Protecting apples organically from insect/worm damage
carol_the_dabbler
5 months ago
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
5 months agocarol_the_dabbler
5 months agoRelated Discussions
Major Rabbit Damage on Apple trees how to fix it!
Comments (70)Thanks for the update and the pictures! Itâs good to know that your trees healed well. I was curious how they did because Iâve got a ton of rabbit and vole damage to deal with. Iâve got about 200 apple and pear trees in a fenced-in 60â x 60â nursery. The trees are 1 to 4 years old, ranging in size from less than a foot to 7 feet tall, with each one wrapped with a 24â plastic vole guard. Even though the nursery is surrounded by an 8-foot polypropylene mesh deer fence fortified with a 28-inch welded wire rabbit fence, it was no match for the 2 to 5 feet of snow thatâs been on the ground for most of the winter. With the snow higher than the rabbit fence, they easily chewed through the polypropylene mesh, and, in a single night, nipped almost everything down to snow-level (about 30â). The bigger trees are missing big patches of bark, maybe 2/3 to 3/4 of the way around the trunk. Oh - and under the snow, on the smaller trees, voles skeletonized everything above - and sticking out of - the plastic guards like piranhas. I saved what I could by wrapping what was still standing above the guards in aluminum foil, made some patches in the fence with poultry netting, and dug a trench in the snow all the way around the nursery. In the process of mending the fence (which took a few days), rabbits got in only once. They ignored all the aluminum-covered trees, and gnawed on raspberry canes instead. Once mended, the rabbits havenât got back in. As for the vole guards, they can only save the wood that theyâre guarding. I wonât know the full extent of the damage until the snow melts. It stands at a little under 2 feet deep right now. Itâs just devastating to see such damage. Heartbreak aside, my concerns/questions are: Will there be new growth (from the scion/variety Iâm trying to grow) if there are no visible buds? Is there anything I should do to keep disease (scab, canker, fireblight) from entering the wounds? Good luck!...See MoreInsect damage to apples....but I sprayed! (see photo)
Comments (10)Marc: I continue to believe that you are seeing bird damage on your apples. Insects use apples as hatcheries for their eggs and a comfortable living for their larvae until they are ready to pupate. Insects do not visit apples to feed; they are there to propagate their species. I know of no insect that can zoom in, take a chunk like that out of an apple, and make a clean getaway. The brown area under the damage is simply oxidation, which happens to any apple when the flesh is exposed to oxygen. Birds do this kind of thing all the time. Not in every orchard, or in every season, but they do it. Bagging apples is a chore, and I am happy for H-man that he does not have to bag in his climate, but here below the Mason/Dixon line we do it or we spray a lot. If you are losing up to 50% of your already thinned and selected apples, that is too heavy a price to pay. Bag those apples, and you will defeat the birds as well as the codling moth that is likely to show up later. Not to mention 90% reduction in sooty blotch and flyspeck. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA...See MoreApple insect damage - got inside my bag
Comments (28)Thanks Glenn and Carla. I'll look for the messages Glenn mentioned (about not bagging too early and about different ways to attach the baggies). It was good to hear that you have a lot of good fruit thanks to the baggies, Glenn. The idea for perhaps starting to spray now was twofold: a) To kill earwigs which continue to enter some of the baggies of the apples & pears that haven't been harmed by CM or PC. b) To try to help next year's crop. From your replies, it sounds like spraying now won't help next year. It is possible that some of the fruit had been invaded before I bagged. My trees have very little fruit this year due to a spring freeze. The largest and oldest tree sprouted about 6 apples; the smaller apple tree had about 10. The new pear trees had about a dozen each. How do I get the forum to send email notification of replies to this thread? I've done it with threads I started but don't see a way to do it with this thread. Thanks! Laurie...See MoreInsect Damage and control
Comments (5)I have not found anything that actually deters squash/cucumber beetles. I am ignoring them at this point and trying different varieties that might be more resistant to them. Still too early this year to judge. I have seen some around the garden. I believe row covers might be about the only way to keep those away from your plants. I grow organically too, and I tend to let things work themselves out for the most part. I also hand pick if I have a lot of problems with some pests. Two years in a row I had a lot of earwigs and would find them active after dark and knock them into soapy water. This year I have barely seen one which I can't help but think may be due to the unusual winter we had. I barely have seen more than a handful of beetles this year too. I do plant what I read is recommended for attracting beneficials as often as I can. Have you visited the Organic Gardening forum on GW? There's usually a lot of activity there and in the vegetable forum, and I've often found lots of ideas there....See Moredchall_san_antonio
15 days agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
15 days agocarol_the_dabbler
14 days agodchall_san_antonio
13 days ago
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)