Gary: It would be best to start with telling us what you propose to spray with (insecticide/fungicide?) and what your target is, be it disease or insect. The only thing I have sprayed so far on apples following the dormant oil/copper spray in early March is 3 applications of Ferbam against cedar apple rust. These applications have all been in the first two months of April, when wind blown rains occur and CAR wakes up. I am gun-shy about CAR after last season when I became overconfident and it ruined 90% of my apples. Spring 2008 was very bad for CAR here, but it can happen any time. I may do one more application, and that will be it for Ferbam. I use a spreader/sticker, but Ferbam clings pretty well even alone, and I am pretty sure it is doing the job. If you can't get Ferbam (which is hard to get), what are you using and why? I can't stop the rain, but want the fungicide on there when it arrives, and look for a window with a little sun and very low winds to spray. Several people on this list are experimenting with the systemic called Immunox against CAR, which may also be available under other trade names. I do not apply any insecticide to apples until after petal fall, out of consideration for my bees and other pollinators, but also because it is unnecessary. Plum curculio does not start until after fruit set and a few days of 70F or above temps. Codling moth comes a little later, and that's the time to be spraying Imidan, Permethrin or other effective insecticide. After a couple weeks of this, and after thinning, you can bag your apples or just keep spraying against codling moth. I bag the apples that I really want to be perfect. If you are spraying something like Captan or a combination spray like Bonide at this time of year, you might as well use dishwater. Might be more effective. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Hi Valsound- I don't believe that the amount of Sevin(Carbaryl) is sufficient to do any thinning, as otherwise, it would be thinning for all the other people who use it. Also, there'd be a warning about that on the label. Really, it's about knowing what the diseases and insects that you face are. And if you've read my rants, you'll know that the Bonide FTS's ingredients often aren't effective against these pressures nor in sufficient quantities. Regardless of the insect, Trazicide can easily be obtained at Walmart, and will definitely keep your apples worm free. For diseases, I'd suspect you're facing Cedar Apple Rust and Scab. 2 sprays of Immunox (you may need to get that online) at petal fall and 10-14 days later will do the trick there. With the Bonide, you can spray it much more often, and it still isn't going to have any affect on Cedar Apple Rust. From a grower who's been there, the FTS really isn't even worth spraying. Instead, less sprays with Trazicide and Immunox you will get fruit you can be proud of. -Glenn

Thomis: perhaps we are related, I did exactly the same thing to my apple trees 2 years ago but didn't realize it until it was too late. That 50% Malathion spray definitely scorched the leaves but not all of all leaves entirely. One little lapse of attention is all it takes when spraying. I would have never truely known what caused the burn if I hadn't recorded what I mixed when it was mixed. Good records can be very useful especially to someone like me who never forgets or makes mistakes. Don't worry, it couldn't possibly happen again!

I use Myclo with Captan a lot as is the Cornell rec to delay resistance issues with Myclo and because Cap spreads to new growth during light rain. 3 sprays of myclo will absolutely control CAR in my experience at scores of sites with hundreds of varieties over the last 20 years. Often I have relied entirely on myclo for scab and CAR control. Many sites I only use a petal fall and first cover fungicide spray and have never seen bad CAR damage on fruit- at most a few specks on foliage that is harmless. But, of course, timing is everything and I can only speak for conditions in the 2 states (NY and CT) and 2-3 zones where I've managed orchards. I also have a more powerful sprayer than most home growers so it's easy for me to get good coverage. Here's my sched, if you are interested. REPRINT PERMISSION FROM ALAN HAIGH REQUIRED ________________________________________ 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. Spray needs to be applied thoroughly throughout the trees and with a back pack or any human powered sprayer this is more easily accomplished in the morning before breezes usually pick up. 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 from when emerging green shoots are 1/2" to just before 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( 1 to 2 quarts per 25 gallons of water). If it's closer to pink use 1%. Never spray oil on open or almost open flowers. 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 as it tends to emerge a couple of weeks after last spray looses effectiveness, 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. When temperatures permit it is good to mix horticultural oil with 2 or those applications as Surround makes a nice home for mites and scale. Stone fruit may require the addition of an application or 2 of Indar (Monterey Fungus Fighter is closest available chemical for home growers) starting 4 weeks before first peaches ripen. Apricots must be sprayed sooner if they are scab susceptible with same compound. On some sites that single spray will also prevent serious rot on later ripening varieties on seasons not particularly wet. If it is wet spray the later varieties again two weeks later. 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 overnight 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.