North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Scott Smith <scott@cs.jhu.edu>]

I used 5x7 drawstring bags last year and they were OK for all apple  
sizes I had.  They were getting a bit tight on the biggest apples  
such as my Canada Reinettes.  If many of my apples were the big  
triploids I would probably go for 6x8.  The 4x6 bags should work well  
on most peaches.  In any case the footies are probably a better  
option since they are cheaper and they stretch.

By the way, taking off the bags early would not be an option for me,  
the oriental fruit moth is as bad as the curculio here, and it lasts  
all season long.

Scott

> Andy - I think you are likely correct, but I will wait to hear from  
> those
> more knowledgeable as well. I wish I'd had the sense to try what you
> suggested with at least part of the bagged crop, because the bits  
> of peach I
> was able to salvage were sweet and fragrant.
>
> By the way, I ordered 4" x 6" cloth bags yesterday afternoon and they
> arrived at noon today (?). They are not as roomy as I supposed.  
> They will be
> fine for my purposes but I suspect a good sized apple would outgrow  
> them at
> some point.
>
> dylan
>
>
> From: "Whipple, Andy"
> Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Fruit Bagging
>
>
> > Dylan,
> >
> > If the main problem you are trying to solve is plum curculio, and if
> > bagging your peaches and nectarines seems to work until a later  
> point in
> > the season, could you not remove the bags part way through the  
> season?
> > Others in the group will correct my misstatements, but is not  
> curculio
> > pressure limited to an early part of the growing season?  If so,  
> and if
> > for your stone crops you are bagging only to stop curculio access  
> to the
> > developing fruit, then once that point in the season is past you  
> could
> > safely remove the bags, having achieved the desired end of  
> protecting
> > the fruit from curculio.
> >
> > There's nothing like right-off-the-tree, totally ripened  
> peaches.  If
> > bagging could reduce the curculio problem without introducing other
> > problems, that would be terrific news for those of us growing small
> > enough numbers of peaches and other stone fruit to make this
> > practicable.
> >
> > Andy Whipple

>