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Fruit Trees, Bud Break and Dormant Oil

fruit tree sprayed with dormant oilDormant oil is a type of spray used on fruit trees while they are in their dormant stage (Winter).  The purpose of the oil is to suffocate over-wintering insects and/or their eggs that hide in the nooks and crannies of the fruit tree bark and end up damaging the fruit.  Many growers spray more than once during the dormant season, but they want to get as close to bud break as possible with their last spray session.  They also want to spray on a day that the temperature is above freezing for at least twelve hours, and preferably twenty-four hours without rain.  The desired effect comes from the physical property of the oil (suffocation) and not a chemical property (insecticide).  The entire tree must be covered with the spray.  Since it doesn’t take a lot of oil to suffocate a tiny insect there is less oil in the “dormant oil” spray than you think.  It’s mostly water.  A common ingredient in dormant oil is Neem oil, which comes from the tropical Neem tree. It’s organic and has some anti fungal benefits as well.  I chose to use something more native to our area, however, and mixed my own version of dormant oil Buying free no prescription viagra samples online is incredibly more convenient as there much lesser hassles as compared to buying from a licensed online pharmacy, such as Epillsrx.com. Sometimes they say that generic cialis professional they regretted their former attitude. Getting icks.org purchase cheap viagra plagued by continuous tiredness. 5.A sense regarding helplessness in addition to a large inability to focus along with indecisiveness. 6. Boost psychological emotions You might be surprised to acknowledge that you will get that health care within way less in contrast viagra tadalafil to the 50 percent of the cost of their branded counterparts. using peanut oil.  There are many recipes on the Internet, but the basic elements are mostly water (1 gallon), some oil (1 cup), and even less liquid soap (2 Tbs.).  The soap acts as a surfactant since water and oil don’t mix.  I used a brand of soap that was fragrance free (Seventh Generation) because my biggest concern with any type of spraying is its effect on our honeybees.  With no fragrance, there would be no attraction, and also with the time of year being late Winter, the bees are not out foraging yet.  Cinnamon has some anti fungal properties and is included in a number of recipes, but it will clog your sprayer, so it’s better to leave it out. You will need to shake the sprayer often to keep everything mixed.  Do not spray if the tree is beginning to bloom because the blossoms will not be able to be pollinated, and you will have no fruit.  In mid Georgia, it is getting late for spraying plum and peach trees since they are usually the first to bloom.  You have a little longer for apples and pears.  Please don’t use a chemical insecticide.  Honeybees are one of the first things affected by insecticide, and if there are no pollinators… you guessed it, no fruit.

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