Download Early Spring Care for Fruit Trees

Early Spring Care for Fruit Trees
When the apple and cherry trees start to bloom we know that spring has finally arrived. Fruit trees are
wonderful additions to the home landscape, both as fruit producers and ornamental blooming
trees. But unfortunately spring and early summer is a time when fruit trees need to be protected from
several insect and disease problems that can affect them at that time of year.
What Troubles Your Fruit Trees?
Fruit growers often call Nebraska Extension asking what pesticide products should be used on their
home fruit plantings and when they should be applied. Our first question for them is, "What insects and
diseases are you trying to control?"
In the past, orchard pest control was often done with a pre-determined schedule of pesticide
applications at specific times of year. Now, with growing concern related to 1) environmental concerns
like pesticide impact on pollinators and 2) pesticide impact on human health, it makes sense to develop
a customized spray schedule based on the specific insect and disease problems present in your fruit
planting.
In other words, growers only need to use pesticides to control insect or diseases that are problems for
their fruits and can't be control with good management techniques. Do a little research to find out the
most common pest problems for the fruit trees you grow and observe carefully to discover which
problems affected your trees. Then target your control efforts only on those problems.
Cultural Disease Control
Fruit tree disease problems often overwinter on dried fruits or "mummies" that fell on the ground last
fall and have remained there under the tree during the winter. This also happens with leaves from trees
infected with fungal diseases; the spores overwinter on the leaves and are present to re-infect the tree
the following spring as it begins to leaf out. For this reason, sanitation beneath and around your fruit
trees is very important. Collect and discard or burn all debris from the tree, including leaves and fruit
each year.
Also prune out and destroy all dead or diseased branches and twigs each spring. Dead or diseased
branches can be pruned out at any time of year, but if your tree is actively growing be sure to clean the
pruners between each cut. This is to prevent the spread of fireblight, a common bacterial disease of
apple and pear, and other canker-type fungal pathogens. Cuts should be made at least 8-12 inches
below the margin of visible infection. Clean pruners by dipping them in a 10% bleach solution (9 parts
water to 1 part bleach) between cuts.
Cultural Insect Control
Early season insects of fruit trees like apple maggot, cherry fruit fly and coddling moth can be reduced
through the use of two different types of traps. Traps should be placed in your trees by late May.
Apple maggot and cherry fruit fly overwinter as pupae in the soil and begin to emerge in early to mid
June. A large circular ball, painted red like an apple and coated with a layer of petroleum jelly or
Tanglefoot will attract and trap these insects, hopefully before they begin laying eggs. Tanglefoot, a
very sticky substance, is particularly effective in trapping the adult insects. The fruits on apple and
cherry trees are smaller and less brightly colored at this point in the season, so are less attractive to the
insects than the trap. One trap per tree is sufficient.
Another type of trap can help reduce coddling moth larvae in your apples and pears. Use a plastic gallon
jug, like a milk container, and place in it 1 banana peel, 1 cup vinegar and 1 cup sugar. Fill the jug almost
full of water, replace the cap and shake it well to mix and dissolve the contents. Remove the cap and
firmly secure one jug into each apple tree. The moths are attracted to the scent of the concoction in the
jug, becoming trapped and drowned when they investigate. Refill the jug with water as needed
throughout the summer.
Fruit Spray Schedules for Homeowners, http://go.unl.edu/sprayschedule, is a great publication from
University of Missouri Extension, divided into sections for each type of fruit. It lists common pest
problems and their control measures. Growers can pick out the pests that give them the most problems
and identify the pesticide applications needed for just those problems.
For example, you have apple trees and selected cultivars with good resistance to fire blight, cedar-apple
rust and apple scab, the most common diseases of apples. But the fruits still have problems with
maggots, which in apples are most often caused by codling moth or plum curculio larvae. So you choose
to make pesticide applications for control of just those insects. In other words, your spray schedule is
tailored to the needs of your trees. Insecticide applications for these tunneling insects don’t begin until
petal fall, when the trees are dropping their flower petals.
Earlier insecticide applications will not help control these pests so are wasted unless your trees have
other insect problems as well. Plus, spraying trees in bloom, when bees and other pollinators on actively
visiting the flowers, increases the likelihood of killing them too.
Of course identifying the exact insect and disease problems affecting your fruits is always the first step
and Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County is a great resource to help, along with your local nursery
and garden center professionals. Give us a call at 441-7180 or stop by the office for assistance with fruit
pest identification.
Your Suggestions are Welcome!
Is there a lawn and gardening topic you would like to learn more about? Sarah Browning is an Extension
Educator with Nebraska Extension and can be contacted by phone at (402) 441-7180: by mail at 444
Cherrycreek Road, Lincoln, NE 68528: or by e-mail at [email protected].
Sarah Browning
Extension Educator- Horticulture
Nebraska Extension In Lancaster County
444 Cherrycreek Road, Suite A, Lincoln, NE 68528
Phone: (402) 441-7180
Email: [email protected]