Fruit tree insecticide

I will soon be needing to spray my fruit trees (apple, cherry, nectarine, plumcot). I have never done this before, and from what I understand, it is best to do insecticide and fungicide separately. All I can find in local stores is the all in one control. Can anyone recommend a brand that has just insecticide and a source to get it from? I prefer organic, if there is such a thing.

Thanks!

There are certainly plenty of insecticides you can use on your fruit trees to control pests. Rotenone and pyrethrin are derived from natural sources and some people consider them organic.

I agree that separate sprays are better than the all-in-one, which contains malathion. The most important thing is never to spray an insecticide when the trees are in flower, because of the bees.

For the plum curculio, it is best to spray just before [at the "green tip" phase] and especially just after bloom, when the new fruits are forming.

I bought 5 25lb bags of surround at peaceful valley farm supply ( [HYPERLINK@www.groworganic.com] ) for $29.99 each. Gardens alive and Arbico organics both want more than $70.00 per bag. This is suppossed to be organic pest control, though not an insecticide. My fruit may be doomed this year as I did too little too late. L Tilton has been a big help to me on some other threads.

L Tilton, will treated wood chips kill trees? Thanks,
Mike

Treated with what?

Gabrielle, there is no organic insecticide which kills the prime apple etc pests: moths and curculio. Well, there is one that works reasonably well on the moths, it is called spinosad and you can buy it in something called Monterey Garden Insect Spray. The stuff that Mike mentions, Surround, is a very good deterrent for both moths and curculio. It is a white clay powder which irritates the bugs. The best fungicide for organic growers is sulphur - get flowable sulphur. Apricots and some plumcots are highly allergic to it so use copper on them instead. Or, just use copper period. You should look up some organic spray schedules to see what to spray when. Here is one I found via Google: http://www.canr.msu.edu/vanburen/organasp.htm . Use spinosad and Surround for the bugs instead of the things they mention, that schedule is outdated. Here is another similar page: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/growapplesnaturally

Scott

I read on the internet that one ingredient that they treat wood with is Arsenic. We had about 3" of rain Wednesday so I guess that whatever is going to leech into the soil has already happened.

Gabrielle, Gardens alive (associated with Gurney's) often has coupons for $25.00 off of a $50.00 order, but after the initial savings, I think they are quite high. A small order might be worth it though.

How many fruit trees do you have and how old are they?

I have a nectarine, cherry, apple and plumcot. They are about 3 or 4 years old.

I have seen the Gardens Alive! catalog, and if I remember correctly, you need to buy a bunch of different products and spray or treat very frequently.

With other pests (cucumber beetles, squash bugs, etc.) I have kind of found a natural balance where they don't do too much damage. Is that possible with fruit trees?

I don't think the arsenic is likely to hurt the trees - some plants actually thrive on arsenic. The problem is that they easily absorb it and then it harms the people who eat the plants.

I've just never heard of anyone chipping up pressure-treated wood.

Gabrielle - do you have trees nearby for cross-pollination?

The varieties I have are all supposed to be self-pollinating. I have gotten nectarines and apples. The plumcot is blooming (just a few) for the first time this year. The cherry has bloomed a little the past couple of years, but not enough to produce.