Kai:

The questions you have asked are very broad in scope, and could require more explanation than most people are willing to supply. Different trees suffer from different diseases, although sometimes treatment can be the same.

The key to disease and insect control on fruit trees is close observation by the grower. You may not see any indicators of disease on very young trees, but you should begin to familiarize yourself now with diseases such as bacterial spot (peaches), black knot (plums), and bacterial canker (cherries). There is a learning curve on fruit growing, but if you have recently planted, there is time for you to do some independent study to get off on the right foot. Use your Google function to find university websites on backyard fruit growing, such as that of the Univ. of Pennsylvania. Or, you could buy a book. Recommendations for specific chemical sprays will be hard to find. Even university sites are often reluctant to make specific recommendations because of liability issues. In the final analysis, you are going to have to make the decisions on which chemicals to use.

Where have you looked for chemical sprays so far? Most bigbox stores have a section reserved for chemical and organic sprays for fruit trees and other plants. So do most nurseries. And if you know what you are looking for, you can find distributors of chemicals online, although sometimes the quantities sold are more than the average backyard grower can reasonably use.

I realize that this response does not fully address your questions, but it would take a book to do so. But develop the habit of looking over your trees frequently, so that you are aware when something seems to look wrong. When you have identified a specific problem, it is usually possible to obtain good advice here on Gardenweb.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Kai, a good online guide is the PSU small-scale fruit guide -- start by reading that all the way through.

Scott

Here is a link that might be useful: PSU SSFruit Guide

I see that Cornell has put a guide up as well. Download the full thing as a PDF.

Scott

Here is a link that might be useful: Cornell Home Fruit Guide

Thanks, Don and Scott.

Adam County Nursery has some fruit tree guidelines that I think is helpful. The link to Cornell is terrific. I will look up PSU tonight when I get off work. Just want to say thank you guys first.

Kai

Kai,

Like you I am a novice, though (unfortunately) with fewer trees, and like you I have had to confront this question of information on spraying. Many of the standard books on home orchards are not very helpful on specifics. I have found what Don and Scott have had to say on various forums in Garden Web very helpful -- and Scott's recent post on his orchard calendar is well worth checking out. There are some websites that do deal with specifics of spraying, and that might be of some value. One is from Virginia Tech, the scene of horrific events today, I am sad to say. This spray guide covers a wide range of fruits and is quite detailed and formulated with Virginia residents in mind. I have put the link below. The other is a site www.applesource.com, which gives a simplified spray schedule for home growers of apples. (The Virginia Tech schedule is rather more complicated, but still much simpler than what the professionals do and quite informative.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Virginia Tech Spray Guide