Every year we receive inquiries about whether we spray our cherries. The answer is yes. By law we are required to control for the Western Cherry Fruit Fly, a pest for which there is zero tolerance in the cherry industry. We use a spinosad-based product, which is certified organic, and is either applied by air-blast sprayer (Entrust) or as a bait (GR-120) with a back-pack sprayer. We also try to control the Black Cherry Aphid by spot treating with an insecticidal soap product, also certified organic. We do some limited weed control around our irrigation risers utilizing a certified organic agricultural vinegar product (Vinagreen), sprayed by hand. In the near future we may also be required to control a new pest to Montana fruit growers, the Drosophila fruit fly. It has moved from California to Montana in less than 5 years and may prove to be a serious threat to not only cherries, but also berries (including hucks), apples, and other fruits. At this time our apples are completely no-spray.
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 16:27:25 +0000
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