How to Spray Organic Apple Trees for Pests

Overview

When growing organic apple trees, good cultural practices can go a long way toward avoiding the use of fungicides in particular. Pests, however, are another matter. When you detect pest infestations in your apple orchard, adopt a spray schedule that includes several organic and natural sprays, depending on the types of inspects.

Step 1

Spray apple trees with a biological soap to treat rosy apply aphids, apple aphids and apple grain aphids. Spray in summer but before petals fall.

Step 2

Spray dormant oil during winter or early spring to treat aphids, mites and scale. Do not mix the dormant oil with sulfur or lime sulfur.

Step 3

Get rid of the tentiform leaf miner with Pyrethrum or Sabadilla sprays between bud-break and apple harvest. Rake up and remove all dead leaves in the fall to eliminate leaf miner pupae.

Step 4

Treat leaf roller infestations by spraying with Bacillus thuringiensis once in June and again between mid-July and mid-September.

Step 5

Treat codling moth infestations with Bacillus thuringiensis as well. Perform two spray applications in June and two more between August and mid-September.