Fruit Grower's Reality Check :: Home Improvement DIY

When it comes to fruit growing and pests, you may want to give your approach a reality check with respect to the time, money, and energy you?re willing to devote to scouting for pests, spraying, and most important, carrying out all the cultural practices that will help you avoid spraying in the first place.

Home gardeners may find it more difficult and expensive to grow high-quality tree fruit than small-fruit plants, such as strawberries, grapes, blueberries, and brambles. One reason is that many different pests and diseases plague tree fruits. Summer rainfall and high humidity favor the growth and spread of disease-causing organisms. Insects are also challenging.

Power spray equipment isn?t practical for a small planting, yet getting spray into the canopy of a large fruit tree is a challenge. Dwarf fruit trees offer one solution for the home gardener because pesticides can be applied with hand-operated spray equipment.

But you?ll still need to be on your toes, scouting faithfully for insect presence, noting changes that occur on the leaves and the growing fruits, and keeping track of the weather so you?re able to time your sprayings accordingly. Most cooperative extension services have home fruit production guides and Web sites that provide the specific information home gardeners need to grow fruit crops successfully.

Source: http://homeimprovementdiy.info/fruit-grower%E2%80%99s-reality-check/