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- From: "Michael Phillips" <michael@herbsandapples.com>
- To: <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
- Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Apple maggot trap tree
- Date: Fri, 4 Jan 2008 11:38:21 -0500
I know of a small apple orchard
where something surprising is happening. There is what looks like a Dolgo
crab spaced about 20 ft. from the other trees. The owner doesn't spray
and his eating apples free of apple maggot while the “Dolgo” fruits
have several, to many, maggots in each. Then, when the apples ripen, the birds chow
down on the “Dolgo.” Could this be a recipe for raising organic apples that is
easier than bagging? I have a couple comments / questions on what might be going
on here. Apple maggot fly is drawn to ripening fruit to both feed and
lay eggs. In a “normal” year, the female finds early varieties
starting in July, then progresses to mid-season varieties by early to mid
August. Late varieties often escape notice in this scenario as by then the
waves of maturing AMF have done their thing. Generally speaking, early varieties
get hammered more so than harder apples that ripen later in the season. The
flies emerge from the soil, where they pupated from the season before. Emergence
can be delayed by cool weather and extended dry spells, which is why there’s
no such thing as a normal year. We need to know a couple of things about the orchard that 1. Are the
other varieties later ripening, thus increasing the potential draw to the “Dolgo”
that much more? 2. How distant
are 3. I love the bird
angle. It would seem that a feeding frenzy would be required however, so that apples
are pretty much cleaned up directly off the tree and definitely within a week
of dropping. AMF larvae get from fallen fruit to the soil in 3 to 9 days time,
and once there, the pest cycle is in place for the next season. I had a confusing year myself as regards AMF. I saw but one
adult all season long, and that was on Gala in early August. Signs of damage
were for all practical purposes non-existent. I had a couple monitoring traps
out but never put out more as there didn’t seem to be a need to make more
red balls sticky. I did not make my “usual application” of Entrust (spinosad)
in early August as there was no sign at that time of second generation moths. Thus
nothing was being done that might hinder AMF. We had a good growing season,
with moderate dry spells interspersed with good rains, so while AMF could have
been delayed a few weeks in July, things should have been happening in earnest
by mid-August. I picked early varieties like Duchess and William’s Pride at
the end of August and saw no AMF stings whatsoever (amazing!). September came
and I cleaned up the sprayer for the year, not having used it since a nettle / horsetail
/ unadulterated neem oil application on July 10 (which I think not relevant to
this season’s AMF situation). But a curveball was yet to come: The
incredibly warm days of this past September allowed AMF to keep at it but the
fly limited its activity to feeding stings on one tree, a loaded Jonafree. I
saw no signs of any damage to the flesh of these apples, which would have
indicated eggs had been laid, but almost every apple had 8 to 20 feeding stings.
But again, only the Jonafree (I picked this crop solely for cider and thus
prevented any drop presence) and all other varieties were clean. Every site and every year can be so different that it can be
nearly impossible to come up with a “one size fits all” plan. Though
we should keep trying! Anybody else have AMF observations to share? Cheers. Michael Lost Nation
Orchard 859 Lost 603-636-2286 Check out our fun and fascinating about holistic orcharding! |
-
Re: [NAFEX] Apple maggot trap tree,
Michael Phillips, 01/04/2008
- <Possible follow-up(s)>
-
[NAFEX] Apple Maggot trap tree,
Jim Fruth, 01/05/2008
- Re: [NAFEX] Apple Maggot trap tree, dmnorton, 01/07/2008
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