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Fruit trees should thrive with proper planting and organic pest control

Many aren’t native to North Texas, so they’ll need a little extra care.

Folks seem to think that fruit trees are hard to grow and have too many bugs and diseases. Well, it’s just not true — unless you are listening to the wrong advice. Here’s a simple tutorial.

Assuming you planted the fruit trees properly, using soft organic pest control will lead to less work and more tasty production. We do have a few pests to deal with because many of the fruit trees we all try to grow are not native to North Texas. That’s the case everywhere. Therefore, the plants are under at least a wee bit of stress and thus subject to a few insect and disease issues.

For control of aphids, scale, plum curculio, peach leaf curl or any other fungus, bacteria or virus, here’s the program.

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Spray schedule

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Peach leaf curl is a common fungal disease that is controllable with the Sick Tree Treatment...
Peach leaf curl is a common fungal disease that is controllable with the Sick Tree Treatment and organic sprays.(Howard Garrett / Special Contributor)

The first thing to understand is that any kind of toxic chemical spray or soil drench is a bad idea. That approach doesn’t work. It kills more beneficial insects and helpful microbes than the targeted pests and contaminates the soil, air, ponds, lakes, streams and groundwater. It also can and does injure birds, lizards, toads, frogs, pets, your grandmother and the postman. It just does not make any sense to do. Here’s what does make sense.

First spraying: Spray Garrett Juice or Garrett Juice Plus and cornmeal tea or garlic at the pink bud stage, before flowers have opened. Also drench the root zone at 1 gallon of the mixture per 1,000 square feet.

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Second spraying: Use the same mix after flowers have fallen.

Third spraying: Around June 15 (later in more northern locations).

Fourth spraying: Last week in August through mid-September. Additional sprayings are OK as time and budget allow.

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General

Trees should be planted high with natural organic techniques. Trunk flares should be easily visible. Soil should not be cultivated around trees to avoid damage to feeder roots. No food crops should ever have bare soil in the root zone. Soil should be covered with native shredded mulches and/or cover crops. Organic fertilizer should be applied in early spring, early summer and fall. It’s also helpful to apply mycorrhizal fungus products to the root zone.

Bare soil under trees and buried root flares are two no-nos if you want to have healthy trees.
Bare soil under trees and buried root flares are two no-nos if you want to have healthy trees.(Howard Garrett / Special Contributor)

Insect management

Trichogramma wasps will control all caterpillar pests: Release 10,000 to 20,000 eggs per acre or residential lot at bud break. Repeat in three weeks if the budget allows, but one application is enough for most sites.

Disease management

Minor and major diseases are controlled for the most part by simply applying the basic program. Pecan nut casebearers on pecans are controlled by the trichogramma wasps. Pecan scab, peach leaf curl and other diseases are controlled by maintaining stress-free trees and spraying cornmeal or garlic. Severely stressed trees should be treated with the Sick Tree Treatment.

For more details on pest control and other related subjects, refer to my books Organic Management for the Professional and the Texas Bug Book.