HORTICULTURE
Using Common
Pesticides to Control Insects and Diseases
in Backyard Small FruitPlantings
By: Mark
Longstroth,
District Extension Educator for
Horticulture & Marketing
Pesticide registration for use on home fruit plantings have changed a lot in the last few years and many materials are no longer sold. New materials appear every year. These recommendations are for homeowners using commonly available homeowner fruit sprays. Most materials are registered on some but not all fruit. Read the label to determine the spray’s ingredients, what crops to use it on and how to use the material. These recommendations assume that you have all the pests in Michigan. I suggest you get some references and determine exactly which pests you have and then tailor your spray program to the insect and disease complex you have. For more information on these pesticides see my home pesticides page.
Thoroughly wet all foliage for good control of insects and diseases. Generally only fungicides are necessary before bloom. Insecticides are used after bloom to protect the fruit.
Strawberries |
Apply captan or another registered fungicide, when flower buds are visible in the crown and apply after each rain or irrigation through harvest. Before bloom you can include malathion or use an all-purpose fruit spray to reduce spittlebug, strawberry clipper and tarnished plant bug. Do not Use Insecticides during Bloom! Fungicide sprays during bloom will reduce fruit rots. After bloom, until harvest, include Sevin or use an all-purpose fruit spray to reduce Tarnished plant bug. Spray on a 7-10 day interval. After harvest and renovation sprays of captan and an insecticide or an all-purpose fruit spray will reduce leaf diseases and injury from potato leafhopper. |
Raspberries |
Apply lime sulfur in the dormant season before green tissue appears, to control anthracnose. When new canes are 6 inches tall captan and Sevin or an all-purpose fruit spray will protect the plants from insects and diseases. Apply captan sprays during bloom to reduce fruit rots. After bloom Captan and Sevin or an all-purpose fruit spray will protect the fruits from insects and diseases every 7 to 10 days. Apply Sevin to control Japanese beetles whenever you see them. If you need to apply fungicides and insecticides during harvest due to rain, use malathion rather than Sevin with Captan. After harvest, Captan and Sevin or an all-purpose fruit spray will reduce insects and diseases. Spray on a 10 to 14 day interval. |
Blueberries |
Apply lime sulfur in the dormant season to reduce anthracnose and phomopsis. If you have mummyberry, apply captan as new green shoot emerge from the bud. Apply first mummyberry sprays when new shoots are ¼ inch long and after freezes. Repeat twice at 7 day intervals. You may use Sevin or an all-purpose fruit spray if you see insects feeding on young leaves and shoots. Apply captan sprays just before and during bloom to reduce mummyberry and other fruit rots. After bloom Captan and Sevin or an all-purpose fruit spray will protect the fruits from insects and diseases. Spray every 7 to 10 days. Blueberry maggot fly emerges after rains and lays its eggs inside coloring fruit. Spray with malathion every 7 days |
Grapes |
Apply first captan spray when new shoots are 3 inch long. Repeat on 6 to 7 inch shoots, at beginning of bloom and full bloom. Add Sevin to mixture at the end of bloom and repeat twice at 10-day intervals to control grape berry moth and grape leafhoppers. Spray with complete mixture of Captan and Sevin at 14-day intervals. Apply 3 sprays. |
Revised 4/22/08
If you have a large palnting you should use larger equipment and commerial general use pesticides.
