There are many things I like to tell people about my farm… hence the beginning of this blog. This topic is one of my favorites to talk about because it’s so simple, but it has a tremendous impact on how I grow my crop.
Mating Disruption is pretty much what it says. Insect mating is disrupted by pheromones being present in the orchard to distract the insects. They are confused by the pheromones and cannot find a mate, and therefore cannot produce the next generation which can harm the trees and fruit. Certain insects can produce multiple generations of offspring causing major damage throughout the season.
So, how are the pheromones introduced into the orchard and continue to persist to maintain control? It’s just about as simple as a twist tie. The twist ties or “dispensers,” contain pheromones for specific insects, and we place these twist ties all over the orchard to maintain the pheromone levels and distract the insects throughout the summer.
In the pictures above look for the orange tie wrapped around the wire. This particular tie is for Dogwood Borer disruption. They are placed lower in the canopy of the tree because that’s where the Dogwood Borer tend to “hang out.” We placed about 3,000 of these ties all over the apple orchard to help eliminate the Dogwood Borer this year. I have traps to monitor the adults in the orchard. Typically before we put the ties out in the orchard we will catch a few adults, but as soon as the ties are out the trap catches reduce down to zero. This can be partially due to all the pheromones in the orchard as well. So, it’s always a good idea to scout around for damage to the trees.
I have been using similar ties in my peach orchard for over 10 years to help control Oriental Fruit Moth and Lesser and Greater Peachtree Borer. I have traps in the peach orchard as well, to monitor the activity of the adult insects. The traps in both the peach and apple orchards are maintained and monitored by the wonderful employees of Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Agricultural Stewardship Program. I’ve had tremendous success with the mating disruption program and plan to continue to use it.
So, why doesn’t everyone use these ties? I’m sure many commercial growers do use them, but remember I mentioned above that we placed about 3,000 of these ties in our small apple orchard of 20 acres? It can become time consuming and expensive for large scale growers to use these ties. First, the ties are expensive, and second they must be applied by hand. Labor expenses can add up quickly. Also, the disruption may not work as well in smaller orchards or very large orchards.
What are the benefits to using these ties? Well, I have eliminated the need to use crop protectants to protect the apple trees against Dogwood Borers and the peach trees from Oriental Fruit Moth and Greater and Lesser Peach Tree Borer. All of these insects can cause tremendous damage to both the tree and fruit. My goal is to be sustainable while growing a high quality crop and help to protect the environment. There are crop protectants that will do the same job as these ties and cost much less and require little to no labor. I choose to use the ties, even at a higher expense, because the advantages out weigh the disadvantages. The ties are a safer and more environmental friendly way to control these major insects in the orchard.
I’m sure many of you are wondering…. Why don’t they have these cool ties for everything??? Well, they only work on specific insects who don’t travel too far. If an insect can travel longer distances, than they can mate outside the orchard and travel into the orchard and lay their eggs.
As long as new technology continues to come along I will try new things that are safer and environmentally friendly. Who knows what new technology will be out there next. I’ve heard a lot about the use of drones in orchards. Imagine how much information a drone could collect. The possibilities are endless.
What is drip irrigation? Well, it really is what the name indicates. It’s watering a plant slowly by dripping water on over a period of time. Our drip irrigation tube, which is the black tube running under the trees or in amongst the pumpkin plants, is what provides the plants with water and even fertilizer when it is needed. 
I can rely on natural rain, but there are times when our plants require more than what a good rain shower can offer. One of my first priorities after planting new apple or peach trees is to install the irrigation. The new trees do not have a huge root system, and cannot extend their roots fast enough to provide the tree with adequate water. The more the tree grows each year the sooner I am able to allow the tree to produce fruit. Economically, it is very important to keep the trees growing strong while they are young and that often includes watering and fertilizing. 
There are benefits to watering directly on the ground as opposed to sprinklers or overhead irrigation.
The picture above shows my vacuum seed planter which is planting the pumpkin seeds into a “zone,” (8 inches of tilled soil in amongst the straw mulch). The large roll on the back of the planter is what I call T-Tape. It is a disposable plastic tube with small holes that will irrigate the pumpkins when needed. As the planter moves along the roll unwinds the tube along the row as I plant. I can use this tube to water and fertilize if necessary. I’m finding that with the straw mulch I use in our reduced tillage system, I don’t need to water as much. The mulch helps the soil retain the moisture and requires less irrigation. I do have plans to eliminate the use of T-Tape in the pumpkins as long as I have enough fertilizer available for the pumpkins throughout the growing season. Through the use of vetch, which is a legume that provides active nitrogen, and slow release fertilizers I think I will accomplish this soon. I just worry when we have one of those really dry summers. Will there be enough moisture to keep the plants growing? If I can eliminate the use of the T-Tape I will reduce the amount of plastic going into the land fill.