We planted a bunch of apple and peach trees a couple months ago, and being newbies, don’t know how to deal with the following issues:
Ants, or maybe baby cicadas (?), are all over the tree. Some are paying attention to aphid-like eggs on the backs of leaves, but some are just hanging out - but generally only on new growth. What are they and how should they be dealt with?
The next question I have, is that despite covering the trees during cicada season, a couple managed to get through the netting. Should I prune off this damage, or leave it be? I’ve attached two photos, one showing the damage, and the other showing where it’s located on the tree.
The final question is that due to covering the trees with netting, some of the new growth on the trees has assumed shapes that are less than ideal. Is there a way this U shaped deformity can be corrected? Or should I simply prune them off?
Those green eggs look like live green apple aphids. The ants might be farming them. Definitely don’t want farmer ants. I have been dealing with them as well. I’d get rid of the aphids and use tanglefoot or similar to stop the ants.
If it were my tree I’d snip off the damaged part, as there are plenty of branches below it. The same with the u shaped deformity.
I snipped off the top of my fuji and grafted on a granny smith where it was cut, more as an experiment to see if it would take. [scion the same size as the trunk, cleft grafted] The granny is going gangbusters now, and will be a pollinator for the fuji. Something to thunk about if your apple is not self fertile.
Wow I had no idea cicada’s could do that much damage.
Youve picked the absolute most menial things to worry about. None of these things really matter considering there’s stuff that you’ll have to deal with growing fruit trees that will absolutely kill everything like fireblight on apples and pears and bacterial canker on prunus. A cicada that made a scratch on your tree ain’t that big a deal. In fact it’s a non existent deal.
