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National Gardening Association New-era Apples

by Jack Ruttle

Amazing ApplesAs any fastidious backyard apple grower knows, it's a lot of work to bring in a bountiful and healthy crop. In some regions 10 or more sprays are necessary each season. Insect pests still require spraying in most areas, but apples are mainly sprayed to prevent disease, primarily scab. Ignore insect pests and you'll lose fruit. Neglect the diseases and you risk more than just the crop: Tree health suffers. So eliminate the disease problem and apples instantly become much easier. In many parts of the country you can now bring in a prime crop of new disease-resistant varieties with no fungicides at all. At most you'll need two or three insect sprays, applied many weeks before harvest.

The quest for disease-free apples began in 1907 at the University of Illinois. But it wasn't until 1943 that researchers found a source of immunity to scab in a crabapple. The first scab-free variety tasty enough to merit release, Prima, came in 1970.

By the end of the 1970s, a dozen scab-immune varieties were available. But very few commercial apple growers or gardeners made the switch, in part because good ideas are often slow to catch on. Most gardeners stuck with their old favorites. There just wasn't enough flavor variety to satisfy apple lovers. After all, why add one or two disease-free apples to an orchard of older varieties that still requires disease control?

Morever, a fair number of the new varieties were McIntosh wannabes. McIntosh, a big-money variety in the Northeast, is very scab susceptible. Researchers wanted a substitute badly. But none tasted as good, and most grew best only in the Northeast.

Now the second wave of scab-free apples, introduced in the '80s and '90s, is changing attitudes. GoldRush, which just became available this year, is getting rave reviews, not only for its rich and exotic flavor but also for its superb keeping ability. It will last in prime condition for more than seven months in cold storage. In taste tests it has equaled hot new varieties like Braeburn and Fuji. One enthusiast likened it to the powerfully flavored Esopus Spitzenburg, Thomas Jefferson's favorite apple and a benchmark among connoisseurs. Pristine, which will be available for the first time in the spring of 1995, has an exceptional sweet/tart taste and is extra early (ripening with the last raspberries and the first peaches). Now, with a wealth of different flavors and ripening times fro which to choose, gardeners can plant exclusively disease-resistant varieties, and forget about disease sprays for good.

What About Insect Pests?

Most gardeners (the exceptions are isolated and arid places in the West) will have to spray to control three pests that otherwise ruin apples. In the West and South, the biggest challenge is the codling moth. The apple maggot fly has also become established almost everywhere apples are grown in the northern half of the country. The eastern half of the country sees both of those, plus the plum curculio, which is often devastating.

Here's a simple schedule to eliminate most damage from the major insect pests:

In all regions for plum curculio and codling moth, apply Imidan (a synthetic pesticide especially effective against curculio) at petal fall and again 10 to 14 days later. Rotenone and pyrethrum don't work, even if applied more frequently.

In the West and South, where the codling moth has multiple generations, monitor with pheromone traps set about a month after the petal fall sprays. Five to seven days after the number of moths trapped (all males) begins to rise, apply Imidan again and repeat about 10 days later. Or use Bt for the moth larvae, reapplying it every two days for two weeks.

In northern regions, trap apple maggot flies by hanging red spheres (decoy apples) covered with sticky Tangle-Trap every four to six feet in the tree canopies. Refresh the Tangle-Trap in midseason.

Good Culture Minimizes Pest Problems

The surest way to keep apple insect and disease problems in hand is to keep the trees small enough to tend without ladders. Insist on trees on the most dwarfing rootstocks - M9 or M27. By using these rootstocks, plus limb-bending and summer pruning, apples can be kept under seven feet tall, which makes it much easier to produce high- quality fruit. This may mean ordering custom-grafted trees from specialty nurseries but the benefits are well worth the extra trouble.

It is also very important to locate the fruit planting carefully. You'll need to spray for insects early in the season, so keep apple trees well away from the vegetable garden where lettuce, beets and other early crops would be affected.

Finally, consider bagging the fruit when it reaches the size of a golf ball. Fasten small brown paper bags carefully to the stems with twist ties and staple the bottoms closed if necessary. This not only excludes late-season insects but also prevents cosmetic skin diseases like sooty blotch and fly speck. A week or two before harvest, remove the bags to allow the fruit to color in the sun. You will get fruit of the very finest quality that has not received sprays of any kind for at least two months prior to the day you pick it.

Time to Get Started

Now is the time to order trees because some varieties are in relatively short supply. Bare-root trees will be shipped in late winter to early spring, depending on your region, but choose the planting site well before delivery. Apples need full sun and well-drained soil. Remove sod from the area around the planting hole, and break up compacted soil a foot or two beyond it. Set the tree with the graft union two to three inches above the soil line. Prune the top and any broken roots in accord with instructions that came with the tree and the training method you have chosen. Wrap the trunk up to first branches with cloth to protect them from sunburn. Water and mulch after planting, then water weekly through the first season.

Jack Ruttle is senior editor of National Gardening.

Copyright NGA

Reprinted with permission HouseNet, Inc.

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