Tree Fruits Melanie W. Barrow ANR, Horticulture Extension Agent Henry County-Martinsville Selection Planting Fertilization Pruning Pest Control Thinning Harvesting Tree Fruit Overview 1
Space available Variety Type fruit Root stock Selection Rootstock Ways to dwarf trees Interstem Spur type (apple) Soil drainage Site Air drainage Soil physical properties 2
Planting Fall or Spring? After first killing frost in fall A month before bloom in the spring Plant tree same depth that it grew in nursery Do not add amendments to soil Do not fertilize until tree is est. (1 yr) Water is critical during establishment Mulching is beneficial 3
Fertilization Soil Test ph Phosphate Potash New Growth 1/4 lb Nitrate of Soda/ yr tree age Space, Yield, Age & Life Fruit Distance Yield bushels Bearing Age Life Apple- 30 8 6-10 35-45 Stand Apple- 20 4 4-6 20-25 SemiD Apple- 12 1 2-3 15-20 Dwarf Peach 20 4 3-4 15-20 4
Apple Varieties Lodi Grimes Golden* Golden Delicious* Red Delicious Jonathan Winesap *Excellent Pollinators Pear Varieties Moonglow Maxine Seckel Kieffer Cresthaven Redhaven Madison White Hale Peach Varieties 5
Redgold Fantasia Nectarine Varieties Cherry Varieties Sweet Royal Anne (Napoleon) Sour Montmorecy Vernon Windsor PlumVarieties European Japanese Stanley Earliblue Shropshire(damson) Early Golden Shiro 6
Aphids Common Apple Insects Codling Moth Plum Curculio Leaf Roller San Jose Scale Mites* *Not an Insect Rosy Apple Aphid Particularly fond of new growth Piercing-sucking mouth parts Aphids unique in that they can give live birth plus lay eggs, hence population explosions Codling Moth Larva is worm in apple Adult is moth Egg is laid by moth soon after apple begin to develop 7
Plum Curculio Damage outer peel of apple Open fruit to other insect and disease San Jose Scale Affect twigs and fruit Suck sap from twigs Eastern Tent Caterpillar Not as gruesome as they look Larva roost in nest at night and on cloudy days Move out and feed on foliage When they begin to migrate from tree--to late to try and control 8
Eastern Tent Caterpillar Egg mass laid by moth in fall Over winter on twig Each mass contain hundreds of eggs Prune out and destroy Common Apple Diseases Apple Scab Powdery Mildew Apple Rust Black Rot Sooty Blotch & Fly Speck Fire Blight Boron Corking & Bitter Pit (Physiological ) Powdery Mildew Fungus Most severe on new growth 9
Cedar Apple Rust Fungus Alternative host Disease Cedar Apple Rust Damage to fruit Cedar Apple Rust 10
Black Rot Fungus disease White Rot Fungus Devastating to fruit Collar Rots Fungus disease usually Many differing fungus 11
Fireblight Bacterial infection Note shepperd cane crook (very diagnostic) New growth appears to be burnt Fire blight Bacterial infection progresses back toward trunk causing canker Flyspeck Fungus Affects storage Otherwise mostly cosmetic 12
Sooty Blotch Fungus Affects storage Mostly cosmetic Sooty Blotch & Fly Speck Usually find both together Common Peach Insects & Other Stone Fruits Peach Tree Borer Oriental Fruit Moth Tarnished Plant Bug White Peach Scale 13
Peach Tree Borer Usually at base of tree Resin at entry wound Adult hatch early to mid July Preventative spray Oriental Fruit Moth Two generations per year First generation is on new growth Oriental Fruit Moth Damage to fruit Second generation Worm in peach 14
Tarnished Plant Bug Feeding causes fruit to be misshaped Common Stone Fruit Diseases Blossom Blight Brown Rot Peach Scab Peach Yellows Black Knot Blossom Blight Fungus disease Same as Brown Rot 15
Brown Rot Fungus Disease Devastating disease of peach, plum, cherry & nectarine Brown Rot Need to be removed from tree and destroyed Serve as source of reinfestation Peach Scab Fungus Affect fruit appearance Can cause splitting 16
Peach Scab Fungus over winters on twig Peach Yellows Virus Very little can do Buy from reputable nursery Black Knot Mainly affects twigs, branches, and fruit spurs This fungus overwinters in knots on twigs and branches or in the infected wood immediately surrounding them Becomes progressively worse during each growing season and unless effective control measures are taken, it can stunt or kill the tree 17
Periodic Cicada Often referred to locally as locust Periodic Cicada Damage of female laying eggs 18
Cultural Practices Pest Control Sanitation Chemical Control Home Orchard Spray See Pest management Guide 19
Thinning Hand Chemical Harvesting Fruit is best ripen on the tree-- except pear This is especially true of peaches, nectarines, plums and cherries Apple can be ripened off the tree but develop best color and flavor when tree ripened Pear will develop better flavor if picked before it is ripe (when color begins) 20
Not very hardy Figs Plant on in well protected sites Needs year old wood or older to fruit Protection of trunk with organic insulation has proven to be of benefit Brown Turkey & Celeste are recommended varieties Nuts Black Walnut* Chestnut Filbert Pecan Southern Northern Persian Walnut? *juglone Credits West Virginia University Kearneysville Tree Fruit Research and Education Center (web site) Dr. Rich Marini, Extension Specialist, Tree Fruits, Va Tech Gene Amos Extension Agent, Patrick County 21