Home fruit growers should consider spraying dormant oil on selected fruit trees and small fruit species now according to Robert Balek, horticulture specialist with University of Missouri Extension.
"Dormant oil should be applied now on apple, pear, plum, quince and crabapples as well as currant and gooseberry bushes to control sap sucking pests like red mites and scale," Balek said. "These pests overwinter in the small cracks and crevices in the bark."
According to Balek, dormant oil works by coating the surface, suffocating adults and killing the eggs before they become active in warm weather.
"The control is not a cure, but it really knocks down the population going into the growing season," Balek said.
To avoid damaging the plants, dormant oil should be applied in the dormant season. This should be done before buds swell, when the temperature is between 35 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit and remains above freezing for at least 24 hours.
"When spraying dormant oil it is best to cover all areas of the bark, especially the smallest cracks and crevices in all stems and branches," Balek said. "The best control results from thorough coverage."
For more information, contact one of MU Extension's horticulture specialists or educators in southwest Missouri: Patrick Byers in Greene County at 417-881-8909, Kelly McGowan in Greene County at 417-881-8909 or Robert Balek in Jasper County at 417-358-2158.
Community on 03/05/2015