25 September 2012
Maggoty apples? Sometimes a little distorted and with a discoloured hole on the outside and tunnelled inside, full of discoloured flesh and gritty brown stuff and then a plump 'maggot' on the inside? This sounds like codling moth attack and at this time of year, although it may be too late to save the current year's crop, you can really help to reduce the problem for next year.J
ust to make it all the more appetising, I'll now also tell you that the gritty brown stuff is actually the 'maggot's' frass or droppings!
Codling moths can be a real nightmare and their caterpillars (the 'maggots' in the apples) have the potential to devastate a lovely harvest of apples. So what can you do?
The best solution is to apply 'Nemasys Caterpillar and Codling Moth Killer' between September and October. Just pre-wet the tree and the area of soil/grass beneath the entire spread of the branches. Then use a sprayer to apply the nematodes to the pre-wetted main branches and trunk, and then to the soil/grass beneath the tree - right out to the outermost spread of the branches. Repeat the treatment on two more occasions, about 5 and then about 10 days after this first treatment. Do this and you should kill all the caterpillars as they prepare to hibernate....so they'll not be there to form the codling moth adults which produce the eggs which hatch in to caterpillars to attack the apples next year. Simple.
Each pack of Nemasys Caterpillar and Codling Moth Control contains sufficient for up to 20 trees. Like other Nemasys bio controls it is perfectly safe to wildlife, pets and humans and the nematodes it contains will only harm caterpillars. Visit the Products Section of
www.pippagreenwood.com , click on 'Protect Your Crops' and you can buy it now, orders are dispatched on Thursdays.
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