Topic: Codling Moth & Apples

[beejay]

We have a number of apple trees on the allotment & every year we have problems with codling moth - it's very frustrating not being able to just bite into an apple. We use pheromone traps which presumably reduce the damage we could have but I thought I would investigate what to do next year to hopefully control the damage more. Stuff I have found seems to say that the pheromone traps are unlikely to be enough on their own, & they can be used as an indicator of when to spray (which I don't really want to do).  Any advice/experiences would be most welcome.

[jennym]

Use grease bands too. I put them on in Autumn and renew them in spring and this does reduce the incidence of damaged apples. You may need to use two or more pheremone traps per tree, are you using enough? Put them out just as the flower buds open.
It overwinters in crevices, such as bark, and pupates in spring. Therefore you can spray with high pressure water jets (I assume you are not wanting chemicals) to dislodge them and hope the birds eat the dislodged pupa. They emerge around about the same time as the trees flower, so again you can spray with water. You could also try wrapping corrugated cardboard to provide a place for them to overwinter, so you can gather and dispose of them.
Remove any infested fruit. There can be more than one generation a year of the insect.
Hope this helps.

[ellkebe]

But, on the plus side of organic apple trees, I made my first apple and blackberry pie yesterday from allotment stuff, and although I did have to look out for maggots etc while preparing, I didn't have to worry about chemical residues - or taste!  It was delicious, and OH's  lot disappeared in about 2 bites, followed by intimations that he's expecting the same every other day or so!

[Robert_Brenchley]

It'll be a year or two yet before I can do an allotment apple crumble; my Bramley's obstinately produced three apples a year. This year most of the fruit fell off in the big June drop during the drought. The eaters are mostly a bit better. Bought ones aren't in the same universe!

[tim]

We found the traps enough for our half dozen espaliers & a Bramley. But, as said, grease bands - or plain grease?. The latter fills in the cracks more easily.

[jennym]

Grease bands aren't really just grease. They are extremely sticky (as you will find out if you put them on) and last for at least six months, withstanding winter weather well. You put them near the base of the tree, wrapped around the trunk. The insects try to climb past and get stuck.

[tim]

Indeed, jenny - I didn't mean any old grease. And if the trunk is very convoluted, a band tends to bridge the gaps.

[beejay]

Right then, grease it is then by all accounts - I had better go and investigate those soonish I guess. I don't think we'd get enogh water pressure on the allotment to blast anything - they'd probably just get a gentle wash! I think I probably should use another trap. Although we have a number of trees they are minarettes so are in a relatively small area.

On the plus side the apples are delicious. We have Discovery eating now - I love the flavour & the holey ones cook up well too,  followed by Egremont russets. Generally a good year.

Thanks all for advice & help.

[jennym]

If you don't have high water pressure on the allotment, you can buy a hand operated knapsack sprayer that will deliver 3 bar, seems to be enough to do the job. You build up the pressure by pumping on a handle situated on one side, whilst the tank is on your back.
Tim, I didn't know you could get the sticky grease on its own - I've only ever used the grease bands, and have tied it on tightly with 3 separate pieces of string, as I noticed the gaps too.

[HO]

I have tried the pherermome traps three times , following the instructions which recommended one per five trees, upwind. Despite the traps catching  about twenty moths each the apples seemed as badly affected as normal so I will not do it again. In the bad old days I used to spray my Dad's trees in winter with a nice strong winter wash which seemed to help a lot.  It certainly made the trees look better as all the algae etc. disappeared. I have one tree, a Wagener which is a cooker and this apple gets far less moth attack, is quite prolific if a little biennial at times and keeps till March. I would always have one. Some years ago on a day visit to Rothamstead I came across a French apple grower's advisor and when questioned about why their Golden Delicious fruits were so clean he told me, or rather I added up, as he talked  that they sprayed or used chemicals after picking and before storage , you are not going to believe this ... 16 times a year in total. I dont think he was winding me up .  If I were you I would eat your own, moths and all.

[beejay]

That doesn't surprise me. When I started to look into how to protect my apples there was quite alot about pheromone traps being used as an indicator of when to spray, not much about instead of. Although we are not totally organic I prefer not to use chemicals unless absolutely essential. I must say that this year we have had a bumpre crop of Discovery. A bit of a problem as they don't keep.