer with 8 fl.oz. of water, one 4 oz. packet of powder, and the dial set to 2 fl.oz. per gallon. All the trees, shrubs, and vines reside on less than 1/4 acre. From prep to finish it took about an hour.
Not sprayed were avocado, bananas, blueberries, green sapote, kei apple, and plinias on account of their never having symptoms. I also skipped ornamental plants (except our 4 roses) and figs - the latter will get a sulfur treatment later on.
Today it was the turn of the sole Walnut tree – a dormant young Placentia on Paradox rootstock.
I put 4 oz. of water in my trusty Ortho Dial-N-Spray and added 2 tablespoons of Kocide 3000 plus 3 tablespoons of Manzate Pro-Stick. It has that name for a good reason – one drop on the cement walkway will require vigorous scrubbing if you don’t remove it right away!
Anyway I sprayed half of it on the tree and rinsed out the remainder into the plant basin. From prep to finish it took about 10 minutes.
Now that the rain has abated for awhile it’s time to quickly spray for the diseases and pests that prosper in its wake.
First up is our Placentia Walnut which is prone to Walnut blight. Today I sprayed it and the mulch underneath with a mixture of Kocide 3000 (1 tbsp/gal) and Manzate Pro-Stick (1.4 tbsp/gal), using altogether 2 gal from our hose-end sprayer.
4/9. This past week our Placentia walnut has been pushing out catkins and new leaves. Today I sprayed it again with copper + manzate, probably for the last time until after harvest.
1/18. The walnut, prunus, pomegranate, pomes, and roses were finally ready for their first winter copper spray today. I used Kocide at a rate of 1 Tbsp per gallon plus 1 Tbsp total of Hi Wett. Overall I disbursed 8 gallons of spray.
