I only have a few small trees, and I have been using a quart-sized spray bottle. I haven’t had any trouble with Surround (which is the only thing I have sprayed). I think I whisked up the Surround in a bowl with some water, poured it into the bottle, and gave it a few shakes as I went. Worked well enough. Of course, I don’t know what I’m missing…but it can be done. 
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I did my delayed dormant spraying (Green Tip to Pink) on my apples and pears and cherries, but then we got a very heavy rain two days later.
A few of my trees also were just begining to open, but still relatively closed. Is it ok to do a second spraying on all trees?
It looks like we have about four days of nice weather, and then more rain.
John in Kentucky
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Also, I used dawn dish soap in my dormant spray mix. Will the smell of the soap keep bees and other polinators away once the flowers bloom? I think they will be blooming in the coming week. So, I am wondering if that is an issue.
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No the smell is in the flower which is closed now. There is very little dish soap there in any case.
Does anyone know the mix ratio of Captan 80?
@Robert Take a look this thread-
It looks like 1 tablespoon/gallon would be correct but read thru the thread carefully and make your own judgement.
The rate for Captan 50 (50% concentration) is 1 1/2 tablespoons per gallon if you adjust this rate for Captan 80 (80% concentration) you get 0.94 tablespoons per gallon which is approximately the 1 tablespoons per gallon recommended in the thread.
Why do you use Dawn soap in the spray?
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Also,acidify the mixture a little.
How do you do that? What else am I missing?
Any kind of acid,like vinegar,I use battery(sulfuric),is added to the tank.It helps the Captan to last longer,after being sprayed.It doesn’t have to be a lot.There is probably a chart or information somewhere.If found,I’ll post it here.
Okay,when using the search feature on this site and typing in the words “acidifying captan”,a number of posts came up.It might be best to know the pH of your water first,but I’d say adding about a half cup of vinegar to about two gallons of water,before mixing in the Captan,should be okay.
citric acid- probably about half a TBS per 25 gallons of water, depending on pH of water to begin with.
Olpea can give you more precise info and I would tend to trust it more than vinegar. It is quite inexpensive on-lne.
Why is that?
I like to use a paint mixing attachement on a drill and mix my water and surround in a 5 gallon bucket before transfering to my sprayer. I also have to continue shaking it every so often as my sprayer does not have an agitator.
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Just a hunch that it is more easily calibrated by the chemical consistency of the stuff. It’s also much more concentrated so when I’m on the road it doesn’t take up much space. I’m always cramped when I’m doing spraying rounds.
If Olpea would chime in, I think he could give a much better comparison of the two methods of acidification. He is the one who steered me to citric acid and he tends towards almost absolute precision, I believe.
I just add a TBS to 25 gallon tanks as I drive from one water source to another without bothering to check the pH of the water and this has yet to fail me. Maybe I would have gotten the same results with vinegar… I never tried it, which might be the main reason I prefer citric acid.
I used to use a chemical penetrant that serves a secondary function of acidification. Strong citrus odor to it although I assume the source of the scent is chemical.
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With Captan you need to make sure the spray water is acidic. At a pH of 8 half the Captan is destroyed in 10 minutes. A pH of 5 is ideal with 5-7 being ok if your going to spray right after you mix the Captan into the water. You can use vinegar or citric acid to lower the pH. I use citric acid which is found with canning supplies in retail stores. I use a 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid in 2 gallons of spray water. The amount needed will vary with the pH of your tap water. Buy some pH paper and use it to check pH. For more info on spray water pH take a look at this-
I’m using Brandt Lime Sulfur this year to try to help control apple scab, shothole and brown rot on peaches, and hopefully to suppress some insects. I mixed my first tank 12.8 oz per gallon, 10% dilution. I’m familiar with sulfur blue-ing the ground at hot springs etc, but the strong yellow coloring on the tree and blueing on the soil made me question my dilution. That’s all to be expected right?
Thats too much, usually it is 1/4 - 1/2c per gallon (2-4 oz). See the spray amounts guide:
I don’t think you will cause long-term damage if they were still dormant. But on any leaves that could cause a severe burn and I would hose things down.
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Thanks for your help Scott! I hadn’t seen the spray amounts guide before. I realize now that I used the amount that the label indicates for dormant stage control of shothole etc, 10-12% dilution (12.8 to 15.4 oz). I’m using percentage dilution as a reference since the Brandt lime sulfur label lists amounts in gallons product per 100 gallon tank
The label is confusing to me though - as it indicates 6-11% for delayed dormant control of mites/borers/aphids, and 7.5% sprayed at green tip for powdery mildew. Then it lists 0.75% to 1.5% at pre-bloom, early bloom, full-bloom for control of brown rot blossom blight. There are no leaves out, but flower buds are nearing first pink stage 
I’m hoping that didn’t damage the flower buds. I’ll hose it down to be safe I think.
2-4 oz per gallon would be 1.5-3% dilution. If a 7.5% dilution is recommended at green tip, then it seems like it should be ok on flower buds? But it sure seemed like too much to me visually.
That label seems off. I think it is for the 400 gallons per acre, they state 100-400 gallons but it seems more like 400 is what they mean? Here is a more normal label which looks like all the other ones I have seen
The products are all the same basically so there is not difference on that front.
I doubt there will be any issues at that higher concentration if leaves are not out.
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Can you tell me more about Milky Spore please? What is it? Where can I get it? How do I use it for Japanese Beetles? Is it Organic? Last year among other things I had Japanese Beetles eating my blackberries at harvest time.
Appreciate any help you all can offer!
John in Kentucky