North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

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

Don wrote:

"I have never tried Immunox (Nova), Indar, or other systemics, and am
mistrustful of organic fungicides like Serenade.  If Pristine is primarily
marketed as organic, I would have doubts about that as well."

Don,
Thanks for the information, tested by years of experience.

I wouldn't quite agree a pesticide label is the equivalent of a clothes iron
warning, but I do agree with your statement above that organics are not as
effective in their control.  I mention this because I read an article in the
last Fruit Grower News that mentioned a grower in the southeast who is
successfully growing apples organically.  It was an interesting article.
Apparently he is the only one who's doing it in the southeast, at any kind
of scale (100 acres).  Anyway, he uses all the IPM tools and still says he
sprays 3 times as much as a non-organic producer.  Says it's a lot more work
and double the cost, but so far it's working for him, cause he can sell his
apples for twice the price.

BTW- Pristine is a synthetic that offers very good control for BR.  It's
systemic and utilizes two modes of action.

Mark
KS

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Don Yellman" <>
To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Monday, January 19, 2009 6:54 PM
Subject: [NAFEX] Orbit for Brown Rot


> 1.  I have been using Orbit for late brown rot on peaches since 1992, when
I noticed ads for it in a little magazine I subscribed to at the time,
called "American Fruit Grower".   In the ads, Orbit was recommended for use
on peaches, and I special ordered a quart through the local Southern States
Co-op.  That quart cost me $120, which at the time I thought was outrageous.
It was not, and I still have most of it and use it nearly every year.
>
> 2.  The insert accompanying the chemical purchased in 1992 specified use
only on "certain diseases in pecans".   Now I find, to my surprise, that the
labeling has expanded geometrically, to include all stone fruits, a wide
range of tree nuts, and even berries.  Active ingredient has remained
exactly the same: Propicanazole at 41.8%.  When I first started using Orbit,
I felt a little guilty even using it on peaches, which I need not have been.
I was using it off-label, but now, 16 years later, almost nothing is off
label for this chemical.  So much for labels.  Buy a new iron and you will
find a label warning that "this product becomes hot in use".
>
> 3.  Aware that Orbit is a systemic, and conscious of the danger of
developing resistance, I have used it sparingly over the years.  Like many
product labels, the Orbit label devotes most of its text to warnings and
spurious advice, with mixing directions in ounces per acre.  But I did the
best calculation I could based on the recommended 4 oz. per acre in 50
gallons water for tree crops, and, using an eyedropper, add 1 1/2 to 2 cc's
per gallon to my 4-gallon SP-2 sprayer.  If Orbit is now being sold under a
different name on the wider consumer market, it is quite likely to be lower
in active ingredient (this was the case with Imidan when it was still widely
sold).  Mixing should follow instructions of the re-labeled product.  I
would expect it to be expensive.
>
> 4.  I apply Orbit only twice; once just as peaches begin to color up, and
again much closer to harvest.  I will feel much better about this knowing
the new label permits use right up to harvest.  I also plan to expand its
use to plums and apricots, in accordance with the new labeling.  I have not
used Orbit every year, but I see brown rot when I don't use it and none when
I do.  Previous experiences applying Captan (also pretty pricey stuff) were
uniformly negative, with no control I could notice.  I also dormant spray
stone fruits twice with Kocide, which I believe is helpful against diseases
of the tree itself, but no help on late brown rot of fruit.  I have never
had problems with blossom blight or earlier stone fruit diseases, possibly
due to the dormant sprays.
>
> 5.  If you are an organic grower, Orbit may not be of interest.  I tend
toward the organic, and follow many organic practices which may be called,
in modern parlance, integrated pest management.  But IPM will not stop brown
rot in the humid climate of the mid-Atlantic.  I have never tried Immunox
(Nova), Indar, or other systemics, and am mistrustful of organic fungicides
like Serenade.  If Pristine is primarily marketed as organic, I would have
doubts about that as well.
>
> 6.  I am still cautious using systemics on the fruit trees, but comforted
by the fact I use only tiny amounts of Orbit in the spray mix, when compared
with the volume and frequency of application of other fungicides.  I realize
this comparison may be inadequate for some.  But we are still walking around
here after 15 years of eating peaches treated with Orbit, and I have seen
nothing in the press or elsewhere indicating health problems  caused by this
fungicide.  Commercial growers have been using it for longer than I have.
I wish we had better, documented studies from independent and unbiased
sources testing fruits for residues that may cause health problems.
>
> Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA
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