Last year at this time, 50% of all feral or unmanaged apple trees growing along the back roads of Allegheny Cnty NC were 90 defoliated.
Thanks for posting this picture. Iām new to apples and 2/3 have been getting a few yellow leaves like this and dropping. I stopped spraying the biofungicides I was doing back maybe mid July. At first, I thought it was just CAR, but Iāve been thinking lately it was something else, and clearly it is. Butā¦itās September, and I decided not to investigate or do anything else about it. Aside from cleaning up the leaves, do you or anyone think this is an issue to particularly address next spring or just see what happens next year?
I had over 11 inches of rain in July, a record for my area. That setup the trees for mid to late diseases in a no spray situation. Unfortunately some of mine are almost completely defoliated with almost 2 months of frost free weather left. Next year I will spray Captan through August if itās another wet summer. Fruiting trees will be under a full spray program so they should be ok.
For organic control in humid areas, I am not knowledgeable about that. I do plan on raking up leaves to reduce infection next year.
1 Like
Iām with @alan on this oneā¦ here is a tree I didnāt spray this year:
I have no idea how many things are wrong with this poor treeā¦
2 Likes
Sundance, Sweet Sixteen and Keepsake look pretty free from ALB in humid 2025 8A, so far but weāre in a drought so all bets off when it rains. Chestnut Crab wiped out. Goldrush not bad yet due to drought but with any rain likely wonāt keep enough leaves to fully ripen.
2 Likes
How is sweet 16 doing for you with other disease issues? Scab, fire light, CAR?
Sweet 16 here is a fireblight monster, but hoping it pays off in a week or two. No CAR. Had to saw out big chunks of the tree two years.
2 Likes
Again, Iāll caveat my response by noting that I do spray through July. Some varieties are nevertheless still afflicted with issues. So Iām happy with a variety that produces good fruit after this regimen and despite my inattention in August and September. I hope for minimal damage from bugs and disease.
This is Belle de Boskoop. I picked these 50-60 apples recently from a single dwarf tree; I have a similar crop still ripening on a young semi-dwarf. Fruit seems almost entirely free of damage.
BTW, the apples are quite large.
10 Likes
The Belle de Boskoop apples look great. They look very similar to my Zabergau apples with the color and russeting. I believe I would get the same results without spraying them. Probably a little bug damage is all I get with them.
Agreed. I have a very young dwarf Zabergau and the apples look similar, though not quite as large. I donāt think Iāll get much of a harvest this year, however. Iāll have to ācompare and contrastā next year.
In general, russets seem more immune to pests and disease.
1 Like
no pics as i used the apples i got in a pie but my young williams pride produced its 1st 6 apples that i harvested last week. nothing sprayed on them and they were perfect deep red , large apples with streaks of red in the flesh. taste was excellent for a early apple. this one ripens the same time as the zestars in a u pick orchard near me. was crunchy and refreshing. leaving the peel on them in the pie tinged the filling a reddish. mixed with the zestars i bought and a tart wild yellow apple i foraged, made one of my best pies ever. sprinkled a handful of ripe aronia in there for some contrast and extra flavor. my stepson and his wife were here from halifax and both stated it was the best pie they had ever tasted. wish i had made 2 now.
6 Likes
For all us lazy people, would predatory nematodes under fruit trees deal with most of the curculio? Iāve read that one female can lay 300 eggs, so killing MOST wouldnāt help much. Plus, tho the males donāt lay eggs, I wonder if they do eat? And of course, the one recipe Iāve read for REAL control, is too many chickens, that is, enough to get the ground bare for at least some of the year. .
4 Likes
Interesting on the William Pride ripening time, makes me wonder when it would be ready here. I had it years ago, but the grafts didnāt make it over winter and Iāve never replaced it.
1 Like
Where I live the russets seem to have more coddling moth than the regular apples I donāt like as much. I have been bagging, but I canāt bag them fast enough, apparently because the moths are already active in May. Iām going to have to stop bagging anyway since there are just too many apples now to be even remotely realistic. It takes time to put all those bags on and again time to take them all off. I am going to try Cyd-x.
it should be similar as we have similar weather and growing zones. i was suprised how crunchy it was for a early apple. now im waiting to try black oxford which was planted a year later than w.pā¦
1 Like
Are these ranked by how bulletproof they are or overall recommend?
I think I only grow Goldrush and Fuji from the list. Iām wondering if any of the others are great for fresh eating.
I had a similar experience with Hudsonās Golden Gem being ungrowable without spray.
Itās not ordered. I think it was when I first made it but Iāve learned a lot over the years.
My 2025 post has this updated list:
- Hunge
- GoldRush (except for CAR)
- Limbertwigs
- Yates
- Pristine (except for curcs)
- Golden Nugget
- Rambour dāHiver
- Arkansas Black
They are also very good eating apples except the Rambour dāhiver which is more of a cooker. Hunge is in a bulletproof league by itself, then R dāH, then Black Limbertwig, then the rest.
8 Likes
Guess I am in for a battle with Anna, Ein Shemer, Golden Dorsett, Tropic Sweet, Rubinette and kinder crisp.
@Loren
How did you compile the lists in the 3 posts you shared in this thread?
While a was laid up with cancer treatments I spent several months doing research primarily using the internet. I also consulted some growers who specialize in wildlife fruit trees. People who plant trees for wildlife do not want to spend much time spraying. Iām planting my lists now so maybe in a decade or two (if I live that long) Iāll have first hand experience.
5 Likes