Wanted, Something To Clean Orchard

[cecil39]

our fruit trees had been neglected for several years due to our ill health so we have pruned them hard back and now want something to spray on the trees and the ground as last year lots of the fruit died on the trees, it looked like we had grown prunes, my dear one went round and pulled a lot of the dead fruit off and left it the ground (against instructions) so I am afraid the desease might spread, we have now raked it up and burned it, but it I think we should spray the ground, opinions please.

[cecil39]

Thanks divebuddy, I thought it wouldn't be easy, but will do what you say and hope for the best.

[Quoi]

I have a near identical situation i think. I took over an abandoned allotment because of the fruit trees - 3 mature apples, a pear and victoria plum only to find a very poor harvest last year because of shrivelled & cracked fruit & tiny dark brown pears etc. I did a bit of research and found it would be tricky to deal with but did discover that a bordeaux mixture sprayed on the leaves as they develop with a few applications on the floor ( after clearing ) may help.
I cant find the article I was reading but if I do I will post it up.

[cecil39]

Thanks quoi, looks like we both have our work cut out, I have heard from a friend in Suffolk who also had a lot of fruit die on his trees so we wonder if this was not caused by neglect as his tree's are well cared for, so fingers crossed.

[Quoi]

I would be interested to know how things look for your fruit trees later on in the season & what treatment you carried out.
I am new to mature fruit trees and my alternative is to give the allotment up as I only had it for the fruit.
I had enviously watched the produce sadly go to waste with the previous owners.