Fruit trees should thrive with proper planting and organic pest control
People seem to think that fruit trees are difficult to grow and have too many bugs and diseases. Well, it’s just not true – unless you take the wrong advice. Here is a simple tutorial.
Provided you’ve planted the fruit trees properly, gentle organic pest control will result in less labor and tastier production. We have a few pests to control as many of the fruit trees we all try to grow are not native to north Texas. It is the same everywhere. As a result, the plants are at least a little stressed and are therefore subject to some insect and disease problems.
The program here is for combating aphids, dandruff, plum curculio, peach leaf flakes or other fungi, bacteria or viruses.
Spray schedule
Peach leaf curls are a common fungal disease that can be combated with the Sick Tree Treatment and organic sprays.(Howard Garrett / special article)
The first thing you need to understand is that any type of toxic chemical spray or soil soak is a bad idea. That approach doesn’t work. It kills more beneficial insects and helpful microbes than the targeted pests and contaminates soil, air, ponds, lakes, streams, and groundwater. It can also harm birds, lizards, toads, frogs, pets, your grandmother, and the postman. It just doesn’t make sense to do it. Here’s what makes sense.
Initial spray: Spray Garrett Juice or Garrett Juice Plus and cornmeal tea or garlic at the pink bud stage before the flowers open. Also soak the root zone with 1 gallon of the mixture per 1,000 square feet.
Second spray: use the same mixture after the flowers fall.
Third spraying: Around June 15 (later in more northerly locations).
Fourth spraying: Last week of August to mid-September. Extra sprays are fine if time and budget allow.
Generally
Trees should be planted tall using natural organic techniques. Hull extensions should be clearly visible. Soil should not be grown around trees to avoid damaging the roots of the food source. No food plants should ever have bare soil in the root zone. The soil should be covered with native crushed mulches and / or catch crops. Organic fertilizer should be applied in early spring, early summer, and fall. Applying mycorrhizal products to the root zone is also helpful.
Bare ground under trees and buried root flares are two no-gos when you want healthy trees.(Howard Garrett / special article)
Insect management
Trichogramma wasps fight all caterpillar pests: release 10,000 to 20,000 eggs per acre or residential lot when buds break. Repeat in three weeks if the budget allows, but one application will do for most sites.
Disease management
Smaller and more serious illnesses are for the most part combated by simply using the basic program. Pecan box girders on pecans are controlled by the Trichogramma wasps. Pecan scab, peach leaf curls, and other diseases are controlled by tending to stress-free trees and spraying cornmeal or garlic. Heavily used trees should be treated with the Sick Tree Treatment.
For more information on pest control and other related topics, please see my books Organic Management for the Professional and the Texas Bug Book.
[ad_1]