So I did my first dormant spray in Early Feb. with lime-sulphur + oil. on Apples, Pears , Peaches, Apricot, Pluot, Aprium, Grapes and Cherry. All these are second year plant. My question to @scottfsmith and others
1- When and what I will spray next only Apricot and Aprium both are almost full in bloom. Pluot are about 25% in bloom too.
2-For other fruits which are still sleeping what will be the next step and spray.
I’d spray Chlorothalonil during bloom. Also, I think sulfur is bad for apricots/Apriums, so I would not use it again on them. I follow the spray schedule recommended by Penn State Extension for home gardeners, which can be found here: https://extension.psu.edu/fruit-production-for-the-home-gardener
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I’d add to Indar or a similar fungicide to that schedule for brown rot.
Also, another important aspect is to rotate fungicide/insecticide class (i.e. don’t use the same class twice in a row; it is best if you rotate between three different classes) in order to inhibit build up of resistance in your pest population!
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I do believe that the proscription against sulfur on apricots is only when in leaf and/or with fruit already on.
Dormant sulfur is ok
Mike
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Thanks @Ahmad and @MES111 . I want to keep it simple and minimum and also not sure if my fruit trees will produce much this year.
Last year I was in your boat, because of spring freeze and loss of most blossoms, still here is what I learned:
1-If I don’t spray for OFM, they will kill many branches some of them will be in ideal places for scaffold building. They also somewhat slow down branch development. There are several generations of OFM in a season.
2- I have to spray something for bacterial spot, otherwise major defoliation can occur which can result in tree death.
3-I have to spray for cherry leaf spot, otherwise l risk defoliation and trees are not able to develop good winter hardiness.
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That isn’t a recent guideline- at least not from Cornell. Myclobutanil is only effective against early stage brown rot or blossom blight, which I’ve never experienced anyway. Its commercial label doesn’t even allow spraying peaches past petal fall. I’ve switched spraying even apples to Indar by first cover (10-14 days after petal fall) partially to abide by the label. Then I apply Indar to BR susceptible stone fruit a month before harvest, which does the trick for all but most susceptible varieties that might need a subsequent spray 2 weeks later. Usually only certain nectarines.
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So. here is the Indar F2 Label. It confuses me because it’s mixture guide is by ACRE, Or by 100 Gallons. Do you spray directly to fruit trees? For what appears to be such an effective product the instructions are quite vague?
That is because it is packaged for the commercial grower. Fortunately this forum provides guidelines if you search guides.
Another problem with Indar is it needs to be vigorously shaken before tank mixing, which makes it bubbly and impossible to measure accurately. I use 3-4 TBS of this somewhat foamy stuff to make 25 gallons of spray- but the label is the law. .
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Very good to know. I don’t mind the little idiosyncrasies if it is effective and it appears it is VERY effective. I started to go with CAPTAN but this just seemed to be much better and more broad…and i found the guide. Thank you. Exceptionally useful info…
I downloaded it from Penn State extension website in 2017. It is the latest they had then. But thanks to you and other experienced members on this forum, I came to learn the shortcoming of their Myclobutanil recommendation and bought propioconazole to use this season for BR.
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The more you extend your sources of info the clearer the picture becomes- but it never reaches the transparency of glass, which keeps things interesting, if occasionally frustrating.
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Nothing beats Indar for brown rot and scab on peaches in my opinion. Unfortunately, it’s only available in a gallon size for around $300. It has a Caution label, a short REI and short PHI.
I don’t believe all versions of propioconazole are labeled for fruit trees,so that may be something to check.
I got Bonide Infuse, which is labeled for lawns, flowers and trees, and seems to be the only propioconazole available for home use.
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Yes seems to be with Monterey discontinuing their product. It does not work as well as Indar. Both though have the same mode of action, with Indar I believe the label says to use more if ineffective, or maybe I read that from an extension service? Anyway I use Infuse, and alternate with Pyraclostrobin and Boscalid which are very effective against brown rot and uses a different mode of action, very important point. So on the battlefield of brown rot I have 2 armies on either flank of the enemy. So far no survivors. P&B is available in many commercial applications. Only one home application Bonide’s Fruit Tree and Plant Guard.
I could always up the bid by using Indar, but so far P alternated with P&B has worked great.
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Good info Drew. I’m trying to figure out what sprays to use and what is available to the home orchard grower. Tough to keep up at times with all the products out there.
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Something also to know and a problem for some is that The Plant Guard product has an insecticide too. Lambda cyhalothrin is a synthetic pyrethroid, works great. I need both, so not a problem for me. I feel it’s fairly safe one, follow label directions.
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The Bonide Fruit Tree and Plant Guard is great stuff for me too. I used it in July last year for apples as one of my codling moth sprays and summer disease control and didn’t have any issues with sooty blotch and flyspeck at harvest. It must have a long residual. Though we did have a dry summer last year.
It also helped clear up some fungal leaf shot hole and protected my peaches from brown rot when applied before the long PHI on the label.
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It seems doubtful to me that you always need both at the same time. On the one hand you strongly endorse using different formulas to fight against developing resistance (IMO, mostly a concern for commercial growers with many acres of same species fruit) and on the other you are OK with using an insecticide that is not target specific and tends to throw off natural balances created by beneficial insects because it all has turned out well so far in your small orchard. This concerns me.
I also use pyrethroids in orchards I manage because of limitations of what I can use in residential settings, but I believe it would be a much better idea to risk resistance than to spray a pyrethroid when I only need a fungicide. I have seen peach scale and even white fly become a problem in orchards sprayed with pyrethroids- this may be a coincidence, but the reason Cornell doesn’t recommend them in commercial fruit production except in emergencies is because they kill beneficial insects which leads to infestations of just these types of pests. Promiscuous use is certainly to be avoided. Captan might be a better tool for avoiding resistance- it’s cheap and can even be in the same mix.
For my international shipments I use Brandt Tri-Tek horticultural oil emulsion as a dip. It is labelled for use year-round as a pesticide, miticide, and fungicide, and approved in California as a treatment protocol on Glassy Winged Sharpshooter. It’s cheap, effective, and labelled as zero-days return to a treated orchard. You have to get 100% coverage, commercial applications are with an air blast sprayer.
The retail version is sold as Monterey Horticultural Oil https://www.homedepot.com/p/Monterey-Horticultural-Insecticidal-Oil-Pints-LG-6288/206453986?cm_mmc=Shopping|THD|google|&mid=s5ci3YM6F|dc_mtid_8903jx325196_pcrid_246182687215_pkw__pmt__product_206453986_slid_&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwbOu-KuW2gIVhLXACh3Rigk-EAQYASABEgKB8_D_BwE&dclid=CJzf3PyrltoCFc10wQod73cDkA
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