Apple dropping preventable?

Discussion in 'Fruit and Nut Trees' started by natnkat, Feb 13, 2007.

  1. natnkat

    natnkat Member

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    Location:
    Escondido, CA, USA
    I'm considering planting a hardy apple tree (we're zone 2-3) but have some hesitation. We recently stayed at a friend's who had loaded apple trees but also lots of yellow jackets eating the dropped apples. I was stung 3x while there (although that was from the nest underneath the front door). Another concern is our toddlers eating green fruit. I'd like to hear if anyone knows of a hardy apple tree that doesn't drop fruit til fall, or at least if it does do the "June drop" it doesn't drop again til harvestime. Our friends' trees were dropping every day, although that might have been a bug/disease problem. Any info would be appreciated!
     
  2. biggam

    biggam Active Member

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    Sounds like if they're dropping everyday, then they have been ready to harvest, or indeed, some pest problem like apple maggot. Dropped apples should be cleaned up to reduce pest activity, whether it's June or late fall. Thinning fruit not long after bloom can reduce the number of June drops, and improve the size and quality of the remaining apples. I'm not sure a toddler would be too interested in hard-green-sour fruit.

    Some varieties that may fit the bill:

    Liberty, Juliet -- disease resistant varieties; maybe not hardy beyond zone 4.
    Jonamac -- a cross of Jonathan & McIntosh; very hardy; fruits hangs well.
    Chestnut Crab -- a 2" sweet crabapple; fruit hangs well; tree is attractive & good pollenizer.
    Goodland, Prairie Spy, Red Baron -- very hardy, large eating apples.
     
  3. natnkat

    natnkat Member

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    Thanks for the info. The apples that dropped at my friend's were large, colored fruit that certainly tasted green. They said that the fruit needed a frost to be ready to harvest.
    I wasn't able to find any of the varieties you listed in the Canadian seed catalogs that we have, although I'm sure they're available somewhere in Canada. What about the variety called "Honeycrisp" - has anyone heard anything about them?
     
  4. sgbotsford

    sgbotsford Active Member 10 Years

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    Honeycrisp is an excellent apple, but is hardy only to about zone 4.

    Yellowjackets:

    If you have fruit trees, you are going to have things that like fruit. You need to pick them up anyway to reduce apple scab and a few other pests. Spread tarps that breath under the tree to make collection easier. A lot of the prairie hardy apples go from ripe to dropped in a very short period of time. Putting tarps under the tree, but tying the corners about 3 feet up the trunk, and stretching them tight may make it possible for the apples to land and not get bruised.

    If you have a pig, he will do a lot of the cleanup for you.
     
  5. danish_garden

    danish_garden New Member

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    Hiện tượng của quả táo rơi mềm và nấu chín tất cả trước khi cho nhiều lý do nên: Bệnh Táo nấm hoặc trái cây tấn công của côn trùng trước khi chín và sau đó xâm nhập gây bệnh.
     
  6. sgbotsford

    sgbotsford Active Member 10 Years

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    For those of you who do not read vietnamese:

    Hiện tượng của quả táo rơi mềm và nấu chín tất cả trước khi cho nhiều lý do nên: Bệnh Táo nấm hoặc trái cây tấn công của côn trùng trước khi chín và sau đó xâm nhập gây bệnh.

    translates on Google as:

    The phenomenon of the falling apple is soft and cooked all before for many reasons, disease or fungus fruit Apples insect attack before nine and then invading pathogens.
     

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