I did not get rid of any trees because of them but I did soil drench when I first grafted and it seemed to work. I c very little of that now and just spray them with hose.
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What chemical you drenched your soil with?
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If I did not squish or do anything to those aphids, they seemed to spread.
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And have you ever seen an apple tree killed by WAA? Based on your comment it would seem youāve seen much more serious damage from this pest than Iāve seen up here in NY and CT. I work on hundreds of over century old apple trees (and more that are much younger) and theyāve usually got some, but above the ground. Not a problem at all in my experience in this region- from the tall hills to the ocean shore. But I donāt manage trees with a commercial type spray program, so maybe Iām allowing predators to do their job.
Getting Wild and Wooly: Woolly Apple Aphid Management: July 20th, 2019 Ā» The Jentsch Lab.
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Problem is it reduces yields and weakens the tree making it susceptible to other issues like FB especially if it hits early in the growing season. Plus, we do have mucho warmer weather here in the Shenandoah Valley. In the beginning my wife would just paint the outbreaks with vinegar, but after many years and much bigger and more numerous trees that became impossible. The authoritative (and invaluable) Tree Fruit Field Guide (Oct 2006 Ed.) says let the predators and resistant root stocks do your work for you (page 44). I agree with the root stock comment, but unfortunately, I sometimes kill off the predators by fighting other things, like BMSBs, which are a much greater reality.
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@mamuang , this is what I used but I only use it on younger not bearing trees because Iām not sure the effects on fruit uptake?
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I have wooly apple aphids on my own trees and most trees I manage and they have never noticeably affected any trees here at all in the last 30 years or so. Are you all sure you arenāt over-reacting?
Leafhoppers on the other hand slow down the establishment of E. plums and apple trees in my nursery a great deal, however. They destroy new growth and youngest leaves and started doing so 2-3 weeks ago.
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Examine your trees regularlyā¦ This one was behind some others and I didnāt notice the infestation until now. Yikes.
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Yikes is right!!!
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What is everyoneās opinion on the most resistant semi dwarf or dwarf rootstock? My supposed G.214 Crimsoncrisp has root modules and is covered with them and so I went to plant triumph on G.41 instead and it also has them on the roots. Both purchased this spring and in containers for the season. At a loss for what do. Leaning towards not planting either and keeping to graft to a better rootstock in the spring. G.890? Something else??
My M111 have never had an issue with them. Most of my apple trees are on M111. Another good choice I have had good luck with is the EMLA9/M11 interstem rootstock.
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Iāve pretty much decided to āgo nuclearā on these devils.. I have too many trees with an abundance of them above ground, and others which are suffering from what I suspect are root infestations.
Iām not a fan of systemic pesticides as I donāt want to ingest them. But I do realize that with time they should metabolize and not cause me any harm. So unless anyone has a better suggestion I think Iām gonna Imidacloprid drench all of my apple trees.
Hope this is correct and it will systemically spread to all of the roots and take those out as well.
Affected rootstocks? I have trees on M111, BUD9, and Geneva41. I didnāt get a good picture of it but last year I pulled up an M111+G41+Cultivar interstem tree that had died. The M111 section underground was thoroughly infested and they stopped precisely at the graft union with the G41. Which had been partially buried and had a few roots of itās own, clean roots.
Above ground (at least) BUD9 seem to attract them like a magnet. This pic I posted a few years ago, was BUD9:
Iāve also mentioned rarely having gloves with me and today my fingers paid the price. Probably 100+ bunches cleared off the limbs of just two trees. I didnāt spend a lot of time inspecting, I probably only hit the tip of the iceberg. Will glove up tomorrow.. Or try a lighter, havenāt done that before and ākill 'em with fireā has a nice ring to it!
So far the only thing Iāve NOT seen them on either above or below ground is G41.
WAA, oh how I loathe thee!
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What kind of soil conditions are WAs being found?
I donāt have any experience with them. Perhaps they dislike the soft orange clay earth.
For me, the rootstocks affected are all Bud 9.
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Bud9 definitely seems to attract them here!
I typically donāt see clay until Iāve dug down 6 to 10 inches or more. Recently cleared deciduous forest that may have never been cleared for farming (steep). Perhaps clear cut in the early 1900ās or earlier (like most everywhere in the eastern US) and since regrown. Black, rich, weed and mushroom heaven. Previous owner hired a tree cutting service to clear the entire property and they cut everything on roughly half an acre before halting after an accident. He put it on the market instead of finishing the cutting (thankfully).
Quali-Pro Imidacloprid T&O 2F Insecticide (Generic Merit)
Is $60/gal and is 21% Imidacloprid. Itās label indicates Apple but as a foliar spray only. Applied that way it says it works for aphids but not Wooly apple aphid. Any reason to think it wouldnāt work for WAA if instead applied as a soil drench? For small trees Iām thinking 0.5 fl oz in a gallon of water poured in a few holes at the drip line. Thoughts?
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I sometimes use Merit, works great for normal aphids, because Imidacloprid is systemic. I find that the soil drench products formulated for home gardeners are a rip off: Merit has about 10x content of Imidacloprid, lasts a lot longer