Low Spray Schedule for Home Orchards in the Northeast Here's my spray schedule for the scores of orchards I manage around SE NY adapted for home owners managing a few fruit trees. It has functioned well for me for over 2 decades, although J. Beetles and brown rot of stone fruit increases the number of sprays and necessary pesticides some years some sites. Stink bugs are also an increasing problem requiring more subsequent sprays when they appear. Time of spray is based on apple bloom as that is the predominant fruit here but I generally get away with spraying all trees at the time I spray apples. Please note that pesticide labels must be read before their use and my recommendations do not override the rules on the label. The label is the law. This document only communicates what has worked for me and your results may vary depending on local pest pressure, which may require a different spray schedule. Dormant oil (this is optional if there were no mites or scale issues the previous season, which is usually the case in home orchards). Do oil spray somewhere between the point where emerging shoots are 1/2" and the flower clusters begin to show a lot of pink. Mix Immunox (myclobutinol) at highest legal rate (listed on label for controlling scab and cedar apple rust on apple trees) with 1 to 2% oil. If it's closer to pink use 1%. Don't spray again until petal fall when petals have mostly gone from latest flowering varieties and bees have lost interest. Then spray Triazide (Spectracide Once and Done) + Immunox mixed together at highest legal rates. Repeat once in 10 to 14 days. Where I manage orchards, the space between earliest flowering Japanese plums and latest flowering apples is only 2 weeks or so which usually allows me to wait until the latest flowering trees are ready to begin spraying anything. Plum curculio seems to time its appearance conveniently to the rhythm of the last flowering apple varieties. This may not be true where you are. If plums or peaches need oil they may need application before apples. I’ve only had mites on European plums here and never need oil for other stone fruit. All this is based on plum curculio being your primary insect problem which is the case most areas east of the Mis. River. These sprays will also absolutely control scab, CAR and Mildew as well as most of the crop fatal insects. Apple fly maggot is an exception, but I haven't had much of a problem with this pest in the orchards I manage. This pest can be controlled with a lot of fake apples smeared with tangle trap. If you don't want to use synthetic chemicals try 4 applications of Surround about a week apart starting at petal fall. You may need to start on earlier flowering varieties as soon as they drop petals because Surround is a repellent and can’t kill eggs after they’ve been inserted into the fruit.. Stone fruit may require the addition of an application or 2 of Indar (Monterey Fungus Fighter is closest available chemical for home owners) starting 4 weeks before first peaches ripen. Apricots must be sprayed sooner if they are scab susceptible with same compound. Because I manage so many orchards so far apart I have to resort to a spray schedule that is based on expectations rather than actual monitoring. You may be able to reduce insecticide sprays with monitoring but PC can enter an orchard over night and if your insecticide lacks kick-back (as is the case with Triazide), do a lot of damage in a couple of days.. Other problems may occur later in the season and you will in time learn to monitor and react to the pitfalls. Good luck, Alan Haigh- The Home Orchard and Nursery Co.

I cannot begin to express my appreciation. That so many people would take the time to try and help and stranger and his budding passion for growing fruit bodes well for you all and for this site...its thrilling to have such a resource since I'm so inexperienced. I also agree with what many of you politely tried to say...I need to educate myself on growing fruit beyond just asking questions in a forum...and I will. But right now I've got several (expensive) fruit trees in trouble! SOunds like their is no magic bullit for all my trees, but perhaps the "One and Done" would be a good start. For the record, Imidaclorpid is what i put on the roots and it did say for fruit trees, though I do appreciate the warnings. Oh....Im in northern middle TN...zone 7 but not far from zone 6 on the 2012 map. Any other spedcific recommendations for my peach problem would be appreciation until I have time to do more extensive research.....again, my peaches are golf ball size but are dropping off in large numbers and when I cut them open there is alwasy a little larvea looking "worm" that looks like a maggot. Anything I can do for that? Again, thanks for all your help! You have no idea how fired up I am about my little mini-orchard! ha. It was one of the reasons I wanted to buy a place in the country with some land. Eventually I hope to fill about a full acre of my new place with fruit, but obviously I need to learn a lot before that. My current (approx) 25 assorted trees aren't doing to well yet, so I need to get them under control first. Again, thanks for all your help!

I don't know, but I will be interested when you find out. The fruit looks like some kind of magnolia fruit. But the tree is wrong. The tree looks and sounds like it just might have been a pawpaw, but the fruit is wrong. I hope someone knows.... I will be interested.

Sometimes the rootstock takes over a tree that was grafted and abandoned. This can leave you with weird inedible fruit. Or it could be lacking nutrients, making the fruit bad. Even if the fruit isn't good, it could still be a beautiful tree! It could use some pruning and trunk reinforcement. Try a bungee pulling it the opposite way tied to a sturdy stake. http://homeguides.sfgate.com/tell-citrus-tree-gone-wild-38266.html