Author Topic: Fruit trees  (Read 2713 times)

slugsworth

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Fruit trees
« on: June 01, 2019, 05:40:56 PM »
I've got a couple of fruit trees, semi-dwarf and ultra-dwarf and they are finally at the stage where they are fruiting but I got worms last year and would like to understand my options.

Can anyone point me to some resources? I've seen individual socks around apples and I've seen insect fabric around whole trees - the later looks really pricey. What is the mustachian option? Thanks!!

kei te pai

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Re: Fruit trees
« Reply #1 on: June 01, 2019, 06:16:37 PM »
I think we are going to need a bit more information here. "Worms" is not really sufficient. Any photos? This may be helpful.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/home-property/nz-gardener/73014543/

YttriumNitrate

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Re: Fruit trees
« Reply #2 on: June 01, 2019, 07:09:26 PM »
In terms of cost effectiveness, a limited application ofconventional pesticides is probably the best. I'm not talking about a weekly drenching like commercial growers might do, but the right pesticide at the just the right time can work wonders.

slugsworth

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Re: Fruit trees
« Reply #3 on: June 01, 2019, 07:30:51 PM »
Kei te pai, it has been a year and I don't take the time to really identity the pest, but we do have coddling moth here and coincidentally, my Apple trees are also gala. I've also got some plums, a cherry, etc. . . On a very small urban lot.

Nitrate, I was hoping to avoid conventional pesticide, but if it ends up being the only reasonable option I would consider it.

kei te pai

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Re: Fruit trees
« Reply #4 on: June 01, 2019, 11:55:53 PM »
Did all of the fruit crops have the same damage? Did you notice the worm damage on immature fruit, or did it occur just as the fruit was ready to eat?
I would probably spray with a general insecticide once just after fruit set (not when there are any blossoms or the bees will be killed), and again a couple of weeks before harvest.
Next season keep a close watch and try and identify the pest concerned to help eliminate it effectively.
If you had a big orchard I would probably not spray unless there was substantial damage, but in a little yard it is all precious!

slugsworth

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Re: Fruit trees
« Reply #5 on: June 02, 2019, 10:47:36 PM »
Thanks Kei te pai, I will do a better job tracking this year, but I believe all of the fruit had the same worms -  i feel like any time I've cut into an apple I've seen worms :/

I'll look into an insecticidal spray - do you have any recommendations?

lthenderson

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Re: Fruit trees
« Reply #6 on: June 03, 2019, 07:31:26 AM »
There are at least a half dozen or more different worms, larvae and maggots that bore into apple trees depending on location. It is best to take one to a local extension office and have it identified as they will give you the best treatments for that particular insect. But in general, it seems like most treatments that I have done require an application of the chemical within 10 days after the bloom has dropped, which in this area, has passed a long time ago. By now, the insects have already bore themselves into the apples and no amount of anything is going to prevent them.

Personally, unless you process a lot apples and don't want to spend time cutting out bad spots, I prefer to just cut the worm out of the apple and eat the rest without having to apply any chemicals.

GuitarStv

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Re: Fruit trees
« Reply #7 on: June 03, 2019, 08:48:52 AM »
Personally, unless you process a lot apples and don't want to spend time cutting out bad spots, I prefer to just cut the worm out of the apple and eat the rest without having to apply any chemicals.

Depends on the type of worm I suppose, but I've found that wormy apples can't really be salvaged in that way.  The worms tend to make long paths through and around the core of the apple.  When you cut the apple open, you'll see brown trails they've made through the white apple flesh.  I'm not terribly squeamish, but cutting out 40% of the apple because of these trails and usually finding a worm wiggling around as I'm doing this tends to put me off the fruit.

If you're processing them for apple sauce or something where the worms will be pulverized it might be more palatable.

lthenderson

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Re: Fruit trees
« Reply #8 on: June 03, 2019, 10:46:53 AM »
Personally, unless you process a lot apples and don't want to spend time cutting out bad spots, I prefer to just cut the worm out of the apple and eat the rest without having to apply any chemicals.

Depends on the type of worm I suppose, but I've found that wormy apples can't really be salvaged in that way.  The worms tend to make long paths through and around the core of the apple.  When you cut the apple open, you'll see brown trails they've made through the white apple flesh.  I'm not terribly squeamish, but cutting out 40% of the apple because of these trails and usually finding a worm wiggling around as I'm doing this tends to put me off the fruit.

If you're processing them for apple sauce or something where the worms will be pulverized it might be more palatable.

I tend to cut perpendicular to the hole on the outside and keep working my way through the apple until I get to "good" material. Takes less than 15 seconds or so. Yeah I may have cut 40% of the apple off by that point but when I have a whole tree of essentially free apples, I just grab another one.  But I agree, trying to salvage the most of an apple while just excising the worm isn't worth the effort.

bognish

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Re: Fruit trees
« Reply #9 on: June 03, 2019, 11:16:33 PM »
If you are in the US your state university system should have an agricultural extension program that will give guides for treating pests. In my state you can subscribe to an email list and they will tell you when to spray what depending on the type of fruit. The pest and the timing of when to treat for it is going to vary widely based on where you live and what type of trees you have.

Fishindude

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Re: Fruit trees
« Reply #10 on: June 04, 2019, 07:27:21 AM »
Spray them with the proper pesticide or enjoy the worms.   Really no other practical options.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Fruit trees
« Reply #11 on: June 04, 2019, 05:24:43 PM »
Once you have identified what kind of insect you have in the apples, check out its life cycle.  Many will emerge from fallen apples and burrow into the ground to pupate.  Good orchard hygiene means picking up the deadfalls all the time, so they never get a chance to go into the ground and be next year's problem.

sillysassy

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Re: Fruit trees
« Reply #12 on: June 10, 2019, 12:26:50 AM »
Once you have identified what kind of insect you have in the apples, check out its life cycle.  Many will emerge from fallen apples and burrow into the ground to pupate.  Good orchard hygiene means picking up the deadfalls all the time, so they never get a chance to go into the ground and be next year's problem.

oh wow. did not realize this. though the deadfalls can just be rotted and returned as nutrients back to the fruit trees

deborah

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Re: Fruit trees
« Reply #13 on: June 10, 2019, 03:21:07 AM »
Further to what @RetiredAt63 says (and it’s good to get rid of the leaves too), corrugated cardboard wrapped around the trunk can be good. Moths like to burrow into the tubes in the cardboard to pupate, and you take the cardboard off and burn it.

jacksonvasey

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Re: Fruit trees
« Reply #14 on: June 20, 2019, 06:21:01 AM »
Once you have identified what kind of insect you have in the apples, check out its life cycle.  Many will emerge from fallen apples and burrow into the ground to pupate.  Good orchard hygiene means picking up the deadfalls all the time, so they never get a chance to go into the ground and be next year's problem.

oh wow. did not realize this. though the deadfalls can just be rotted and returned as nutrients back to the fruit trees

That's tough in practice, just because as noted there are insects that can get to them, but also wild animals will come forage for them if they're in the area.  So it's better to compost them if possible, or, there's a saying that the best way to store apples is in a pig.  That's not practicable for most people though.

kei te pai

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Re: Fruit trees
« Reply #15 on: June 20, 2019, 01:05:35 PM »
@slugsworth, have you checked your fruit trees for worms in the immature fruit this season?

fixie

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Re: Fruit trees
« Reply #16 on: June 23, 2019, 04:28:50 PM »
if it is codling moth, then you can do a few things.  the foot sox is a good option for dwarf and super dwarf trees for sure.  timing is important, so check local extension office to see when moths are emerging.  it is temperature dependent.
you can use a mating disruptor, easy enough to find and buy, which tricks the moths into landing on sticky cards with tanglefoot on them.
I don't recommend biocides, because they are not always pest specific and harm people and animals.
kaolin clay:  look up the product called Surround, it is a super refined clay that pisses off all kinds of bug oviposition and feeding behavior and won't harm people or animals.  it works for other fruit tree pests as well.
go through your fruit trees and thin out any that look damaged, stung, dimpled, scabbed etc.  this will make for bigger fruit when you harvest.
pick up dropped fruit or let the chickens go through and eat them.
good luck.
-fixie