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.

Fruitnut makes a good point. I'm guessing you are at high altitude as well which would make the "sunburn" issue worse I'd guess. Less atmospheric filter. Probably best to wait until late Aug. Here in southeastern NY I do plenty of summer pruning- usually just mopping out water sprouts, but I do a lot of full structurual pruning at some sites as well- especially on old apple trees which are tough enough to prune most any time. I actually see less sunburn on mid to late summer pruned apple trees than on dormant pruned ones and prefer to begin major renovation projects at that time.

This is mainly a California issue, perhaps, but might apply elsewhere: (from the UC Ag. and Natrl. Res. site) "Apricots and cherries can have a fairly short lifespan in many climate zones in California due to a disease called Eutypa. This disease is able to invade through pruning wounds especially during the wet winter months. This disease causes limbs or twigs to wilt and die suddenly in late spring or summer with the leaves still attached. The bark may appear dark with an amber colored gumming on the branches. To combat the disease and reduce the potential for Eutypa to infect trees, you should begin pruning your apricot and cherry trees during the later part of summer and early fall at least 4-6 weeks prior to rainfall. However, realize that you may be opening your trees to sunburn with summer pruning so be sure to paint exposed branches with a diluted white latex housepaint with 50:50 water to paint mix. Also avoid pruning if you are going to have an extended period of 100 degree plus weather. " Think "fireblight" for stone fruits. When living in So. Cal. many years back I also used to prune my peach tree during the dormant season without any problems. So far I've done the same here where it is much damper and I see no problems. Yet. But I do try to do most cherry and apricot pruning during the summer. This is not really an ideal climate for either (or peaches, for that matter) so I'm trying not to push my luck. This post was edited by steve_in_los_osos on Sat, Aug 3, 13 at 14:43

That looks like a pretty extensive mulched area- really pumps up the vigor. How come you didn't fruit them this year, they certainly look like they were big enough. If they did bear good crops than you definitely need to think about how to ratchet down that growth. One way is several prunings during summer, although when trees are in fruit you have to be careful not to prune too much to where you cut down on sweetness of fruit. You should certainly prune all your most vigorous uprights ASAP as well as 2-year wood higher in the tree than you want fruit. I don't think you have to worry about when you prune there and I'm confident it's OK now.