The Problem with Disease Resistant Apple Trees

Believe it or not, disease resistant trees are not the end of your apple tree problems. Still, they are a solid foundation to a low spray or organic orchard. Here’s a few things I’ve learned.

[@ad5766]

This ain't the first time I felt like you were speaking directly to me.

[@troutfishholland]

Appreciate that. Always wanted to come across like a neighbor. A good neighbor that is.

[@666Necropsy]

good talk. i had to study and still do about all these different sprays. i like to research and try different apples. i wasnt happy with most of the commercial apples. keeping my apple trees protected was a big help.

[@wilsonpaul3599]

I never bought any apple trees I air layered of 2 my dad had down the road and let them grow on the natural rootstock. Never had any issue at all. I also planted several from seed as a kid and they have no issue as well. And I don't spray for anything just fertilize with bone meal 3 times a year liberally. I personally think that these problems and disease affect trees pn dwarf rootstock or popular varieties that are over populated . another thing is I keep them all about 30 to 40 ft apart with fig or peach or persimmon in between

[@troutfishholland]

Without a doubt, stacking trees on top of each other increase disease and pest pressure.

[@swannoir7949]

@@troutfishholland Nice to know, in case I ever decide to do a hedgerow of apple trees. And it’s good to know, that mixing it up helps.

[@erwinbrubacker7488]

​@@swannoir7949 check out permacuture orchards, Stefan in Quebec, is top teacher.

[@AllMyHobbies]

I agree with what you’re saying the one thing I would add is I bought hook line and sinker for that idea and I planted liberty but the quality of the apples is not good they’re not bad but they’re not the same as Honeycrisp or Fuji or so I end up planting a lot more of those now

[@troutfishholland]

All My Hobbies there’s a reason Fuji and honey crisp are so popular. They taste great!

[@wilsonpaul3599]

@@troutfishholland are your apples on dwarf rootstock or M9 rootstock ? I think this causes a lot of issues and has also been a suspect for rapid apple decline(RAD)

[@juliosdiy3206]

I have 2 apples one is loaded with japanese bugs and looks dead by the end of June then all of a sudden the little apples dries up. I think its the bugs primarily eating the leaves and possible disease. This yr i will cover rhe whole tree with bug netting c what happens the spray dont help much.

[@jjfash83]

Does planting the resistant trees next to the susceptible ones have any downsides? If your susceptible tree gets a disease, does it increase the chances of the spreading to the resistant trees?

[@KlausBioMadsen]

Thanks for the video, very informative! Your audio cuts sometimes.

[@agbtg6292]

If you just want good looking apples and losts of them every 2nd year, plant Wolf River. We have one that came with the place in 1951 full grown, so it must be going on 100 . It's never sprayed and the fruit is always perfect smooth and round. The only time bugs are problem is when red bellied woodpeckers make holes for the wasps and yellow jackets, But that usually only happens on the off years when the other trees don't have much on them either.

[@mrstihl16]

Some things are highly regional. That may work for your location for a multitude of reasons that won't work where I live. Woof river is a disease resistant variety that helps make life easier. For example, i might have the same luck with gold rush due to lack of cedar trees in the area.

[@fotochikyo]

@agbtg where are you located? I have a wolf river apple I just planted

[@sahmadi1000]

University of Maryland recommends some fruit trees for us in Maryland but they also list about 10 different chemicals that you need to spay every 10 days. Nothing grows well her except Barries.

[@ProfKSE]

One of my favorite apple trees is Shizuka. It is very susceptible to CAR. It gets so little CAR I don't spray for CAR. I spray for insects only. I do spray Captan to limit Sooty blotch but I think I'm going to have to double the dose because it does not seem to be working well enough. August & September nights are very damp; fungus goes nuts here then.

[@troutfishholland]

Prof.Kent topsin-m does a great job on blotch and speck and is cheap.

[@ProfKSE]

@@troutfishholland Directions for Topsin-M says "Do not apply to home orchards/fruit trees after fruit set." How can this help sooty blotch on apples?

[@boxybrown33]

Is your objection to the resistant trees just that it’s a waste of spray? I do a Michael Phillips style spray regime and I like it because it more or less treats all trees the same. Doesn’t matter if my resistant trees get hit with a product like Regalia because it’s good for them anyway. More input costs to be sure but I also factor in my own time and convenience and it’s worth it especially since it’s basically a once per year spray and most of the rest are dirt cheap compost tea sprays. Just a different perspective. You’re dead on about the insect pressure too. Not much you can do about it in the sense that if you’re committed to growing your own fruit trees, it’s just the nature of world. Best you can do is make your trees as healthy as possible and do some targeted sprays at the correct times throughout the growing season.

[@mdiazdiaz5612]

Hi I purchased a grafted apple tree two years ago and planted it in my backyard following KZbin video direction on how to plant it. The apple tree has not grown at all and all the leaves on it are turning brown, once in a while it produces a tiny apple but it dries up and falls off. I have removed the lose soil and have added new miracle grow potting soil mix, I have also added fertilizer with no improvement. Can you help? Thanks for sharing

[@troutfishholland]

That’s going to be a hard one to solve via the comments section. Could be a disease related issue. Keep roots moist and watch in spring for first sign of trouble!

[@wilsonpaul3599]

Don't by grafted IMO. Just air layer a tree from in YOUR area (ask around someone will have 1) or try from seed. Grafted trees are either on dwarf or M9 rootstock and will not develop a TRUE root system like a real tree would. Hence the diseases

[@richardgrimesjr8760]

This question is off topic but I remember you planting trees from Century Farm Orchard some years ago. I have not seen any videos of these varieties. Did they not work out ???

[@troutfishholland]

Richard Grimes Jr I still have some trees from century farm. Nothing wrong with their trees. I ripped out most on the vertical axis because I didn’t like them too much. Tough lesson there.

[@clintcristina206]

@@troutfishholland what didnt you like about the vertical axis system? Im about to start one next year in a 40x60 area on bud9 and/or g214. what was the lesson?

[@ProfKSE]

@6min. Hahahahaha. I'm spraying them all!

[@bobmariano3731]

👍⚾️

[@jakelooter5139]

I breed hamsters for apple rust...