Hi Ward:
A couple of years ago I was having probs with my peaches with
rot and premature leaf drop
and the pits splitting. Over a year ago I learned about
endomycorrhizae inoculant and this spring
I probed holes of the peaches and added
myco. As insurance, just after flower drop I started
using Sea-kelp spray and also Neem oil spray. My subsoil is
sand and shale and everything that
tends to go through quite fast. The myco latches onto the main
roots and forms an underground
carpet, drawing in unavailable "locked" nutrients as Donna
stated. As Doreen said Sea-kelp helps
to build tissue, whether it's leaf or fruit tissue this
stimulates the above ground tree and any run-
off now goes directly into your spongy absorbing underground
carpet of roots.
I neemed 3 or 4 times this season as the oil is a surfactant
and sticks for a while and you don't
really need a tremendous amount for it to do it's job, just
gotta get it underside of the leaves and
the curly barked trunk.
The majority of the fruit was Baseball sized with a few
bordering softballs....
I can tell you this, If you use a good myco and you can reach
your feeder and taproots that whether
you use a topdressing of compost or phosphates or whatever.
When your roots are working a lot
less harder to drag in micronutrients, this seems to allow the
plant/trees health to better ward of
stress and pests through it's own self defense mechanisms
because when everything underground
is optimum and flourishing, the tree/plant above ground can
get on with the business of producing
as it is freed-up from defense and can withstand almost any
onslaught of it's own.
Neem oil spray may be a good deterrent to all your ills,
thinning your crowns out a bit too should
help to let some light and air in. Besides peach love thinning
anyway!
Any fertilizer, amendments, kelps, cides etc is readily
absorbed rapidly through your roots being
multiplied 10 to 100 times with any good
myco.....
Myco is a little pricey, but Lon, Doreen and I swear by
it, try a little on a few trees and do a test
just be sure to get it to reach the dripline and tap/feeder
roots, you'll double your crop.
See for yourself....
Best wishes,
John
S. NH Z-5/6
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