Tip of the Week: Monitor for Aphids on Fruit Trees

Spring has sprung, fruit trees are blooming and USU Extension's Utah Pest team is on on the lookout for up-to-date pest and disease issues here in Utah. A common pest to start monitoring for now are APHIDS!

"Aphids overwinter as eggs, and if they were not killed by a dormant oil spray, they are hatching now. There are several species, but they all have similar life cycles, behave similarly, cause the same damage, and are treated the same.

Monitor your fruit trees as soon as the leaves are large enough to handle. Turn leaves over on several shoot, and look for clusters of aphids near the base of leaf. Treating them before the leaves start to curl is the key to success." Marion Murray-Tree Fruit  IPM Advisory. 

If you didn't get around to spraying a dormant oil this spring, you a can mitigate aphid problems by using an insecticidal soap or horticultural oil at 1% concentration.  

"Both of these must come into contact with the aphids to work, and they have no residual value, so a repeat spray might be necessary."-IPM Advisory 

For a certified organic product check the Organic Materials Review Institute website at www.omri.org

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