I have a apple tree that produced really well this year but most of the fruits had worms inside of them. even fruits that looked undamaged from outside had worms inside. What treatement can I use and when to protect this from happening?

-- if a small tree or you only need a few apples, recommended foot sox

http://www.homeorchardsociety.org/fruitsoxs/


-- if a large tree and you are not worried about synthetics, I am not sure what people are using now....but I think Malathion hasn't been outlawed yet.....just don't use when lots of bees are flying and you should be fine.

-- if you wish to be accepted with the organic community, which is usually what happens west of the Cascades, consider learning more about a spinosad-based product and talk to your local nursery about what they have.

Don is right. There are several options. Some are organic. Some are synthetic.

It seems to me that most hard core orchardists are turning organic, partly due to an understanding of the damage that happens to the person who eats the pesticides, but also the damage that happens to the soil and natural system that the tree uses to defend itself when synthetics are used. There is also a pronounced difference in flavor.

A couple of other organic solutions are ziploc bags, paper bags, and kaolin clay. Some people use traps. One is a large red fake apple on a yellow background, covered with sticky stuff. The bugs fly into it, get stuck and die. I want to figure out how to make one because I'm such a cheapskate that I don't want to pay $30 + $30 shipping to buy one. A good winter project, maybe?
John S
PDX OR

I have some styrofoam balls and red paint that I got some years ago with the intent to make traps, but never did. I need to try them!

I have purchased some "apple sippers" from Windy Hill Farms in South Carolina. They make a great gift for kids' cider.

http://www.windyhillorchard.com/everyth ... ippers.htm


I have also used them for apple maggot traps by putting Tanglefoot product coating over them and hanging them in the tree. (note: I said Tanglefoot and not Tangletrap). They work well, but I have wondered if I am in any sort of a "gray" area by advertising this idea online. (donricks@hotmail.com)

I have also put in a molasses attractant inside of the sippers and found that not only could I attract apple maggot flies but codling moth as well. Imagine that!

http://www.wikihow.com/Control-Codling-Moth-Organically

The reality is that I think trapping works in only limited cases and right now I am more interested in pheromone disruptors and would like to see people research its efficacy or non-efficacy in urban settings.