January
30, 2002
RE:
Apple Bagging Project
I want to thank you for participating in the 2001 apple-bagging project. We have completed tallying the data from all of the apples. The results show we had 99 % effectiveness of preventing the apple maggot fly from laying eggs in the apple by placing a plastic bag on the apple. Three years of data is consistent, therefore I feel confident in recommending the practice.
You
may be interested to know there were forty-two individuals from four states who
participated in the project this year. We ended up evaluating seven hundred
twenty apples from thirty different varieties.
Some
observations from this year’s project:
Approximately 20-25 percent of the
tagged apples fell off the tree. The control apples are no better than the
bagged. It must be a natural process of the tree discarding fruit that is
infected.
Earwigs are a problem for some
people. This insect likes high humidity and finds the bags inviting. The damage
they do is minimal and the apple is usually useable. We need to look at how the
bag is tied around the stem.
It is my experience that water will
collect in the bags if you don’t cut holes in the lower corners. We have left
bags on the tree with a half a cup of water in them all summer and the apples
were fine when we picked them.
If you have plum curculio or codling
moth problems early in the season you need to control them. I believe the
reason some of the apples are falling off is because they were infected before
the bags were placed on the apple.
I want to thank those of you who
have sent testimonials. They confirm what we are seeing when the apples are
evaluated.
I
am enclosing a video we produced showing the process. It is my gift for
participating in the project. I hope you will share it with others and
encourage them to try bagging apples if they have an apple maggot problem. The
video was produced with grant funds from the Integrated Pest Management Program
at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
Sincerely,
Larry
Zilliox
Extension
Educator