HORTICULTURE
Van Buren MSUE Home
Fruit Pages
By: Mark
Longstroth,
District Extension Educator for
Horticulture & Marketing
These recommendations are for homeowners using commonly available homeowner fruit sprays. Pesticide registration for home fruit has changed a lot in the last few years and many materials are no longer sold. Most materials are registered on some but not all fruit. I discuss the pesticides used in home fruit in another file. Read the label to determine the sprays ingredients, what crops to use it on and how to use the material. I also have a listing of MSU fruit publications of interest to home growers. 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. Pesticide incompatibilities occur when pesticides are combined. The specific interaction that homeowners need to worry about is when using oil. Oil should not be used with Captan or sulfur fungicides because the oil will carry the Captan or sulfur into the plant. A general rule of thumb is that a week or more should separate Captan sprays from oil sprays
Apples |
Apply dormant oil or lime sulfur in the dormant season before green
tissue appears, to control scale,
mites and aphids. After petal fall, when the fruit are as big as your fingernails, include Sevin for plum curculio. Sevin insecticide is a mild fruit thinner of apples. This is good for reducing the crop and making the fruit larger at harvest. The best results are when the fruit are ¼ to ½ inch in diameter and the weather is warm. Many different insect pests attack apples. Codling moth and apple maggot are common backyard pests. Captan plus Sevin or a fruit tree spray mix should be used every 10 to 14 days until harvest or Sept. 15 whichever comes first. If mites or aphids appear, spray with insecticidal soap, 2 tablespoons per gallon of water. Spray twice at a 7-day interval. |
Pears |
Disease control is similar in pears to the apple program
except pears generally have fewer insect pests. For pear scab, start Captan sprays at first sign of
green tissue; spray before or right after each rain until petal fall. Continue this
fungicide program until a month after bloom.
|
Stone Fruit |
Chlorothalonil is used in stone fruit to control blossom brown rot. Chlorothalonil should not be used on the fruit. Chlorothalonil is only allowed until shuck slit and after harvest. All stone fruit need trunk sprays for peach tree borers. These trunk spray should be applied in late June or early July using materials registered for that use (look for borer sprays) |
Apricots |
Do not use
Sulfur on Apricots.
|
Peaches |
A copper spray such as Bordeaux mixture or a lime sulfur spray
in the dormant season will reduce Peach
leaf curl and bacterial spot. Chlorothalonil is used to control blossom brown
rot. Apply brown rot sprays just before and during bloom. Spray right after each
rain during bloom. After bloom, use Captan; spray every 10 to 14 days until harvest,
to control peach scab (rusty spot), mildew and fruit brown rot.
|
Plums |
A copper spray such as Bordeaux mixture or a lime sulfur spray
will reduce diseases such as bacterial spot. Chlorothalonil is used control blossom
brown rot. Apply brown rot sprays before and during bloom. Spray immediately
after each rain during bloom. After bloom use Captan; spraying every 10 to 14 days
until harvest. Black knot
is a significant disease of plums in Michigan and Captan does not give good control.
Cut out black knot as soon as you see it.
|
Sweet cherry |
A copper spray such as Bordeaux mixture will reduce bacterial
canker. Sweet cherries are not tolerant of copper. Copper should only
be used in the dormant season. Sweet cherries are
very susceptible to brown rot. Use chlorothalonil sprays just before and during bloom.
Spray at least twice during bloom or right after each rain during bloom.
Spray on last time with chlorothalonil for cherry leaf spot before shuck split.
After shuck split use Captan; spray every 10 to 14 days until harvest to control
cherry leaf spot and fruit brown rot.
|
Tart Cherry |
A dormant copper spray such as Bordeaux mixture reduces
bacterial canker. Tart cherries are tolerant of copper and copper may be used in
moderation after the leaves come out to control cherry leaf spot. Tart cherries
seldom get blossom brown rot. Chlorothalonil can be used to control blossom brown
rot. Apply brown rot sprays before and during bloom. Spray right after each
rain during bloom. Spray one last time with chlorothalonil after petal fall, before
shuck split to control cherry leaf spot. After shuck split use Captan to reduce
cherry leaf spot, spray every 10 to 14 days until harvest. After harvest use
chlorothalonil once again to control cherry leaf spot.
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Posted: April 16, 2008
Updated October 7, 2009