Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
also weaken fruit trees and make them more susceptible to diseases and en-
vironmental damage. In humid areas, you may need to keep the alley and
in-row cover crops mowed short to reduce humidity in the tree canopy. Go-
ing into winter, vegetation in the alleys and crop rows should be mowed very
short.
If you use living mulches or leave organic mulch in the tree rows, also
mulch pulled at least several inches away from the tree trunks to reduce
problems with collar and root rots. Avoid placing mulch on cold, wet soils.
Remove alternate hosts.
In the site preparation chapter, we discussed re-
moving plants from on and around your property that can harbor pests and
diseases. It is best to remove wild and escaped fruit trees and bushes from
fencerows and other areas on your property. Avoid planting eastern red ce-
dar and junipers in your landscape because they are alternate hosts for rust
diseases. Likewise, keep your property free of wild or unmanaged hawthorn,
serviceberry (saskatoon or Juneberry), crab apple, and other fruit crops.
In fruit-growing regions especially, abandoned orchards often serve as
reservoirs of pests and diseases. Encourage your neighbors to manage fruit
crop pests and diseases in their landscapes and orchards. Offer to help them,
if necessary.
Manage fruit crop nutrition.
In home and market orchards, overfertilization
is more common than underfertilization. In larger orchards and in orchards
transitioning to organic, inadequate available nitrogen is common. Fruit
crops are best managed with moderate levels of fertility. Excessive nitrogen
can force dense, lush growth that is unproductive and highly susceptible to
diseases. Excessive phosphorus fertilization can trigger iron chlorosis and
other nutrient imbalances. Too little nitrogen, phosphorus, and other nutri-
ents results in weak trees that bear little fruit and are susceptible to diseases
and environmental stresses.
