Fruit Crop Pests – Organic Answers Column – June 19, 2024
Fruit Crop Pests
Every year seems to bring a slightly different array of insects and diseases to the vegetable garden and on the fruit plantings, and usually the impacts are minimal under the natural organic program. The occasional serious pests have relatively easy solutions.
Aphids, for example, on the new growth of various plants can be easily killed with any of the mild organic sprays include soapy water mixtures. They are probably there because of mild temporary stress caused by weather changes and will soon move along one way or another, including being eaten by ladybugs and other beneficials such as birds. By the way, have you noticed how many birds in your garden? If you’re organic, there are probably lots of them to watch and listen to.
Birds are helpful eating garden pests
Caterpillars problems seem to vary from year to year. Sometimes you’ll see tent caterpillars, webworms or even small green canker worms earlier and think a strong assault is on the way, but it doesn’t materialize. This is partly due to more and more gardeners going organic and releasing Trichogramma wasps, but I think the increase in birds is also a factor. Some caterpillars such as Gulf Fritillary should be encouraged.
If caterpillar pests do pop up, spray them with Bt or spinosad products but keep the spraying confined to the infested plants to avoid hurting butterflies. Plum curculio worms may show up in fruits if the trees are too deep in the ground – so get all the root flares dramatically exposed by removing mulch and soil.
Walnut caterpillar (left); fireblight bacterial disease
Fireblight might hit the pears but it can be stopped with 3% hydrogen peroxide mixed 50/50 with compost tea, fish and seaweed, Garrett Juice or just water.
Blossom end rot makes ugly spoiled spots or scabs on tomatoes, but this one it isn’t caused by a pest, instead it comes from not having enough calcium available to the plant. Water properly and let the plants dry between waterings. Apply soft rock phosphate and use compost tea or Garrett Juice.
Blossom end rot, photo by Maggie Dwyer
Scale insects might hit some of the fruit trees. They are a dead give away that trees are stressed and flares should be uncovered. Spraying with orange oil or one of the essential oil products will also help. Borers might show up in severely stressed plants. Remove soil from the bases of plants and paint trunks with a mixture of 4 oz. of orange oil per gallon of water.
Surround WP is a kaolin clay product (left); Surround sprayed onto pomegranate to discourage grasshoppers
Grasshoppers are usually are not a sign of plant stress. They just show up and eat anything in their path. Grasshoppers and katydids can be repelled with Surround WP. It is a kaolin clay product and when mixed with water and sprayed it creates a white particle film on foliage and fruit that confuses the insects.
Scare animals and birds away from crops with shiny Mylar products
Various animals will crawl up into your wonderful crops and make a feast and we can’t blame them. All we can do is try to repel them with products such as Scram, netting in some cases, fences, and other barriers. An inexpensive product worth trying is Bird Scare Flash Tape. It’s a Mylar ribbon, red on one side, silver on the other. Strung in a spiral above and through the crops it resembles fire and scares the wildlife thieves.
