apple tree pests - Ask Extension
I need information about organic control of apple maggot and coddling moth. I'm trying to help a new neighbor with the tree they inherited by buying t...
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apple tree pests #878809
Asked July 25, 2024, 8:14 PM EDT
I need information about organic control of apple maggot and coddling moth. I'm trying to help a new neighbor with the tree they inherited by buying this house.
Whatever I put into the search box comes up with random unrelated lists. "onion maggot" "apple crisp"?
OSU used to have nice booklets and charts that were concise but inclusive. Now I can't imagine how to phrase the question to find what I need.
I realize timing is weather dependent. I know there are some clever organic techniques.
Do you still have any plain informative materials that aren't chatty magazine articles?
Thank you.
Multnomah County Oregon
Expert Response
Hi and thanks for your willingness to help your neighbor control apple maggot and codling moth in the apple tree. Yes, it's gotten really confusing due to challenging weather these days. The following is the paragraph from OSU listing cultural controls:
Thinning fruit clusters to reduce the number of contact points between fruits may help reduce larval success rates for penetrating fruits. In small orchards, sanitation by removing and
disposing of young, damaged fruit can be helpful in reducing codling moth. Check regularly throughout the season for fruit with frass-filled holes. Removing and destroying infected fruit prior to larvae emergence preceding pupation can help reduce overall populations. Picking up dropped fruit from the ground likewise can be an effective sanitation measure. Homeowners can bag individual fruit (clusters thinned to one fruit) in paper or mesh bags approximately six weeks after bloom, however this can be labor-intensive and more challenging for cultivars
with short stems. Fruit will mature completely within bags, however color development on red varieties may be affected. Homeowners can also place corrugated bands of cardboard around the lower trunk to attract larvae looking for a place to pupate. Place bands in May and remove before the adults begin to emerge in mid-June. The same technique can be used for the subsequent generation(s) later in summer.
There is a spray that targets only codling moth, Cyd-X but it is rather expensive so it is better to share it with someone else. Kaolin clay, neem oil and insecticidal soap are other organic sprays recommended by OSU to use 10 days after full petal fall (all petals are off) or 17 to 21 days after full bloom. Insecticides are timed to target eggs and newly hatched larvae before they bore into the fruit. Multiple sprays are often necessary.
The Home Orchard Education Society is often helpful in letting people know when it is time to spray. There are people there Tuesday and Saturday. https://www.homeorchardeducationcenter.org/
As for apple maggot, many of the same techniques apply:
Sanitation is one of the most effective management strategies for home orchards. Regularly inspect fruit while it is on the tree, removing and destroying any maggot-infested fruit. Destroy infested fruit on the ground, or the maggots will continue to develop and pupate in the soil. Pick up and destroy fallen apples at weekly intervals from early August until harvest. In home orchards, traps can be used to manage low density fly populations by trapping adults before they reproduce. Place one
apple maggot trap in each small apple tree (less than 8 feet tall), two to four traps on medium-sized trees, or six to eight traps on trees 20 to 25 feet tall. Clean traps weekly and replace adhesive every 3 weeks. This technique is not effective against high fly populations. In the home orchard, fruit can be protected against damage by bagging individual fruits by mid-June using plastic or mesh baggies.
The sprays recommended for apple maggot are neem oil, kaolin clay and pyrethrins. We use a product called Spinosad but it will kill the beneficial insects as well as the maggots.
And that's it in a nutshell. I highly recommend contacting the Home Orchard Education Center if you have other questions or want to get more specific information.
Best of luck in getting great apples!
Thinning fruit clusters to reduce the number of contact points between fruits may help reduce larval success rates for penetrating fruits. In small orchards, sanitation by removing and
disposing of young, damaged fruit can be helpful in reducing codling moth. Check regularly throughout the season for fruit with frass-filled holes. Removing and destroying infected fruit prior to larvae emergence preceding pupation can help reduce overall populations. Picking up dropped fruit from the ground likewise can be an effective sanitation measure. Homeowners can bag individual fruit (clusters thinned to one fruit) in paper or mesh bags approximately six weeks after bloom, however this can be labor-intensive and more challenging for cultivars
with short stems. Fruit will mature completely within bags, however color development on red varieties may be affected. Homeowners can also place corrugated bands of cardboard around the lower trunk to attract larvae looking for a place to pupate. Place bands in May and remove before the adults begin to emerge in mid-June. The same technique can be used for the subsequent generation(s) later in summer.
There is a spray that targets only codling moth, Cyd-X but it is rather expensive so it is better to share it with someone else. Kaolin clay, neem oil and insecticidal soap are other organic sprays recommended by OSU to use 10 days after full petal fall (all petals are off) or 17 to 21 days after full bloom. Insecticides are timed to target eggs and newly hatched larvae before they bore into the fruit. Multiple sprays are often necessary.
The Home Orchard Education Society is often helpful in letting people know when it is time to spray. There are people there Tuesday and Saturday. https://www.homeorchardeducationcenter.org/
As for apple maggot, many of the same techniques apply:
Sanitation is one of the most effective management strategies for home orchards. Regularly inspect fruit while it is on the tree, removing and destroying any maggot-infested fruit. Destroy infested fruit on the ground, or the maggots will continue to develop and pupate in the soil. Pick up and destroy fallen apples at weekly intervals from early August until harvest. In home orchards, traps can be used to manage low density fly populations by trapping adults before they reproduce. Place one
apple maggot trap in each small apple tree (less than 8 feet tall), two to four traps on medium-sized trees, or six to eight traps on trees 20 to 25 feet tall. Clean traps weekly and replace adhesive every 3 weeks. This technique is not effective against high fly populations. In the home orchard, fruit can be protected against damage by bagging individual fruits by mid-June using plastic or mesh baggies.
The sprays recommended for apple maggot are neem oil, kaolin clay and pyrethrins. We use a product called Spinosad but it will kill the beneficial insects as well as the maggots.
And that's it in a nutshell. I highly recommend contacting the Home Orchard Education Center if you have other questions or want to get more specific information.
Best of luck in getting great apples!
