In Georgia, February is generally the month for oil sprays in the home orchard. Oils should be used on an annual basis on apple, peach, plum and pear trees and when needed on blueberries and bunch grapes to control scale, mites and aphids.
Oils act as contact insecticides, controlling the egg, immature and adult stages of these soft bodied insects. They work by interfering with respiration. Application times are either prior to bud break or when green tips first show.
Dormant oils are heavy oils and should only be used on dormant plants. Superior oil, which is highly refined, is used for both dormant and delayed dormant applications. It is suitable for pest control in any season.
Delayed dormant applications are most effective as warming temperatures and increased sap flow make scale and other soft bodied insects more active and susceptible to suffocation. Aphid control is much better early in the season before buds leaf out to provide shelter from the spray.
Do not combine oils with fungicides or sulfur when applying to plants with foliage as plants may be damaged. Apples require both a dormant and delayed dormant oil application. Peaches and plums require only a dormant spray.
January and February are also the time for critical fungicide sprays in the home orchard. Dormant season disease control is important for apple and peach trees.
When swollen buds on apple trees first break and develop a silver color, an application of captan is recommended. This spray reduces black rot which infects apples just before and during bloom. Be sure to wait seven days after this spray before applying any oil.
Peach trees near and above the fall line are susceptible to peach leaf curl. Liquid lime sulfur should be applied during the dormant season to prevent infection which occurs just as buds begin to swell. When buds have begun to swell or open, it is too late for this spray.
For more information on home fruit pest control, access the UGA Extension publication, Georgia Pest Management Handbook
Billy Skaggs: Agricultural Agent
Hall County Extension Coordinator
734 East Crescent Drive
Gainesville, GA 30501
Phone:(770)531-6988 Fax: (770)531-3994
Email: [email protected]
Tuesday
August 5th, 2025
12:27AM
