Scab and codling moth damage are scarcely important to the cider maker unless extremely severe, and even large cider growers may only spray routinely against mildew. Frequently, no spraying at all is required and cider apples are therefore well suited to organic cultivation. Fireblight, though, is a potential problem and is spread from blossom to blossom by pollinating insects which carry the bacterium. There is no easy solution and affected limbs should be cut out and burnt as soon as the disease is noted. MAFF should also be informed.
Biennial bearing is perhaps the biggest single headache for the cider grower.
This pattern is often set by external climatic factors, such as a warm summer, so that all the trees in a locality tend to go 'in phase' with each other. For the UK as a whole, there is a strong biennial trend. This is one of the factors which has led many manufacturers to rely so much more on concentrated juice to even out supplies from year to year. There are various potential remedies for biennial bearing, mostly using hormone sprays to control flower bud initiation, or even using hand removal of part of the blossom in an 'on' year to ensure some crop in the subsequent 'off' year. Large growers use tractor mounted tree shakers, air blowers and mechanical brushes to sweep up the fruit from the orchard alleyways.