Hi Axel, You mention a few things that I'd like to respond to. I'm really not sure why I'm responding because these topics are like religion or politics. Nobody's mind is changed. But just a few observations: "many synthetic chemicals have been shown to cause cancer" For my part this may be true of some pesticides, but it means very little. Gasoline is listed as a carcinogen. That doesn't cause most people to stop pumping gas. I don't even see them wearing gloves. Or any protection to keep them from breathing the fumes. The real issue is what dosage does it take to cause cancer. With pesticides the residue, even on commercial fruit is measured at ppm (well below the carcinogenic threshold. Just because something is labeled a pesticide doesn't mean it's highly toxic to humans. Hair spray is toxic to insects, yet we spray pounds on our hair (hopefully not that much daily.) My point is pesticides are designed to be toxic to the pest, yet as safe as possible for the consumer. "they are bad for the environment because they degrade very slowly." This is both true and false. Some things like DDT stay around for a long long time, others have a very short half-life. The same is true for organics. Some are very persistent, others not. "Also, they accumulate in the body." I disagree with this statement. Most synthetics are rapidly excreted out of the body. "But organic techniques have come a long way" I agree and hope progress continues in this area. However, it is also true continued progress has been made in synthetics. Newer ones are safer and in some cases more pest specific. I use a product called Intrepid. It is highly specific, lethal to just moths, and very effective. This is an advantage of synthetics, that man can engineer them to fight specific pests. "Many people don't realize that there are a large plethora of organic pesticides that are equally as effective. While they too are toxic they degrade so quickly that by the time the fruit is ripe, the pesticides are long gone." Many people don't realize how much spraying it takes to grow fruit organically southeast of Miss. Read the latest article in Fruit Grower News (I think available on-line.) There is a piece about the only existing commercial grower in the southeast. Even though he uses all the modern organic tools, he admits to spraying three times the amount of chems. as a conventional grower. My thought when I read it was, what is he doing to his land? I can't imagine what the sulfur, copper, and aluminum (Surround)buildup is doing to his soil. If our country took that approach, I'd hate to think what we would do to our rivers and watersheds.

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

It all depends what you mean by organic. In terms of "certified organic" like you find in the grocery, I believe drift does not put a farm at risk of de-certification. In terms of how much pesticide you get, it should be small because applicators are supposed to control drift .. but on the other hand they may not. Anyway I would just avoid planting right on the border and leave it at that. Fortunately none of my neighbors spray that stuff. I would personally not be concerned about the plant exposure but would be concerned about my kids' respiratory exposure. Scott

JaG, unless dormant oils are combined with other products - sulphur or copper/lime solutions are common - they DO NOT address disease issues. The link you provided contradicts what you are saying ;) It plainly says horticultural oils have been found effective against some fungal pathogens. It also didn't address dormant oils, just horticultural oils (unless my skim reading missed it). Applying a dormant oil is different than using a lighter weight oil during the growing season. The purpose of a dormant oil is that it is heavier and denies oxygen entry through itself. Anything overwintering on/in the tree that requires oxygen will likely die. Such an application can't be made during the growing season without major damage to the tree because the tree needs oxygen during the growing season, but can survive for awhile without it when fully dormant. The article did address the use of horticultural oils on dormant trees very briefly in that it mentioned it can delay bud break/blooming. This would be very desirable in areas where the springs can go from warm to sub freezing overnight. It's not relevant to the OP, but it does point to the value of using dormant oil sprays as part of a routine program rather than waiting to ID a specific pathogen. Every source I have ever read finds dormant oils applied during the dormant stage to be effective against many insects, their eggs, larvae as well as many fungal pathogens overwintering even as spores in the bark/buds. I don't really see a down side to routine applications during the dormant season. The link you provided didn't address any.