To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: [NAFEX] pests eating apples
Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2003 10:45:04 -0700
Since apples continue to ripen after picking, it's my feeling that if bugs
are eating your apples, you've left them too long on the tree.
There are two varieties that challenge this assumption: Hudson's Golden Gem
and Karmijn de Sonnaville. The crows started pecking at these varieties in
early August and I can't think that they were far along enough to be picked.
According to Crawford's Directory of Apple Cultivars, AB should be picked
'sometime in October' (in Britain). Maybe you should try picking AB in early
September, just to beat the wasps.
If the background colour has started changing from green to light green,
they could be picked and stored in the fridge. There's no point growing
apples for the wasps.
> ArkBlack and Old-Fashion Limbertwig are the only apple cultivars that set
> any fruit this year that hasn't already ripened, and I haven't even looked
> at the ABs this season, but in year past, the hornets have pretty
> effectivelly eviscerated all the AB fruits by the end of Sept.
>
> Lucky