Hi llhbeck-
What are you spraying your raspberries for? Around here, I never need to spray mine, so I'm curious. What diseases are you thinking of?
I've actually found that my raspberries need less water that I would have thought. Any chance you could go with a drip irragation to minimize water use and make sure none is lost due to evaporation? I haven't tried drip irrigation for raspberries, so I'm really just thinking out loud.
-Glenn

I think a virus had attacked them. If I just sprayed them with the same spray I used on my apples they did fine but when I did not they died. The leaves would just kind of shrivel up and the plant died.
I am thinking of getting Caroline raspberries. That is one variety I have not tried here. But from the discretions of them they seem to do ok in southern gardens. Here is central MO plants have to be very hardy yet able to stand the humid hot conditions, we have here. We also have dry spells, so they have to be tough that way!!

Thankfully I haven't yet had virus issues with my raspberry/blackberries, even with wild ones close by. Do you know what the apple spray you used was? Was it indeed approved for raspberries? Hopefully someone else will be more help than I have been. Caroline is indeed one of my favorites. -Glenn

llhbeck,

No pesticide spray will have any effect whatever on viruses. If you noticed an improvement after spraying, it was by mere chance.

That said, viruses do affect raspberries, and your plants may indeed have been infected. Raspberries are grown commercially in MO, so you should be able to grow them. Try again.

I agree that plants have to be tough to make it in the Midwest. I posted an interesting link below. You'll notice in the first chart of the top ten cities with the most variable weather Kansas has three cities in the top ten, Missouri has two. Columbia, MO (which is probably close to where you live) is number 5. Scroll down to see lots of other interesting facts. Kansas City (close to where I live) is the number one city for allergens. Ahhh Choo.

Here is a link that might be useful: Interesting U.S. weather facts and extremes

The spray I use on my fruit trees is a multipurpose spray, that is supposed to kill viruses too. That is an interesting map! I did not have allergies until I moved to Missouri! Yes I live about 30 miles north of Columbia. They said before we moved here, if you do not like the weather just stick around a few minutes as it will change! One day especially in spring it can be 60 to 70 degrees and that night it can drop to way below freezing. I have lost so many fruit trees in spring because of this. The sap would start flowing and then freeze and actually split the trunk. That is why I have given up on any of the stone fruits, as they seem to start waking up in spring to early.

Wow,llhbeck! I'm about the same distance east of Columbia as you are north and my Heritage raspberries survive by benign neglect. They are growing in what once was a raised bed of manure, waste hay, grass clippings and shredded leaves. In the fall, either DH or I mow them down with a tractor and it's not that common that I water them. It has to be really hot and dry for a long time before I'll do that. All I spray on anything regularly is compost tea to which I add some liquid kelp. If I have something like tent caterpillars in one of the trees, I will spot treat but with something fairly gentle like Neem oil spray or pyrethrum. I'm really surprised to hear about your problems with Heritage.

I can empathize with you re: allergies although my problem is opposite. I grew up in the Midsouth and the Deep South--Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi. My allergies will kick up here once in a while but for the most part, they are much better than they were before I moved up here. Go figure.

Olpea, thank you for that link--very interesting. Until I moved to Missouri in '78, I'd never seen temperatures below zero or much above 100. Since we've been here, we've had -28o as high as 115 or 116o. Yep, just wait a few minutes, it will change. The saying I've always heard about winter is that there is only a barbed wire fence between Missouri and the North Pole and only one strand of the fence is still standing.

Your bottle of "all purpose" spray is telling a big fat lie if it says it kills viruses. It may kill insects that vector viruses, but not the virus itself.

I don't think you'll have much luck with any raspberry cultivars if you don't water them...drip irrigation is definitely the way to go.

Olpea and Fruitgirl are the two of the best people qualified to answer your question here. Along the lines of what Fruitgirl said, it's not the first time a multipurpose spray has lied. Take, for example, #3 in my post below (which I have recycled a number of times) Oh how I dislike Bonide for putting out their Bonide Fruit Tree spray. They wasted my time and money to the detriment of my trees. I'm still curious though which multipurpose spray is saying it will handle viruses. Thanks,
-Glenn

Many people on this forum (and I can now add myself to this list) are not big fans of all-in-one fruit tree sprays. The reasons are:
1.) The quantity of some of the ingredients is often insufficient to actually accomplish the task. Take for example the quantity of Captan in there. Many people here have argued that it is not nearly the strength required to be effective. Compare the quantity in there with that on the plain Captain container.

2.) In the all-in-one spray, you are often spraying chemicals that you do not need, for pests and diseases you do not have.

3.) The all-in-one says it controls things that it does not. It says it controls Cedar Apple Rust, but with itÂs only active fungicide being Captan, it can not, as Captan does not control CAR.

WhatÂs the alternative you ask? Identify your pest and your diseases and treat them individually