I am not using Captan on apricots, only on strawberries so far and i add vinegar
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Where did Captan come from into this post? I am asking about Immunox
I’m the one.
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A couple of years ago I sprayed my apricot tree with Captan while the fruits were olive size, and I lost ~50% of the fruits within a week of spraying. They started developing pale brown discoloration, wrinkles and fell off. That was after thinning, so it was not a matter of too much fruit on the tree. If I remember correctly, the foliage was affected too, but obviously the tree could produce new leaves in the middle of the season, but cannot replace lost fruits. That was before I read the UC guidance…
Was the prevention against Brown Rot?
I’m definitely only spraying during bloom.
The Captan label says nothing about spraying the fruit, as the poster was asking about blossom blight.
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You are right @jaypeedee, I confused the UC guidance with the product label. However, based on my previous experience, I would not use captain on apricot trees again. If you look at the chemical structure of Captan, you’ll find it has a sulfur atom, and sulfur is another pesticide that’s contraindicated for apricot trees. Perhaps captan’s sulfur atom is somewhat freed after spraying and does similar harm to that of elemental sulfur.
Yes, it was for BR and other fungal diseases in general. I used the same spray mix for all my stone fruits. Now I replaced captain with infuse and other fungicides that are safer on all my crops.
Galina,
Immunox (myclobutanil) may not be as effective as Indar but it will help. Another product is Bonide Infuse (propiconazole). It is supposed to work quite well on blossom blight.
Unfortunately, these 3 products, Immunox, Infuse and Indar, are in the same chemical group (group 3), repeated use of them over time could create resistance.
However, if you spray a few trees a couple of times a year, it may take a long while before resistance could build up. The concern is more about commercial use with repeated, large scale spraying I believe.
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My main question is at was state of bud development I need to apply immunox, there are to picture references in original post.
The second stage of the apricots in this chart, swollen buds. I think you can do it this week. I just sprayed mine today.
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Yes, that what I was looking at. But label says when petals are visible…
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If you want to wait for first white (3rd pic) that would be the perfect timing.
In spraying, the weather is not always cooperate so my rule is a bit too early is better than a bit too late.
Anyway, checking our weather, you may be able to wait until our next sunny days which are these Thurs or Fri to spray. By then , your apricot is probably at first white stage.
You can spray then.
Thursday is wet. Best bet is Friday, but as well it may be too late already…
Besides rain, I always check wind speed. That’s why I decided to spray early today. Wind today is not as strong as it will be on Fri.
My apricot is only at 2nd stage (swollen buds) but I would rather not wait. Since you are half a zone colder, I feel you could wait if you choose too.
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Now I’m confused (for a change 
). . . I thought it is not a good idea to spray open blossoms - with anything? Because of pollinator protection. So - these fungicides will not hurt pollinators?
It’s obvious that insecticides not be used . . .
I’ve decided to spray my pomegranates with a fungicide, at bloom, this year . . . at the recommendation of that U of F fungal prevention study. At this point - I’ve nothing to lose. In fact - I’m blasting the entire plant and the ground beneath them, at all stages, to try to get at most of the harboring stuff . . . before it can do damage. I will rotate several different ones. Copper. Serenade. Immunox. Infuse. (I don’t have Indar)
But . . . I still read in lots of other information ‘Do Not Spray Anything During Bloom’.
So, what’s the deal?
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Combined with pruning ,dormant spray, and spray before bud break/swell (depends on variety), there is little need to spray during blooming.
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@PomGranny Yes fungicides can harm bees. That includes fungicides that have low acute toxicity to honey bees. For example, Daconil has low acute toxicity to bees but is toxic to honey bee broods (honey bee young) and to native bee species. Ideally, you would avoid spraying fungicides during bloom.
But that puts many of us with high disease pressure in a difficult position since spraying during bloom is often recommended by Universities and may be necessary if disease pressure is high. So what can you do? You don’t want to kill bees and you don’t want to lose your crop. Well certain fungicides are harmful to bees and others are not.
Captan- harmful to honey bee brood and native bee species
Daconil-harmful to honey bee brood and native bee species
Immunox- not harmful to honey bee brood and native bee species
Indar- not harmful to honey bee brood and native bee species
So at bloom you would be best off spraying Immunox or Indar if you want to protect your bee population. Or if you can, avoid spraying during bloom altogether. But both Immunox and Indar are susceptible to fungus developing resistance so it is wise to alternate them with Daconil or Captan to avoid developing resistance. Or when the trees are not in bloom mix in Daconil or Captan with Indar/Immunox to avoid creating resistance.
Here is a link to a University of California webpage that allows you to check if your fungicide is toxic to bees. It also allows you to check herbicides, insecticides, and other agriculture chemicals.
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Where I’m at,when the Prunus are blooming,only a few bees are flying around.Maybe a small number of Bumbles and the Masons are still sleeping.There are no Honeybees around,throughout the year.So,it’s fairly safe to use something like Captan.
I’ve read that some chemicals can be applied towards evening,when the insect activity has slowed.
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