I know people like Nufilm and Pinene here. Problem for me is that they each come in 4+ liter jugs. For me to do one copper spray on my tiny area would need <1 teaspoon per year, so that much chemical would last me almost 1000 years.
Anyone have a good alternative which I can buy in smaller volume?
Last year I sprayed Kocide with no sticker. Had a little bit of fire blight.
Thanks for any suggestions.
Hi Holly, good to hear from you! I always love to hear your commentary on energy, which is your expertise.
It’s true sticker comes in gal. jugs, but are sure a gallon of sticker is too much?
The label for Nufilm 17 is a pint/acre. This is my preferred early season sticker (I buy it by the case.)
Even if you don’t have enough trees to use quite this much, a gallon is about $45, which sounds like it would last you a lifetime (is this bad a lifetime supply?)
Honestly, if I could buy a lifetime supply of any spray materials for that, I’d jump on it (the costs just go up every year).
Sorry I’m not much help on the low volume sticker, but I bet you won’t be sorry to buy a gal.
Holly, I thought I had Pinene somewhere, but apparently what I have is Wilt-stop. However, I do have a small bottle of this stuff and it seems to work fine; our local county extension person recommends molasses and a little detergent.
There is always Turbo Sticker it works really well and comes in small amounts. It has never failed me. Also with no sticker you would have to spray copper more often!
I see there are several people in our group who are wondering what to do with all their sticker/spreader- maybe you could work out a deal?
I was thinking about getting some Nufilm17,but am going to try the Hi-Yield stuff and ordered it online to be picked up at a local hardware store at about $8 for a pint.Brady
I forgot to mention,the store was True Value Hardware.The lowest price after looking a bit online.
I bought this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018KQORDQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Seems it will do the job fine for my small orchard…
For small quantity, I agree that Bonide Turbo Spreader/Sticker is a good option. I used it for a few years before moving up to Nufilm 17.
I use Turbo - not sure how you can judge effectiveness
If it helps stop Peach Leaf Curl,then that’s all I care about. Brady
Thats what copper is for.
Yeah,I know,but a sticker can be a great partner,because of the rain that we get here sometimes in the Spring. Brady
Thanks for the replies everyone - I’ll buy a bottle of Turbo.
Hi Olpea!
I have (unfortunately) a very small orchard. Once I get the sprayer loaded, it literally takes me about 10 minutes to dormant spray. Takes a bit longer when there are leaves on, but with just the branches or small amounts of green it is very quick and doesn’t take much spray.
As a result, the gallon would last me 768 years at current usage. As you say a lifetime supply is not necessarily a bad thing, but 10 lifetimes seems excessive. Some of this stuff probably has a shelf life, don’t like to buy stuff I’ll never use, etc. If there were not good options in smaller bottles for less money, I would be fine to just buy the gallon, but I figured it was worth asking about alternatives.
How about this product? Asking because it has better reviews than Turbo.
The Bonide is only 8 ounces…
Southern AG makes a spreader/sticker that I’ve been using. It works okay,but I usually double the dose,just to be sure. Brady
You could probably just buy a bottle of Bonide Wilt-Stop and do the calculations for amount of the Wilt-Stop to add to get to the equivalent of 1 tsp/gallon.
Not to be terribly alarmist, and I can’t say I’m an organic purist, but these alkyl aryl ethoxylate compounds are restricted or banned in the EU because they are potential endocrine disrupting compounds. (EU has a precautionary principal regulatory system. US has a evidence-of-harm regulatory system.)
Hmm, that is a good point. I do like to stay organic, though I might reconsider if things got really bad. Nufilm P is OMRI listed. That seems to consist of the pinene, but without the surfactants. Maybe I could use that along with some soap in the tank for spreading. Still only comes in 1 gallon though!
People talk about using sugar, molasses, etc. as stickers but it’s hard to see how those will not dissolve with the first rain.
Yeah, I agree. Maybe the logic is that after a day or two the pesticide or whatever adsorbs to the plant anyhow, but I don’t know. Somebody else will.