North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

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

Steve,

I know orchard sanitation is a big deal.  But practically speaking, it's
pretty labor intensive to pick up all that fruit.

I've toured lots of commercial operations and they have fruit laying all
over the ground.  I suspect this is probably the norm because I've read
commercial publications recommending fungicide applications hit the fallen
fruit below the trees.

I used to pick up all the fallen fruit, but now, if I walk past a tree and
need to remove some fruit, I toss it on the ground.  The ground under my
trees is littered with fruit, just like commercial operations I've seen.

In our hot KS sun, they degrade fast.  I do try to squish them when I walk
through the orchard.  My mowing equip squishes a lot of them too.  I suspect
worm larva don't enjoy that.

Mark

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "loneroc" <loneroc@countryspeed.com>
To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 12:28 PM
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Apple pests and drops?


>
> Howdy,
>
> I am thinning apples now.  Is it imperative to pick up every fruit?
>
> I understand that curculio won't emerge from fallen apples.
>
> There is some codling moth, maybe one in every 30-40 apples have frass.
> Will codling moth emerge from fruits I leave lay or that I toss on the top
> of the compost? Or, since the grubs are fairly small will they croak?
>
> I haven't yet sprayed my first of two imidan sprays. I plan to do so when
> I'm done thinning. I imagine that the apple maggots have started to fly
> around, too.  How long do the larvae have to be in the fruit for them to
be
> able to emerge from the apple and dig into the soil for overwintering.
>
> Ideally, my hope is that I can safely leave the damaged fruit on the
ground
> without increasing my pest populations.  I do plan to pick up all the
drops
> that fall later in the year through the end of the harvest.  By the time
the
> apples are big enough to drop on their own from  about August 1 or so
onward
> I'm quite sure that at least the apple maggot would be mature enough to
bury
> itself into the ground, waiting to annoy me again next year.
>
> Any other thoughts on "danger" posed by drops?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Steve Herje, Lone Rock, WI USDA zone 3/4, where the first usable Vista
> Bellas are dropping.  They're small but have some color and will bake up
> into the first pie of the season.
>
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