Down to Earth: Codling moth in pipfruit
As summer unfolds many of us will now be enjoying the first fruits of the season, like strawberries, and looking forward to early plums, apples and pears.
Growing healthy fruit can be a tricky task. However, if care is taken with optimum placement, nourishment of the soil and encouraging beneficial plants to attract helpful insect and animal life, then we can usually enjoy the fruits of our labours.
One particularly pesty insect is the codling (or codlin) moth. The larvae burrow into apples, pears and stonefruit, often making them inedible. Here are some tips to help prevent codling damage without resorting to chemical sprays:
Sanitation is the most effective method. Every week or two, beginning about 6 to 8 weeks after bloom, check and remove fruit with signs of damage. Clean up dropped fruit as soon as possible after they fall because dropped fruit may have larvae in them. Chickens and pigs are great for this.
Hang pheromone traps from October to February to prevent codling (and leafroller) damage. These traps use synthetic female sex hormones to attract the adult male moths onto sticky cards. Disrupting the mating process will reduce larval population.
Paint sticky bands (non-drying adhesive at Garden Shop) onto pipfruit tree trunks close to ground (in spring) to capture codling moths that crawl up tree after hatching.
Attach corrugated cardboard (20cm strip) tightly to the trunk above sticky band to encourage any caterpillars that are crawling on the tree to find a place to pupate in February. Remove cardboard in late autumn-winter. This will only limit the next generation of moths, probably next season.
Biological Control: Silvereyes are good predators that eat many overwintering larvae. Other predators such as spiders and carabid beetles may feed on larvae or pupae. The whirligig mite (tiny red mite) eats eggs and larvae, and earwigs eat eggs too. The commercial biological pesticide Madex, a viral pathogen, is most effective if applied at peak larval hatching period, indicated by trap monitoring. Also releases of the tiny wasp, Trichogramma platneri, have been used successfully to manage codling moth in combination with trap monitoring.
Fruit care:
· Protect young subtropicals from wind.
· Prune citrus when harvesting.
· Summer prune trees.
· Tip grapes to two leaves past fruit.
· Thin fruits.
· Mulch fruit trees and berries.
· Net berryfruits.
· Preventative sprays of seaweed on fruits, and copper spray on stonefruit vs leaf curl and pipfruit vs black spot.
Herb Care:
· Weed and mulch.
· Sow annual herbs. Direct sow: dill, parsley, coriander for best results.
Vegetable Care:
· Ongoing care for young plants: Plant seedlings firmly and water. Liquid fertilise weekly. Spray Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) every 2-3 days on brassicas.
· Delateral tomatoes and cucumbers and tie/train up stakes.
· Set up stakes or frames for climbing crops.
· Weed and mulch.
· Mulch asparagus heavily including compost/manure.
· Mound potatoes, celery and carrots (after thinning).
· Ongoing bed prep adding lime, natural fertilisers, manures and compost.
· Hothouse: Keep ventilated. No mist watering. Hang yellow sticky cards and watch for aphids.
· Add flowers and herbs.
· Harvest early potatoes and garlic.
Sow for transplanting: Leafy greens (summer spinach, lettuce, endive, cabbages, Brussels sprouts, silverbeet/rainbow chard and celery), Florence fennel, leeks. Broccoli, early cauliflowers (best 14th Dec). Sweetcorn, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, melons and pumpkins (best 17-18th Dec). Herbs: basil, parsley etc. Flowers (eg zinnia).
Sow direct: Radish, parsnip, carrots, beetroot (best 20-22nd Dec). Spring onions, Florence fennel, leeks, salads, silverbeet/chard. French/butter and climbing beans, sweet corn, late pumpkin, squash, cucumber and zucchini (best 17-18th Dec).
Plant: Best 12th December. Salad greens, spinach, cabbages, silverbeet/rainbow chard, beetroot and Florence fennel. Potatoes (best 14th Dec). Tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers and squash. Annual herbs. Flowers.
General Garden Care:
· Collect rainwater in drums.
· Set up or check irrigation systems.
· Mow lawns and mulch clippings.
· Make and turn composts.
· Shred prunings.
· Weed and mulch ornamental areas.
Sol Morgan, GroWise Consultancy. Ph 525 9110.
