Raising and Growing Our Organic and Not- So-Organic Foods

[Arielle2]

Copper fungicide spray ( Bromide) . For brown rot blossomblight apply full cover spray at delayed dormant (bud swell),popcorn,full bloomand petal fall stages. Duringwetweather additional applicaions may be necessary.

This is on the liquid product, such info isnot on the powder label.
Also ran into info re pH of water used to mix copper sprays-- the pH if low can kill the fruit trees. But such info is NOT on the labelling. From government docs as I remember.

 

[Arielle2]

All this info is really helpful, thanks.

Spraying seems kind of confusing and like a pain though :/

Is it absolutely necessary for fruit trees?

You need to do your research for your area and the varieties you have. Call your local extrension office. Buy resistant varieties for the diseases in YOUR area.

RE peaches and brown rot---
I had NO peaches last year due to late frost.
THe year before, no peaches due to total crop infection by Brown rot.
For many years we had great peaches and did not know about spraying and other measures to protect the trees and fruits.
All my trees are infected and will be cut down in the next few years. I wish I had known about the care of the trees BEFORE they were infected.

If you look at all the options to protect the trees, most are NOT available to the homeowner. A special license is provided only to commercial orchards from what I read. Only the safer to use products are available to us homeowners like captan, sulfur and copper.

I will replace with brown rot resistant varieties-- these can still get brown rot and will still need care but hopefully not at the level my currant varieites need to control this.



THis is why most people dont have fruit trees.

RE fireblight apples and pears and ????

An orchard an hour north was hit a few years ago and they no longer sell scion wood. FIreblight is a real risk in my area. I try to pick fireblight resistant rootstocks. Ive been buying more Geneva stock and grafting for apples and OHx F stock for pears. My old pears still look good and dont have fireblight... yet... it is all around me. Fireblight requires entire affected section to be cut out asap as it travels thru the branches to the main trunk.

I am trying to find the least pesticide method possible.

Like traps for coddling moths, water sources for the wild birds, improve my pruning techniques, keep all tools VERY clean, encourage mason bees, maybe have honey bees, increasing the amount of floweering plants for the bees, learn, learn, learn.

Both fireblight and brownrot is picked up from an infected tree and moved to healthy trees by insects into the flowers. THen it travels thru the stem into the branch.

Resistant varieites--research those.
Maybe we can find information about the residues in the fruit and what is the health risk.


Maybe in your research you can find other methods to protect the fruit trees?

 

[Arielle2]

This is from a link listed earlier--funny how this is not in any info provided by the nursery selling the fruit trees.


BIG HORSE CREEK--
"If you have purchased several trees to plant in a small orchard, plow or till the orchard area as thoroughly as possible mixing in ten pounds of agricultural limestone and two pounds of 10-10-10 fertilizer per 100 square feet. Rake or till the plowed area until smooth and mark locations for each tree, maintaining the proper spacing between trees. After planting, keep the soil around each tree free of grass and weeds. A 4 to 6 foot wide area cleared of competing weeds around each tree is of great benefit to a young tree."

 

[ShrekDawg]

You need to do your research for your area and the varieties you have. Call your local extrension office. Buy resistant varieties for the diseases in YOUR area.

RE peaches and brown rot---
I had NO peaches last year due to late frost.
THe year before, no peaches due to total crop infection by Brown rot.
For many years we had great peaches and did not know about spraying and other measures to protect the trees and fruits.
All my trees are infected and will be cut down in the next few years. I wish I had known about the care of the trees BEFORE they were infected.

If you look at all the options to protect the trees, most are NOT available to the homeowner. A special license is provided only to commercial orchards from what I read. Only the safer to use products are available to us homeowners like captan, sulfur and copper.

I will replace with brown rot resistant varieties-- these can still get brown rot and will still need care but hopefully not at the level my currant varieites need to control this.



THis is why most people dont have fruit trees.

RE fireblight apples and pears and ????

An orchard an hour north was hit a few years ago and they no longer sell scion wood. FIreblight is a real risk in my area. I try to pick fireblight resistant rootstocks. Ive been buying more Geneva stock and grafting for apples and OHx F stock for pears. My old pears still look good and dont have fireblight... yet... it is all around me. Fireblight requires entire affected section to be cut out asap as it travels thru the branches to the main trunk.

I am trying to find the least pesticide method possible.

Like traps for coddling moths, water sources for the wild birds, improve my pruning techniques, keep all tools VERY clean, encourage mason bees, maybe have honey bees, increasing the amount of floweering plants for the bees, learn, learn, learn.

Both fireblight and brownrot is picked up from an infected tree and moved to healthy trees by insects into the flowers. THen it travels thru the stem into the branch.

Resistant varieites--research those.
Maybe we can find information about the residues in the fruit and what is the health risk.


Maybe in your research you can find other methods to protect the fruit trees?

This is from a link listed earlier--funny how this is not in any info provided by the nursery selling the fruit trees.


BIG HORSE CREEK--
"If you have purchased several trees to plant in a small orchard, plow or till the orchard area as thoroughly as possible mixing in ten pounds of agricultural limestone and two pounds of 10-10-10 fertilizer per 100 square feet. Rake or till the plowed area until smooth and mark locations for each tree, maintaining the proper spacing between trees. After planting, keep the soil around each tree free of grass and weeds. A 4 to 6 foot wide area cleared of competing weeds around each tree is of great benefit to a young tree."

Thanks! That's all very helpful. Good to know only the safer stuff is available to us but like you said, I would still wonder about the safety of the fruit.

I will have to research resistant varieties. We also have a local feed store here and they are very nice and the manager is a family friend so maybe I will go talk to them. I hate talking on phones haha

Around here we seem to have a big issues with caterpillars. They nearly killed an aspen last year

 

[Arielle2]

Thanks! That's all very helpful. Good to know only the safer stuff is available to us but like you said, I would still wonder about the safety of the fruit.

I will have to research resistant varieties. We also have a local feed store here and they are very nice and the manager is a family friend so maybe I will go talk to them. I hate talking on phones haha

Around here we seem to have a big issues with caterpillars. They nearly killed an aspen last year

copper and sulfur I would expect to be less of a problem. Captain--just the name makes me shutter.

Im still looking for better options.

 

[Arielle2]

This gives some info on copper toxicity to the fruit tree. Particularly the leaves. No mention of the fruit.
https://extension.udel.edu/weeklycropupdate/?p=5884

 

[Arielle2]

THis product has more specific cautions. Like skin irritation. SInce I could not cover my face completely, the spray did make my face feel hot, irritated, much like a face lotion that I tossed long ago.

THe application info says to use several times from dormant to just before full bud, then stop.

https://southernag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/southernag.com_docs_labels_msds_Liq-Copper-Gal.pdf

THis source has head spinning details AND a bit about carefully following the instructions for concentrration, application and specific fruit and disease.
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/should-copper-sulfate-fruit-trees-92720.html

I dont know if this source of info is a ggod one. BUT it is providing info that is not elsewhere that is important,
Like, excess copper used on plants with a fruit can cause the fruit to be less sweet.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/effects-copper-sulfate-plants-27633.html

 

[ShrekDawg]

Thanks for all the info!

And captain.. do you mean captain jack? I bought some last year but never used it because the tree in question was right next to the chickens. Now that we moved the run I might but is that stuff bad?

 

[Arielle2]

Thanks for all the info!

And captain.. do you mean captain jack? I bought some last year but never used it because the tree in question was right next to the chickens. Now that we moved the run I might but is that stuff bad?

Not familiar with captain jack. CAPTAN is the chemical name.

 

[Arielle2]

This is a sulfur product, as powder or mixed in water. I see a contradition, as it seems to me. The cautions say not to use on fruits for sale, but then goes on to list veryspecific fruits and how to use. Boggles the mind. Mine at least.

Planet Naturals lists this as a recommend for organic treament of brown rot.

https://www.planetnatural.com/wp-content/uploads/sulfur-fungicide-label.pdf