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Fruit & Orchards

Spray schedule for stone fruits?

Leslie Tarly Z 5a

7 years ago

Hi, I've got no special interest in organic gardening and would like a fairly straightforward spray schedule for stone fruits and apples. I don't mind spraying multiple times, especially the fungicides, but I do need it spelled out for me. A lot of these guides online show people spraying various compounds 12-15 times per growing season. What do you do?

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Comments (4)

rphcfb14
7 years ago
The question is what are the problems your trees have. Apples/ pears are pomme fruit. They have their own diseases. Peaches/ nectarines/ cherries/apricots are stones fruit with their own issues.

spraying for problems your trees have is better than spraying just in case.

Cornell's, Michigan's State's and Penn State's extension services have great infp about how to manage fruit trees for home growers. Starting with those is better than any sources on the web.
spartanapples
7 years ago
Leslie:

Since I am in SE WI, perhaps I can help somewhat. No I am not an organic grower although I did grow apples in plastic bags (works great!). Since I have 22 assorted fruit trees, I do spray.

Peaches...........One application of copper or chlorothalonil sometime March 15-

April 3rd for peach leaf curl prevention.

Spray for curculio late May thru June 15 with an insecticide.

Those are the only major issues I get on peaches although

bacterial spot and brown rot can be issues too. Not for me

luckily.

Apples.................spray 2-3 applications of myclobutanil in May-early june for

prevention of primary apple scab and cedar apple rust.

Captan works great too but will not prevent cedar apple rust.

If you get primary scab then spray with Captan after June 15th

if needed.

coddling moths...First generation hits in June. Damage

shows up early July and these apples abort. 2nd generation

later in the season. Use an insecticide to prevent.

Maggot.....one generation per year but they can appear late

June thru August. Peak flight is usually in August.

How often you want to spray your apples is up to you. I spray

May....fungicide only until petal fall (usually 2 applications).

petal fall...spray fungicide + insecticide.

Repeat every 7-10

days thru mid June due to curculio season and

primary scab. After that I go to a 14 day summer

spray schedule thru August 20th. You can spray

less in Summer if you want to set traps for maggot

(spray only when they are around) and set a biofix

date for coddling moths based on degree days.

Normally in August, I stop spraying any fungicides

after August 1st and just spray insecticide for

maggot prevention.

Tart cherry...............................I do not spray until petal-fall (fungicide/insecticide).

Spray again 10 days later. I make my last spray

around June 15th then I net the trees once I see

the first sign of pink on the fruit. No more spraying

unless I have cherry leaf spot (spray AFTER fruit is

harvested (chlorothalonil).

Pears.........................................Similar to apples on their spray needs for insects.

Captan is not effective for pear scab. Thankfully

I have not had pear scab.

I hope this helps! Just an FYI that Ortho Flower,Fruit and Vegetable insecticide with .5% acetamiprid works wonderful for the home apple grower!

You can buy Captan 50 WP at any Jung Garden Center or at Stein's Garden

centers or online. Myclobutanil can easily be obtained by using Spectracide Immunox fungicide ( Rally or Nova for commercial orchard brands).
Leslie Tarly Z 5a thanked spartanapples
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Leslie Tarly Z 5a
Original Author
7 years ago
This is great advice! I will put it into practice. I imagine, however, that this won't come up for a few years yet - is that right? My trees are all bare root/totally new. Would you spray them regardless, to prevent problems down the pike (esp. for fungus)? We have a problem with Japanese beetles for sure. Do any of the insecticides really stop them?
spartanapples
7 years ago
Leslie:

No need to spray young trees that are not fruiting (usually). Peaches would be an exception as peach leaf curl can be nasty. I would skip spraying your young trees unless you have a very severe insect problem (aphid, jap beetle ect). Water, fertilize and let them grow!

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