Hi, I'm hoping to reduce codling moth damage on my apple trees this year. I plan on bagging the apples with maggot barriers and I thought I would also spray spinosad, as I've read that the codling moth can chew through the barrier. It is my understanding that spinosad is organic, or at least one commercial product (Entrust) is. Does anyone know where in Vancouver area a spinosad product can be purchased (Monterey Garden Insect Spray, Bulls-eye Bioinsecticide, Green Light Spinosad Lawn & Garden Spray, ???)? I also spray my trees with sulphur (sulphur powder dispersed in water) to help prevent scab. It seems to work well for me although I've never conducted controlled experiments to verify. I was reading about dormant oil spray, as well as dormant sulphur-lime + oil spray. In preparation for next year I thought I would try to find more info on this. What are some retail products that are dormant oil? It's kind of funny, I've found a lot of info on dormant oil spray but not once have I come across a product name. Bad google luck I guess. As for a spring dormant oil spray, could I mix in my sulphur powder or is it preferred to use a sulphur-lime mixture/product? I'll have to check my trees and see what the buds are doing and determine if there is still time for spring dormant oil spray. thanks
I do a delayed dormant spray at stage 4 (green tips showing) -apples- oil with micronized sulfur. There are so many brands of horticultural oil that it would be impossible to list them all, and may be different brands in Canada. You could use oil and lime sulfur at this time, but since I use micronized sulfur for my scab sprays, it's one less chemical in my closet. The spinosad is not sprayed until late June, sometimes not till July depending on how warm it is.
You apply dormant oil With Sulfur? How does this work out for you? Can It be done? Won't it create a compound that toxic to plants? What products exactly do you use? Thanks macmanmatty
The combination can be a problem for plants that are fully out of dormancy; I don't use oil and sulfur together after bud stage 4-5 in apples. Sulfur + oil can be phytotoxic if it is too warm as well. But the time of year I use it, we are lucky to get to 60F on a sunny day. The other time we use sulfur+oil is on pears after leaf drop in the fall, if we have seen signs of blister mite.
http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/tfipm/codlingmoth.htm http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/pesticides/j_3.htm Hope these will help. Check with the OKSIR program up in the Okanagan they can help you out http://www.oksir.org/ I'm not sure if Spionsad is available for consumer use in BC it might only be available for comercial use ie orchards. You'll have to check on that. cheers
