To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Spraying
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2009 08:21:15 -0700 (PDT)
Bill, while I hesitate to recommend it, since I think it established itself in my yard so now I have no butterflies any more, but BT is safe to use around flowering strawberries, and should kill off any moth larvae around. I'm not familiar with coddling moth, and so I don't know if dusting with BT would actually kill it if the eggs are laid inside the fruit, but is relatively safe and seems to me better than nothing. Sorry to hear of your mycophobia, hope you can get over it if you ever have a chance to eat corn smut again. Because of its rarity it's actually a very valuable mushroom, along the lines of black truffle, though I don't know if it can successfully be cultivated the way truffles can.
From: William C. Garthright <billg@inebraska.com> To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Monday, August 31, 2009 7:55:23 AM Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Spraying
> Sounds like coddling moth. The larvae eat out the center in and around the core then exit out the bottom barely leaving a mark. ... Those pears turn yellow and ripen earlier than normal. They are still edible (I cut them up before eating) but they don't have the best flavor compared to the others that ripen normally. >
Thanks, Steve! That fits the situation with my pears exactly. And yes, parts of them are still edible, just rather bland and uninteresting.
Knowing the problem will be a BIG help. I'll get a coddling moth pheromone trap next year, so that I can tell when spraying really needs to be done.
Perhaps I can cover the strawberry plants temporarily, when I really need to spray. This particular tree is very small. And I assume, from the extensive damage, that the larvae had been in there awhile (that they probably infested the fruit early in the summer).
> If some
of your pears are still on the trees, they may be worm free. >
Unfortunately, the birds have recently pecked holes in most of those that remain. It didn't occur to me that they might like Asian pears. I don't know why, since they peck everything else that isn't netted.
Well, I guess I'll be buying another case of nets next year.
Thanks again,
Bill Lincoln, NE (zone 5)
-- Already we are in an era when no worthwhile skill is ever lost, if it can draw the eye of some small corps of amateurs. Today there are more expert flint-knappers than in the Paleolithic. More sword makers than during the Middle Ages. - David Brin _______________________________________________ nafex mailing list nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
Reproduction of list messages or archives is not allowed. This
includes distribution on other email lists or reproduction on web sites. Permission to reproduce is NEVER granted, so don't claim you have permission!
**YOU MUST BE SUBSCRIBED TO POST!** Posts from email addresses that are not subscribed are discarded. No exceptions. ---- To subscribe or unsubscribe, go to the bottom of this page (also can be used to change other email options): http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/nafex
File attachments are NOT stripped by this list. TAKE STEPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM COMPUTER VIRUSES! Please do not send binary files. Use plain text ONLY in emails!