Spraying Apple trees

General Fruit Growing
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I just started planting apple trees and pears on my property last year. I’m gonna try bench grafting this year. I was wondering, what spraying is the norm for apple trees every year. I keep bees so I’d like to limit the spraying as much as possible, while still taking good care of my trees. Any advice is a help

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Welcome! Start in the Guides section. There are several minimal spray programs in there (one mostly organic and the other mostly synthetic).

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Is a sprayers license a necessity when dealing with Apple/pear trees? I’ve heard something about hormonal sprays that help with growth and fruit production

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Resticted use pesticides (RUP) require a license. Dont know of any hormonal sprays that require a license. Though some states might have tougher regulations than others.

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Hello there so what type of growing are you doing conventional or organic is the first question ?

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I don’t care so much about picture perfect apples. I just want healthy trees that produce. I will use the apples mostly for making cider and foodplot for deer. I keep bees on my land, so I think I wanna stay as close to organic as possible, but I know there are a lot of diseases and pests of apple trees

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Hello well I do know a lot about growing organic fruit … So send me some of your questions happy to answer them.

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Like I stated in previous posts, I keep bees so I would like to not harm them with spraying. What is your spray cycle like? Right now I’m looking at a dormant oil. Then using a fire blight spray, a copper fungicide spray. Do you do any other spraying? Hormone, pesticide etc? I actually used my dormant oil on a hibiscus tree we have that had white flies. It killed all of them. Do you ever spray dormant oil on leaves, or mostly during winter/spring. What do you do in regards to fertilizer? How is the quality of the apples/apple trees using organic methods in comparison to regular spraying?

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I have a dormant oil which I sprayed a week ago. I also have a copper fungicide and a fire blight spray. What is a typical annual spray plan? I have bees on my land so I don’t want to effect them. I know it’s typically pre and post bloom. Any advice is a help. Thanks

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Holleg,
If you follow the Guide link that @Levers101 kindly suggested and choose Low Impact Spray advice that Scott Smith posted, you will find it very helpful.

Also, pest and disease issues can be regional or climate specific. You only stated that you are in zone 4. Could you tell us what state you are in?

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I live near Watertown, NY. Buds are just starting to break up here

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I have a dormant oil spray, copper spray and a fire blight spray. What would be the other most commonly used sprays?

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A fungicide for scab, if it shows up in your orchard

Also a fungicide for cedar-apple rust, if it appears

These are very common

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Your trees are on a second year in ground. Some people call it second leave trees.
What problem did you see last year? Cedar Apple rust on apples, pears blister mites or pear scab on pears or fire blight on any? If you happen to plant disease resistant varieties and don’t have any of these issues so no need to spray.

You don’t need to worry about pears damage your fruit as your trees may not produce until next year or even longer for pears.

In the meantime, read up those guides to educate yourself and check out info from Cornell U. extension services on Apple’s and pears for home growers. You will be ready by the time problems show up.

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