Spraying trees

[lfoose]

Hi,

We bought a house last year that came with some apple, cherry and pear trees that bear fruit like crazy but are deformed and full of bugs. The trees look like they have been neglected most of their lives. I'd like to get them back in shape and to bear edible fruit.

Can anyone suggest the best, cheapest and safest spray to use to eliminate the bugs? Also, when shoudl I spray?

Thanks!

 

[patandchickens]

Give them a proper (educated) pruning first. BEFORE they leaf out or bloom. Get a good book or website(s) and read up on it, there are definitely helpful and harmful ways to go about it That right there should improve fruit quality a good bit.

Then, personally I would suggest not spraying this year and taking the time to actually identify what bugs you have. There are lots of possible culprits, and control methods are different for different critters.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[bills]

Probably too late this year to spray dormant sprays. My trees are all in leaf now. Dormant sprays can rid you of a lot of bug problems.

If you get caterpiller nests, or aphids you could still spray them later this summer. You could also use tanglefoot paste, if you wanted to. This will help if they are climbing insects. There are systemic insecticides, which you paint on the bark, but these are usually used on ornamentals, not on trees that you may be eating from. Perhaps if applied early enough the fruit would be safe to eat at harvest, but I would first do some research to see how long the poison persists.

If your trees have other problems, scab, bark blister, silverleaf, leafcurl, etc., etc. you may want to check with a local nursery to see what they suggest. Sometimes infected trees, if older ones, are best removed, and replaced with new trees. Even heavy pruning won't help.

Good luck!