Outdoor334 - Copper for the leaf curl, right? Do I understand correctly that it could take as few as 2 (depending on heavy rain) insecticide sprays early in the season to win this battle? Or...do I have to spray after every heavy rain or every 10 days if no rain?

could you "bag" the fruit on the tree? for papaya it's recommended to cover with a paper bag or panyhose to keep the flies from laying eggs on the fruit.

Never spray any fruit tree with anything when in full bloom!! That's when all the pollinators are present and most active and spraying then with anything other than water can kill them.

Copper is a fungicide - it won't kill whatever insect pests may be bothering your trees. And if used to control leaf curl, timing is critical. Spray in fall after leaf drop to eliminate overwintering spores and again in late winter or early spring before bud break. Do not spray on foliage...once showing signs of infection, a fungicide will not help.

The worms you have been seeing do sound like the larvae of plum curculio. And there are various ways of approaching control of this pest problem as well. Clean up and disposal of any fallen fruit, a light cultivation of the soil around the trees in early spring to dislodge and expose overwintering larvae and shaking or jarring the tree when the adults are present. Spraying is a fall-back option but needs to be undertaken at the appropriate time.

Control of fruit tree pests and diseases is very specific as to the problem so it is best to read up on the problems before attempting a broad spectrum, spray-for-everything approach that is unlikely to be effective and may actually be harmful. Most of the extension services (.edu websites) will have online publications addressing these issues and the best time to treat. And the Missouri Botanical Garden website (MOBOT) has excellent and accurate information as well.

Copper is a broad fungicide that prevents many diseases. I spray it for bacterial spot, canker and fireblight. I spray it in late fall after harvest is well over, late winter during bud break and I use a lower amount with “mycoshield” during full bloom. Diseases where I live mostly effect trees during bloom - that’s why I do a light copper spray during full bloom.

Curculio has two mating seasons so early harvested fruit can be clean with only two sprays to stop first life cycle. But later life cycle could also do some damage later in the summer. Some people look for visual signs of the bettle or set traps to know when they are active, then do third or fourth spray of insecticide to stop them. I believe that the first life cycle is the most important one to stop and I just live with any late damage. This year I will spray with surround WP (which is organic) every two weeks to prevent late season insect damage.

Whether disease or insect, timing is most important!

@outdoor334 - Thanks for the tips. Unfortunately, it's that timing thing that's so hard for me. I'm never sure what I'm looking for. I rarely see bugs in the trees. Sometimes I see very small, almost gnat-like things flying when I spray. I can't say that I've seen a bigger beetle-looking creature.

When the fruit shows up, the first cycle of curculio will show up. Just spray 2-3 rounds of insecticide right after pedal fall. You should see cleaner fruit.

10 days between sprayings? Or sooner if heavy rain? Is there a specific strength of the Triazicide or is it all the same? I picked some up last weekend at Home Depot. Not sure of the strength right now.

outdoor334

Spray with copper at full bloom. Once pedals fall and small fruits appear, spray with a triazicide or Imidan or any insecticide rated for plumculio beetle. Spray insecticide again after hard rain or in about 10 days of first spray. Always use sticker in your tank. Stopping worms is all about when or at what stage you spray not how many times you spray. Organic growers use surround WP instead.

is there anything else needed to ad to copper sulfate (copper) or just copper = that blue stuff . in my place can't buy anything else except 500 grams of copper sulfate, all other things are banned except water. And, please could you help me for the ratio: how much of copper per 1 Liter or per 3 L of water. how do you make mixture. Thank you very much

itsmce, I would spray after petal fall but as you know, in approx 7-10 days the fruit will grow a lot so the surface of the fruit will need new layer of insecticide. Same in next 7-10 days. Use a sticker and that should help the material last after rain between rounds. I used Nufilm but you can get bonides turbo sticker at Lowe’s or Home Depot. I use 3 tablespoons of triazicide per gallon as suggested for fruit trees on the label. The newest bottles have a convenient 3 tablespoon red cap which is cool.

yovan, I mostly spray copper in early spring at bud swell. I use a lot of dry power copper (Konocide 3000) for my first spray - about 3 tablespoons per gallon with 1 tablespoon of Nufilm per gallon. You have to constantly shake the tank so the copper does not clog the sprayer. Once it drys, if you can’t see a blue film on the limbs then you did not use enough material. I spray a much smaller amount at full bloom - about 1 teaspoon per gallon along 1 teaspoon per gallon of Nufilm sticker. During the full bloom spray I also add mycoshield (to control bacterial spot on peaches) or Streptomycin (to control fireblight on apples). You have to be careful with copper during growing season as it will burn green leaves. If we have a rainy month during the season, I mix a light batch of copper (1 teaspoon per gallon) and spray my trees at least once while the leaves are green.

Outdoor334 - Thank you so much for all the tips. I am feeling so much better prepared for this season, and I am actually hopeful that I will have a good crop of peaches. The buds are starting to swell, so I feel like if I find some copper soon, I will be able to follow your directions completely!

Outdoor334

Thank you Thank you so much for your help, I really do appreciate.

I have an alberta, during nice days in winter I sprayed 4 times alternating with neem 2X, copper and all purpose insecticide/fungicide, on all fruit trees and roses. I dont usually act so vigilant but you see the difference come spring how clean your bark is at bud break...... I'm not big at spraying anything while insects are active myself, just my preference, my peach is blooming and I'll take my chances