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stamper057

Apple scab Problem

Stamper057
10 years ago

I purchased a small orchard last winter without any orchard experince(This is just a hobby orchard) We had a problem with apple scab last year and would like to know the best way to take care of this problem.

Comments (9)

  • alan haigh
    10 years ago

    A minimum of 2 sprays, one at petal fall and the 2nd 10-14 days later should give adequate control. If you add Spectracides "Once and Done" Triazide formula at label rates in the mix you have at least a shot at harvesting sound fruit, depending on where you live.

  • mamuang_gw
    10 years ago

    H-man,

    Are you mean to tell Stamper to use Immunox, fungicide spray (or in your case, a brand called Rally) to fight apple scab?

  • alan haigh
    10 years ago

    Mam, that is what I thought I had written but somehow skipped the Immunox part. Thanks for cleaning it up.

  • Stamper057
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I have been reading up on apple tree sprays programs and was thinking about spraying a copper fungicide between silver tip and 1/2" green tip. And then captain or rally mixed with Imidan at petal fall. I also read you could spray urea on the orchard floor or spread dolomitic lime early in the spring. Do you think any of these would be a good idea. Thanks for your help.

  • spartan-apple
    10 years ago

    Stamper:

    I am old school and still use captan & Imidan in my 20 tree
    hobby orchard. Perhaps because it is readily available for me and that is what I used many years ago at a commercial orchard I worked at in the 1980's.

    I spray Captan at green tip to petal fall every 7 days
    for primary scab control on apples. At petal fall thru mid-June I spray
    Captan 50 and Imidan 70 every 7 days.

    After June 15th our curculio season is usually over and so
    is the period for primary scab infection. At this time I go to
    my summer spray schedule and spray captan/imidan every
    12-14 days thru mid-late August but stopping at the correct
    PHI for every fruit crop that ripens before late August.

    I will stop spraying peaches by July 25th and early pears
    by August 1st in my area. I prefer to err on safety side and
    stop well before the PHI listed for each crop. We do have
    maggot issues on apples in August so I like to make sure my apples are covered at least thru August 20th for good
    control.

    Again this is old school using a calendar method for spraying but it works for me and for what I grow in S.E. WI.
    Your pest issues may differ from mine pending what part of
    the country you are growing fruit in. Control will depend on
    what you choose to spray with, availability of chemicals, and how much spraying you are comfortable with.

    Some on this site do well with few sprays and are great at monitoring for insect populations to apply controls at the critical time.

  • spartan-apple
    10 years ago

    Stamper:

    I forgot to state that if you do use Captan/Imidan as
    you mentioned, the rate is 2 tablespoons/gallon for Captan 50 and 1 tablespoon/gallon with Imidan 70.

    I trust you will be using the proper safety equipment if spraying these chemicals. I don't want to advocate spraying without safety in mind for any chemical.

  • alan haigh
    10 years ago

    I disagree with ever spraying on a schedule of Imidan every 2 weeks into summer whether you need it or not.

    I'm in southern NY and 2 applications of Imidan is all we usually need for apples, although apple fly maggot is a problem at some sites in my general region which might require another two. In the 100 orchards I manage they've never appeared and the only times I've needed additional insecticide is at a couple sites for stink bugs and Jap beetles.

    Why would you spray Captan every week to control scab when a total of 3 or even 2 myclobutanil sprays works just fine in the usual pressure found in a home orchard? You can throw some Cap in the mix if you want to make sure growing tissue gets a dose after rain (captan splashes), but I've not found that necessary.

    Imidan is a very useful insecticide and does a good job on most of the insect pests of fruit trees but it is a pain to mix in small batches. Be sure to have a dust mask, at least, along with everything required by the label, if you are going to cut open the water soluble bags.

    I've never used copper, although I bought some an intend to spray my apricots with it to help with bacterial spot, but I've never had the need for it on any other fruit trees I manage. It is supposed to help with fire blight but even if I don't treat FB it usually doesn't return the year after it makes an appearance for me.

    Unnecessary sprays can lead to outbreaks of mites and scale as you eliminate beneficial predators. Although Imidan is relatively kind to some of these it is still best to use it only when you are targeting a known pest.

  • joebella
    10 years ago

    Imidan is not available to the home gardener in NYS. I used it for years and was very successful. Recently, I have been a failure. I have not found a viable substitute. Spotty results with Spectracide. Last year I paid a pro $160 per spray visit and he failed me. I'm ready to give up.

  • alan haigh
    10 years ago

    Don't give up, Joe. Pyrethroids like the one used in Triazide, the product Spectracide produces for fruit plants, can be affective. The difference between it and Imidan is it has no kickback so it should be on the plant before the pest arrives. Another factor can be its short shelf life of about 2 years because there is no freshness code on the packaging. You might want to capture some insects and spray them to make sure it's still working. Who knows how long its been since first formulated?

    I've had very good results with the commercial formulation pyrethroid I use (Asana) and haven't suffered from its inability to kill the eggs already laid in the fruit even though I wait for last apples to lose petals before doing the first spray- even on plum trees that dropped petals as much as 2 weeks before. This is at scores of orchards for the last couple of years.

    You may still be able to obtain Imidan on-line or at sources in CT such as Valley Green if you call ahead.