Disease and Pest Control in Your

BACK TO FOCUS HOME RETURN TO PREVIOUS PAGE

Disease and Pest Control in Your Home Orchard

Most Serious Diseases:

• Apple anthracnose - apples.

• Apple scab - apples.

• Leaf curl - peach, nectarine, cherry (rarely).

Somewhat Less Serious Diseases: (that usually will not kill a tree but are still potentially damaging to either fruit or foliage if not controlled):

• Powdery mildew - apple, pear, occasionally peach.

• Bacterial canker - Asian pear, most stone fruits.

• Pear scab - pears.

• Brown rot and coryneum blight - stone fruits, particularly cherry and apricot. Brown rot may attack any fruit but is most common in soft-skinned fruits like cherry, peach and plum. Coryneum is usually seen as dark spots on the skin of apricots and peaches and may cause cankers on branches of peach and cherry.

Insects:

Insects that do the most damage in home fruit orchards are apple maggot and codling moth in apples. Apple maggot is by far the most serious both because it completely destroys infested fruit, and because it is very difficult to control without the use of chemical pesticides. The responsibility of home orchard growers to prevent the spread of apple maggot is crucial. Aphids (various species) can attack any tree,

usually damaging the fast-growing young shoots, especially on plums. Cherry bark tortrix (Enarmonia formosana [Scopoli]) will attack any woody shrub or tree in the rose family, though its preferred host is Prunus, particularly cherry. Tent caterpillar and fall webworm are also often found and sometimes exhibit peak infestations. In the home orchard it is usually sufficient to cut caterpillar nests out of the tree

and destroy them as they appear.

The general information above is based on trials conducted at Washington State University’s Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center (WSU NWREC).

Basic Spray Schedule for Home Orchards:

IMPORTANT: Always be sure to follow manufacturer’s directions and recommendations when using any type of pesticides! The information below is based on recommendations from our product labels.

The best place to start, is to choose disease-resistant varieties!

Apples and Pears

Delayed Dormant Spray (the period just before blossom buds break open – February to early March):

Use Lilly Miller Spray Oil and Combine with Hi-Yield Lime-Sulfur (see page 4 (Combination Winter Spray) of Lime-Sulfur Label), to control both overwintering insects and fungus spores such as Apple Scab, Pear Scab.

Spring Sprays for Disease Control

Use Hi-yield Lime-Sulfur at the label’s recommended rate of 2 oz. per gallon of water at the following times. Discontinue use of Spay Oil.

#1 Pre-pink (when the flower buds first show a hint of color)

#2 Pink (just prior to tree blooming)

#3 Blossom Petal Drop (when ¾ of blossom petals have dropped off)

Spring and Summer Disease and Insect Control:

Be on the lookout for insects such as aphids which can be controlled using Bonide Fruit Tree Spray or the organic Neem Oil. Follow label directions for frequency. Caterpillars can be controlled by removing nests or spraying with Bonide Thuricide, where physical removal is not practical. For Apple Maggot, deploy sticky traps by mid-June. The traps will indicate when insects are present. Spray with Bonide Fruit Tree Spray, according to label directions.

Cherries

Dormant Spray ( the period after complete leaf fall and before bud color shows)

Use Lilly-Miller Spray Oil to control over-wintering insects.

Use Lilly-Miller Kop-R-Spray in January to Early February to control Deadbud

Popcorn Stage (the period when buds show white)

Use Lilly-Miller Kop-R-Spray to control Brown Rot Blossom Blight

Full Bloom

Use Lilly-Miller Kop-R-Spray to control Brown Rot Blossom Blight

Plums and Prunes

Dormant Spray (the period after complete leaf fall and before bud color shows)

Use Lilly-Miller Spray Oil to control over-wintering insects.

Delayed Dormant Spray (the period just before blossom buds break open – February to early March):

Use Lilly Miller Spray Oil and combine with Hi-Yield Lime-Sulfur (see page 4 (Combination Winter Spray) of Lime-Sulfur label), to control both overwintering insects and Leaf Curl.

Popcorn Stage (the period when buds begin to show color)

Use Bonide Fung-onil to control Brown Rot Blossom Blight. Make sure to wait at least one week if an oil-based product has been applied. Note: Lime-Sulfur and Copper are not labeled for this application.

Full Bloom to Petal Fall

Peaches and Nectarines

Dormant Spray (the period after complete leaf fall and before bud color shows)

Use Lilly-Miller Spray Oil to control over-wintering insects.

Use Hi-Yield Lime-Sulfur to control Leaf Curl and Shot hole

Delayed Dormant Spray (the period just before blossom buds break open – February to early March):

Use Lilly Miller Spray Oil to control over-wintering insects.

#1 Pre-bloom (when the flower buds first show a hint of color)

Use Hi-Yield Lime-Sulfur to control Brown Rot Blossom Blight

#2 Early Bloom

Use Hi-Yield Lime-Sulfur to control Brown Rot Blossom Blight

#3 Full Bloom

Use Hi-Yield Lime-Sulfur to control Brown Rot Blossom Blight