North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Mark & Helen Angermayer" <hangermayer@isp.com>]

Title: Message

Hi Randy,

 

The label on my bottle of liqui-cop (8%copper) says 2 tsp. in the dormant period and 1/2 tsp as a post bloom spray.  Apply twice during the season but not later than 3 weeks prior to harvest.  One nice thing about copper is that it fights leaf curl as well as bac. spot.   I used it last season and had less bac. spot than the previous season.  But, it wasn't as wet here last spring so that may have accounted for less bac. spot.  I quit using it though, because a soil test determined I had high copper levels in the soil.  Copper can be toxic to plants at high enough levels and also toxic to aquatic life.  Another thing to consider is copper has a slight acidifying affect on soil.  Since you are back east your soil may already be acidic and you may not want to add to that.  That's the one thing I have against purely organic methods of control.  Sometimes the approved organic compound lasts a lot longer in the environment than a synthesized product.  As a side note, that's why I haven't tried Surround.  I'm not very excited about spraying an aluminum based product on the fruit.  Mind you, I'm still trying to stay as organic as possible, but I don't consider something safe just because it's approved for organic use.

 

 

All the literature says bac. spot is extremely hard to control and it is suggested that resistant varieties be planted instead of spraying for it.  Of course  that doesn't help you with your existing trees but it may be good to know if you plant more.  I believe commercial producers use spectromycin (sp?)  Of course you have the risk of antibiotic resistance buildup, but I think they have to do it sometimes to get a sellable crop.

 

I may have read somewhere or sometime that hydrogen peroxide was used to control bacterial cankers.  I wonder if it's bactericide properties would give some help against bac. spot.  Perhaps someone more knowledgeable than I could comment on this.  I'm just a novice trying to think out of the box.  I have no idea what it would do to the tree.  My guess is it would be OK for the bark and probably OK for young dormant shoots.  You would definitely use it only during the dormant period.  Just an idea.  Try it at your own risk.

 

God bless,

Mark

Zone 5 Kansas

----- Original Message -----

From: Randall Burd

To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org

Sent: Sunday, February 18, 2007 1:20 PM

Subject: [NAFEX] Organic solution to bacterial spot

I need an effective organic solution to bacterial spot for my backyard orchard. I have read that cooper will work but I cannot find a formulation for backyard use and have seen warnings about toxicity to foliage. Anyone know if a consumer friendly solution? How do I carry out the cooper method?

 

Thanks.

 

Randy

 

Zone 6

NJ

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