Fruit tree pest prevention
Living the Country Life Radio Program with Betsy Freese
Radio interview source: Linda Naeve, Extension program specialist, Iowa State University
It's not possible to have perfect fruit trees. But, you can get a little closer to that goal with some planning. First of all, do research in your area for varieties that are as pest and disease-resistant as possible. There are a number of apple, pear and cherry trees that have resistance bred into them.
Another important factor is where they're grown. Fruit trees prefer full sunlight and moist but well-drained soil. If environmental conditions are not suitable for growing fruits, pest and disease problems are harder to manage. Sometimes there's not much you can do, especially if the weather is cool and damp. Bugs and disease thrive in those conditions.
Linda Naeve is an Extension program specialist at Iowa State University and says control starts with knowing how diseases and insects overwinter and spread. It also depends on how well you clean up at the end of the season.
"If you had apple scab the previous year, and you left all those dead leaves under your trees, or if you had some fruit fungal problems on your cherry trees or on your apple trees, you need to get rid of all that old plant debris," Naeve says. "The old fruit that fall, the leaves that fall. That reduces the inoculant of the fungal organisms that can reinfect the tree next year."
Even if you did get rid of debris on the ground, bugs and disease can still linger in wood attached to the tree. So maybe it's time to prune the trees.
"Going in and pruning out dead wood that might get infected or opening the trees up for more sunlight," Naeve says. "We get better yields, better air movement, less disease problems if our trees are more open. Fruits tend to have better quality, and better fruit production toward the center of the tree if they're pruned properly."
Sometimes you can fool insects into thinking they're getting a lush apple meal by hanging round, red, sticky traps in trees that attract the adult apple maggot. Many growers use this as a monitor to see when the apple maggot population is starting to fly so they know when to put sprays on.
Home gardeners who wouldn't dream of using pesticides on other crops may have to on fruit trees. But don't apply any unless it's absolutely needed. You could create bigger problems if you treat something that's nonexistent.
Learn more:
Backyard orchards: Before choosing a type of fruit tree to plant, first consider the location and soil type.
Pests and pesticides in the home fruit garden: Learn how to check your fruit trees for pests, and how to treat them -- with or without chemicals.
Disease and insect management in the home orchard: Here are some tips for managing your peach, apple, pear, cherry and plum trees.
