North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Alan Haigh" <alandhaigh@gmail.com>]

It is quite common for a species of insect to single out one or a few varieties over all others in an orchard, so when I've seen Honeycrisp favored by my JB's I've not given it much thought.  If you wanted a specific reason you might find it in a nutritional analysis of the leaves.  I wouldn't be surprised if Honeycrisp has a relatively high concentration of N. meaning it would be a good source of protean.

 

Why mites seem particularly fond of Tompkins King or scale are drawn to Empire and so forth would be of interest as well but the answer probably wouldn't simplify management of the pests, beyond increasing ones vigilance for pests in more susceptible varieties.

 

What is also interesting about Honecrisp is that it seems to be a magnet for a multitude of pests.  Squirrels favor it above all other varieties to the point where they'll strip a tree of all Honeycrisp many weeks before they are ripe while ignoring completely ripe apples of another variety nearby.

 

At a NAFEX meeting sometime back a commercial grower complained of pick-your-own customers doing the same thing!  They'd ignore the ripe summer apples in favor of still green Honeycrisps, jumping temporary fences and even ignoring warning signs that trees had just been sprayed.