[NAFEX] Winter moth in apple tree/Spinosad
list at ginda.us
list at ginda.us
Sun Apr 16 10:53:52 EDT 2006
Update (yes, after one day):
Spinosad works better than Surround, for sure (at least for winter
moths). The Surround did nothing at all, and every day the trees
looked worse. Today I went out to check the tree where I saw damage
yesterday. A couple of leaves had started to unfurl, and they seemed
no more damaged than yesterday. I found an inactive caterpillar on
the inside of one, visible without moving the leaves - not hiding
safely inside the bud. It's about 1.5mm long, and maybe 0.2mm wide,
about the same size as the one I dug out of a bud yesterday. I will
cross my fingers and keep an eye on them.
Ginda
On Apr 15, 2006, at 12:33 PM, list at ginda.us wrote:
> Last year my apple trees were devastated by winter moth (or some
> other caterpillar that acts early and crawls into the center of the
> buds to eat out the growing tips, before graduating to inchworm-hood.)
>
> This year I hope to beat them. I sprayed dormant oil a few weeks
> ago, and today I put on an application of spinosad-based
> insecticide. It's supposed to be quite safe. The warning label says
> "keep out of reach of children" and "don't use your kitchen utensils
> to measure this", and nothing more than that. It is supposed to be
> fairly benign towards beneficial insects, with the exception of
> bees. But it's only supposed to be harmful to bees on the day of
> application. (Until it dries, I'd guess, although the label lists
> some number of hours.) It breaks down quickly, which is a nuisance
> re re-application, but means it doesn't build up in the environment.
> And the "season" for winter moths is rather short, so it's not like
> I'll be doing this all summer. But of course, the big question is,
> does it work?
>
> So I sprayed today, since the crab-apples will be in bloom in a
> couple of days, and I don't want to kill all my bees. Depending on
> how things look, I will probably spray again after the eating apples
> drop their petals. (The crabs sprout and bloom earlier than the
> domestic apples.)
>
> Last year I tried surround with no visible impact at all.
>
> Spinosad is probably expensive for a real orchard, but for a couple
> of small backyard trees the major investment is the time to spray,
> clean up, etc., for almost any insecticide.
>
> Anyone used the stuff?
>
> Ginda
> eastern Mass., zone 6
> bud clusters on crabs, green tips on apples, daffs and forsythia in
> full glory. A beautiful spring day.
> _______________________________________________
> nafex mailing list
> nafex at lists.ibiblio.org
>
> Reproduction of list messages or archives is not allowed.
> This includes distribution on other email lists or reproduction on
> web sites.
> Permission to reproduce is NEVER granted, so don't claim you have
> permission!
>
> **YOU MUST BE SUBSCRIBED TO POST!**
> Posts from email addresses that are not subscribed are discarded.
> No exceptions.
> ----
> To subscribe or unsubscribe, go to the bottom of this page (also
> can be used to change other email options):
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/nafex
>
> File attachments are NOT stripped by this list.
> TAKE STEPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM COMPUTER VIRUSES!
> Please do not send binary files.
> Use plain text ONLY in emails!
>
> NAFEX web site: http://www.nafex.org/
More information about the nafex
mailing list