www.jniplants.com • 262.252.4988 • Menomonee Falls, WI

Home OrchardsPesticides & Spray Charts

How often you will need to spray and what product you use is up to you. It will depend on how much time you want to allocate to this task, how much insect/fungal damage you are willing to accept (or not) and what the weather is for that growing season (weather often can play a large part in the severity of many fruit diseases).

You don’t want to spray?Consider going organic and growing your fruit in bags.

Willing to spray but not too often?Then try and hit the KEY times to spray for prevention of a major pest issue.

In the case of apples, they key times are May and June.• Primary apple scab• Plum curculio• Leafrollers• 1st generation coddling moth• Cedar-apple rust

The second key time on apples is for apple maggot (historically the peak flight is in August). So the key times for apple pest control would be to spray all of May and June and then once in early August.

Will this give you perfect fruit? It should give you a crop of decent apples most years (depending on the severity of sooty blotch, fly speck & second generation coddling moth).

For those who want perfect fruit, then it is more critical to follow a spray chart or monitor the insect/disease possibilities (monitor degree days, amount of rainfall, and check insect traps) and then spray when needed.

I’m including simple versions of spray charts for apples, cherries, peaches and plums that are suited for home growers here in Wisconsin.

Paul’s Apple Spray Guide• Leaves first open in spring 1/4” -1/2”Spray fungicide for apple scab prevention

• 7 days laterSpray fungicide for scab/rust prevention

• 7 days laterRepeat above again unless already at petal fall stage

• Petal FallSpray fungicide + insecticide for scab, plum curculio, leaf roller

• 7 days later (1st cover spray)Spray fungicide + insecticide for scab, plum curculio, leaf roller

• 7 days later (2nd cover spray)Spray fungicide + insecticide for scab, plum curculio

Continue spraying every 7 days up to June 15th. Since primary apple scab season is now usually over and Plum curculio season is winding down we can switch to a summer spray schedule:

• From June 15th to late AugustSpray fungicide + insecticide every 14 days for apple maggot, coddling moth, sooty blotch, fly speck, summer fruit rots

Stop spraying sooner if your apple variety ripens in July, August or early September. See the PHI (pre-harvest interval) listed on the pesticide label. This will tell you how many days the product can safely be applied before harvest. Always follow the rate and directions listed on the label.

Find more fruit resources on the Johnson’s Nursery and Johnson’s Gardens websites.

• Training & Pruning Fruit Trees• Grafting Apples • Deer Protection

• Espalier Apples • Plant Profiles• More About Controlling Specific Pests

Paul’s Prunus Spray Guide

Home Orchards

Cherry Trees• White bud stageWhen the flower buds are only partially open but showing a hint of white color

This sometimes is also called the popcorn stage.Spray Liquid Copper or Chlorothalonil for blossom blight control

• Full BloomSpray Liquid Copper or Chlorothalonil for blossom blight control

• Petal FallSpray fungicide or Chlorothalonil + insecticide for plum curculio, leaf spot, blossom blight, leaf roller

• First cover spray (10 days after Petal Fall)Spray fungicide + insecticide for leaf spot, plum curculio, fruit fly

Additional cover sprays every 10-12 day until harvest

NOTE: Captan and Malathion can be sprayed up to 3 days before harvest if brown rot and spotted wing Drosophila are an issue.

Peach Trees• Dormant spray (late winter-early April)Spray Chlorothalonil or liquid copper for peach leaf curl

• Petal FallSpray fungicide + insecticide for blossom blight/plum curculio

• First cover spray (10 days after petal fall)Spray fungicide + insecticide for plum curculio, fungal issues

• Second cover spray (10 days later) and repeat every 10/12 days up to early July.

NOTE: If brown rot is an issue, Captan can be sprayed up to 3 days before harvest.

Plum Trees• Dormant spray (late winter/early spring)Spray Chlorothalonil for black knot

• White Bud stageSpray fungicide for black knot/brown rot

• Full BloomSpray fungicide for black knot/brown rot

• Petal FallSpray fungicide** and insecticide for brown rot/plum curculio

• First cover spray (7 days after petal fall)Spray fungicide** and insecticide for brown rot/plum curculio

• 2nd cover spray (7 days later) + subsequent sprays (every 14 days)Spray fungicide + insecticide

** NOTE: Captan may russet the skin of certain plum varieties when applied early in the season when fruit is still small.

Did You Know?• Apple and pear trees produce fruit spurs. Each spur only blooms every other year and is extremely long lived.

• Peach trees bloom only on previous year’s growth.

• Standard pear trees are extremely slow to bear fruit. Hence the old saying, “Plant Pears For Your Heirs”. Hint: Plant semi-dwarf pears instead!

• The hardiest European plum is Mt. Royal(zone 3). It was grown in Montreal (“Montreal” is French for “Mount Royal”!). in the 1600’s by French settlers engaged in the fur trade.

• Apple cultivars cannot be reproduced by seed as all apple seeds are genetically different (hybrid) from the mother tree they came from. Instead, grafting is used to reproduce an apple cultivar.

Updated 2021

www.jniplants.com • 262.252.4988 • Menomonee Falls, WI

Captan 50 WP• Apple scab, brown rot, ect• Rate = 1.5-2 TB/gallon

Chlorothalonil ** (Available as Bonide Fung-Onil)• Peach leaf curl, cherry leaf spot• Rate = 2-3 tsp/gallon

Myclobutanil• Apple scab, Cedar/apple rust, Cherry Leafspot, Powdery mildew• Home grower versions are Spectracide Immunox sold in quart bottles. Eagle brand available online (more concentrated form). Very rain fast product so excellent for apple scab control/cedar apple rust in spring due to our usual rainy weather during this time.

Malathion• Works OK on most apple insects except plum curculio. Very short residual as only lasts for 7 days. Would need to spray all season long at 7 day intervals to provide decent protection on apples. Good for when a short term product is needed when fruit is close to harvest. Excellent for raspberries for spotted wing drosophila control.

Home Orchard Spray• Mix of fungicides like Captan, Malathion, and sometimes Sevin.• Cannot spray during bloom as insecticides will kill bees!

Bonide Fruit Tree/Plant Guard **• Mix of one synthetic pyrethroid and 2 fungicides. Works well. • Cannot spray during bloom as insecticides will kill bees!

Organic ControlsBonide Liquid Copper **• Controls peach leaf curl (spray while tree is dormant) and blossom blight on cherry (spray at white bud stage)

Bonide Citrus, Fruit Trees & Nut Orchard Spray **• Contains sulfur and pyrethrins.• For control of various insect/fungal issues.

Bonide Revitalize Biofungicide **• Contains a bacteria that suppresses powdery mildew, assorted fruit rots and other fungal issues.

Surround• A kaolin clay product that is mixed with water and sprayed on fruit trees. Coats the fruit so insects cannot easily get at them (looks like whitewash).

**Available here at Johnson’s Gardens

Pest Control Products

PRO TIP:Never spray an insecticide while your fruit trees are in spring flower/bloom.

Fruits require insect pollination to create fruit.