On March 24 last year we were concerned about apple scab and rust infection and a threat of fire blight where blossoms had opened March 23. Today there's not much susceptible tissue out there and I'm ok with that! That white stuff on the nearly dormant buds isn't cotton. Can we say climate un-change?
But remember that the apple scab spores are just waiting their turn...
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| March 24, 2012 |
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| March 25, 2013 |
The past several days we have seen a blanket of white in the orchards. This is great for holding back the rush of an early season and gets plenty of moisture into the ground. But this moisture on thawed ground will probably bring early scab ascospore maturity, so is it is important to be ready with protective fungicides. After application at green-tip stage, a copper spray will give about a week's protection against scab and also provides a deterrent to the buildup of fire blight bacteria before bloom.
