Neem oil

hers.nz, Nov 1, 6:35am
I have some neem oil for my fruit trees to combat leaf curl and black aphid. I had the trees sprayed in early August with copper/conquerer but the leaf curl is back and I see ants on the cherry tree. The bottle says not to spray with copper sprays but not any down time between the two. Does anyone know if it would be safe enougth to spray now?

lythande1, Nov 1, 5:13pm
Copper is great for fungal diseases.
It will do nothing for bugs.
Ants are often on fruit trees due to scale or other sap sucking bugs - they are attracted to the sweet sap leaking out - and that also can cause mould.

I mix copper/sulpher with maverick and spray for both bugs and fungus, it works just fine.

oh_hunnihunni, Nov 1, 11:20pm
Neem works by preventing metamorphosis, so larva cannot turn into adult and reproduce. It's more a regular maintenance pest thing. Watch too for spray times. As an oil, it can sit on the leaf and magnify sunlight and burn sensitive plant tissue. And though natural - it has a three week stand down on edibles - it leaves a very bitter taste unless you watch that.

bluefrog2, Aug 11, 11:03am
Neem can affect bees. If your fruit trees are still being pollinated, stick to milk, bicarb and soap sprays until all the pollination is done.