Market Farming

["Bill Shoemaker" <wshoemak AT inil.com>]

The Japanese have been using paper bags for apples for years, particularly Fuji. It seems to have a very positive qualitative effect, including the control of certain pest problems.

Bill Shoemaker,

Univ of Illinois

> On Sun, 20 Aug 2006 13:38:21 -0400, you wrote:
>
> >My pears, on which I also used Surround, look pretty good, too, but aren't
> >ripe yet. It rained the entire week the apples were in bloom, so they
> >didn't get pollinated, and I only have a few pathetic apples this year...I
> >also sprayed them, but they look awful. Maybe it's bugs, maybe they
> >weren't properly pollinated. Anyway, I'd recommend trying Surround...it's
> >isn't very expensive, and may finally be a good solution for bug-free
> >organic fruit.
>
> I'm glad your pears and peaches did well!
>
> I also read - on a fruit-growers list - (NAFEX - North American Fruit
> Explorers) that many apple growers are now using plastic bags on their
> apples. When each apple starts to develop, they 'bag it' - with a
> Ziploc-style bag large enough to hold the full-grown apple, fastening it
> around the twig with string (I think), and clipping a small hole in each
> bottom corner for water to escape. They leave the bags on even after the
> apple is picked and in storage.
>
> They are reporting wonderful results, strange as this practice seems. No
> insect damage at all.
>
> Pat
>
> --
> In the Appalachian Mountains in northern Pennsylvania
> Blog (mainly gardening and cooking related):
> http://www.entire-of-itself.blogspot.com/
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>

William H. Shoemaker
Sr Research Specialist, Food Crops
St Charles Horticulture Research Center
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

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