apple maggots

Discussion in 'Garden Pest Management and Identification' started by LindaS56, Apr 8, 2007.

  1. LindaS56

    LindaS56 Member

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    You don't have to share your apples with worms any more!

    Last year the Seattle Tree Fruit Society members started using "Maggot Barriers" on their apples, pears, and asian pears. We found that they were nearly 100% effective against apple maggots and 80% effective against coddling moths!

    Maggot Barriers are nylon socks that are slipped on fruit when they are approx. quarter size. That's around the time that apple maggot flies emerge and lay their eggs on the fruit. When the fly lands on the covered fruit, it either can't get through the nylon to lay its eggs or it doesn't recognize the feel of the nylon and goes else where. The coddling moth larvae overwinter in the bark, then works it way up the tree and into the fruit through the blossom end. We have found that many can enter the Maggot Barrier by chewing a small hole in the nylon, but apparently has trouble manuvering under the nylon and the majority just give up.

    The barriers are similar to Japanese apple bags, but since they are nylon, they don't have to be removed until the fruit is ready to pick - sunlight, air and water pass right through.

    Maggot Barriers cost $20 US for a bag of 300 and can be purchased by sending an email to the president of the Seattle Tree Fruit Society.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 10, 2007
  2. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    I generally frown upon using these forums for commercial transactions, but I think I'll make an exception here, as we like to support other horticultural nonprofits as best we can when we've the time or ability to do so.
     
  3. LindaS56

    LindaS56 Member

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    Hi Daniel...

    The Maggot Barriers are being sold as a fundraiser for the Seattle Tree Fruit Society. We in turn support the Western Washington University Fruit Research Foundation.

    Two years ago, a member from our sister organization in Portland, OR was the first to experiment with the Maggot Barriers. He found that nearly every apple that he covered was apple maggot free. As you might expect, word spread quickly among members in the organization.

    Last spring, 30 Seattle Tree Fruit Society members used the barriers on apples, pears, and asian pears. At our October meeting, everyone reported nearly 100% success against the apple maggot and about 80% success against coddling moth.

    This year, our members will try using Maggot Barriers on other fruits, such as cherries and grapes to see if they are as successful against other types of insects. We will also try reusing some of the Maggot Barriers that were used last year. The nylon is stretched out from full grown apples, so we will have to use rubber bands or ties to enclose the barriers around the fruit. It will be interesting to see if they are as effective.

    We don't know at this point if the barrier is too thick for the apple maggot fly to reach the fruit's skin or if the fly doesn't recognize the feel of the barrier as an apple and decides to go elsewhere. The reused barriers may help us determine why they are so successful.

    It's exciting to find something that is low cost, doesn't harm the environment or beneficial insects, easy to use, and really works!
     
    Last edited: Apr 12, 2007
  4. silver_creek

    silver_creek Active Member

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    Practical for a few trees. We tried bagging one year on 20 trees- never again. We have too many trees (now more than 20 producing) to use physical barriers on the fruit. For now, we do not have apple maggot, just codling moth, and have found spinosad to be an effective organic spray control.
     
  5. LindaS56

    LindaS56 Member

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    You're lucky you don't have apple maggots yet. Let's hope they stay away from your area.

    As for having too many trees to bag, one of our gardening club members put on 4700 barriers on his trees. When our club members talk about using the barriers, occasionally someone will ask if they have to put the barriers on ALL of the apples. They only have to put them on the fruit they want to protect. Some people are only interested in fresh eating, so that would be enough for them.

    Another aspect we're looking at is that if the barriers are used on all of the fruit in an area affected by the apple maggot, we may be able to prevent future generations from coming back.
     
  6. silver_creek

    silver_creek Active Member

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    Linda, the year we bagged, we stopped counting at 7000. That took us nearly 2 weeks of pretty steady bagging. We'll continue to spray for now. My research has suggested that one additional of spinosad would control apple maggot as well as codling moth.
     
  7. LindaS56

    LindaS56 Member

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    Glad to hear that spinosad works for you. Where do you purchase it? Does it affect beneficials such as bees etc? How often do you spray?
     
    Last edited: Apr 12, 2007
  8. silver_creek

    silver_creek Active Member

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    Last year we bought Monterey Garden Spray- pretty pricey but better than bagging. This year we are going to buy the commercial size orchard formulation- either Entrust or Conserve- from an organic orchard supply house in Wenatchee. It will last us several years, but is much less expensive per application. We also combined the spinosad with a summer weight oil for each spray, as recommended by the organic spray program through the WSU extension service (eastern WA). We used degree day calculations to spray, using our airport weather station to calculate, and sprayed at 450DD, then 21 days later, then again 21 days later. I later found an online calculator that could calculate hatch for codling moth and apple maggot, and it looks like one additonal spray may have taken care of apple maggot if we had any. (It's coming- has been found in our county, but not at our orchard yet!) Here is the link to the degree day calculator- http://pnwpest.org/cgi-bin/ddmodel.pl?reset=all. We tried to spray before bees were active, early morning- coincidentally when there is no wind in our garden.
     
  9. Lil Mack

    Lil Mack Member

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    Our local government resource agrologist has just replied to another email I sent saying that we do not have apple maggots here but do have a real problem with coddling moth. He suggested wrapping the trunk and large branches with corrugated cardboard to trap the little things. I am going to try that. Thanks everyone for the apple maggot answers, though!
     
  10. LindaS56

    LindaS56 Member

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    This spring, our members that used maggot barriers on their apples and pears have found that the apple maggot fly population is considerably smaller this year. Apparently, using the maggot barriers are eliminating the available fruit for laying eggs and developing the apple maggots. It appears that stopping the apple maggot fly at that stage is successful.

    The coddling moth is different. In order to greatly reduce or eliminate the coddling moth, you'll have to attack it at each stage of its development; it is impossible to eliminate it at one stage.

    1. Use sticky traps with lures to trap as many adult moths as possible. You'll stop some, but not all at this stage.

    2. Use maggot barriers on your fruit. We've found that they are 75% - 80% effective. The larvae can chew through the nylon, but don't stick around in most of the fruit.

    3. Use the banding on the tree branches and trunk. Again, it won't catch all of them, but will eliminate some of them.

    If you can reduce the population at each stage, then you will have an impact. Remember though, there can be up to 3 generations of coddling moths each year, so keep up the process through out the spring, summer and fall.
     
  11. Liz

    Liz Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    I had very good luck using chooks (chickens) as cultivators. I assume apple maggots are codling moth? The first few years I had massive damage on my beautiful old trees. Then I needed a wandering jew eradication program so I let the chooks loose in autumn winter. The following year perfect fruit. Have had not problems since. I think a couple of ducks will do the same job. Accross the road they are using my geese in their small orchard to keep the grass down. Not sure they will do the same grub eradication as the chooks and ducks. I have NEVER sprayed so I know they were responsible for the good fruit. However I now have parrot problems every year so usually tie supermarket bags to the higher branches so they think the Cocatoos (cockies) are here before them. Possums (marsupials) do the night shift. I do manage to get some fruit as they are big trees (not pruned properly in the first place).

    Liz
     
  12. LindaS56

    LindaS56 Member

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    Apple maggots are the larvae of the apple maggot fly. The fly mates then lays an egg just under the skin of apples. The egg hatches and the larvae (worm) eats its way through an apple. The larvae (with or without the apple) falls to the ground and burrows in the ground and becomes a pupae. The following spring it emerges from the ground as a fly and starts the process all over again. I've heard that chickens help keep the apple maggot under control by eating the larvae when they fall to the ground.

    The coddling moth is a completely different insect. The moth lays eggs on fruit, branches and leaves. The legg hatches into a worm, which finds its way to an apple. It burrows into the apple and only eats the seeds, then exits the apple. It finds a cozy place in the tree bark, spins a cocoon and spends the winter there. In the spring it hatches as a moth and starts the process all over again. Since the coddling moth usually stays in the tree, the chickens won't have much of an effect on the coddling moth.
     
  13. Liz

    Liz Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    They also go to ground in the larva form. See below. So if the chickens are put in at the right time of the life cycle they will have some effect. I know mine were reaching up the trunk. These trees are old and heavy and branch low. The chickens I was using were Bantams and they tend to go up trees any way.
    Apparently it is the codling we have here not the apple maggot.

    http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/DPI/nreni...0274A23-0FD25AAC9DD62DB7CA256C19000DDB87?open

    The adult codling moth has a wing span of about 12 to 18 mm and is about 10 mm long when at rest with the wings folded. Males are smaller than females. The forewings are brownish grey with several grey cross-lines. An iridescent coppery-brown spot is present near the tip of each forewing. The hind wings are pale grey with fringed borders.

    The female moth lays eggs singly on leaves and fruit. The egg is flat, oval, 1 mm long, opaquely white when first laid and develops a red ring towards maturity. Just before hatching the black head of the larva becomes visible in the egg. A newly-hatched larva is white with a black head. There are generally five larval stages, which can be identified by the width of the head. Average widths of larval head for the five stages are approximately 0.3, 0.5, 0.8, 1.2 and 1.7 mm respectively. Fully mature larvae are about 15 mm long and creamy pink with a dark brown head. They leave the fruit and form cocoons under loose bark on the tree or in litter on the ground beneath the tree. Depending on the time of year, the larva in the cocoon either diapauses (becomes dormant) until the following spring or forms a pupa from which the moth emerges about two weeks later.

    Liz
     
  14. dpareynolds

    dpareynolds Member

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    I'm quite familiar with apple maggots and have footied for a couple of years. At $20/300 footies and 1200+ apples to bag I don't consider them an inexpensive solution, after all $80 buys a lot of apples.
    Has anyone had any experience using a ground barrier to stop the pupae from emerging? I can't use chickens. I will also use real apple traps covered w tangle-foot.
    Unfortunately I do have neighbors who do not attempt any solution at slowing them down.
     
  15. vitog

    vitog Contributor 10 Years

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    Has anyone tried covering the whole apple tree with a floating row cover right after the blossoms are pollinated? This shouldn't be very difficult to do on dwarf trees and would be a lot less labor intensive than wrapping individual apples. I might try it on the smaller of my two apple trees next year. I think that apple maggot flies have finally appeared here in Burnaby this year. Previously I had only seen Codling moth damage.
     

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