Therefore, make sure your sprayer is properly calibrated, do not spray calcium chloride as concentrate, and wash your spray tank immediately after use to avoid any corrosion. The benefit of applying calcium should outweigh its cost. September flights and the larvae that follow have been unexpected surprises for several growers in recent years. When this occurs, active residues of an insecticide must be on the fruit to prevent larval entry and tunneling. By now the European red mite population, at least in terms of motile mites feeding on leaves, should be declining in most orchards.
Mites begin laying overwintering eggs on twigs as summer ends.
This behavior, coupled with the rains that fell in many areas, should reduce the need for miticide applications in most orchards. Don't spray if you don't need to do so. Sweet corn, peppers, and snap beans are all susceptible to damage when corn borer flights reach these levels. Corn earworm counts from pheromone traps are also up substantially in most of the state. With counts in excess of 100 moths per night all the way from Dixon Springs in the south to Harvard in the north, it's safe to say that earworm flight is now heavy in most of the state.