Spraying for scab and casebearer

    With all the rain we have received over the past couple of weeks, my concern for keeping  pecan scab under control has grown.  So when the weatherman gave us a break from the rain for the next 3 days, I thought it best to start applying a fungicide.  "But what about casebearer control?',  you might ask.
    For the past week, we have been monitoring pecan nut casebearer trying to determine the best spray date for insect control. All last week, this year's casebearer population was stuck at 1% damage.  But today casebearer damage levels started to trend upwards, as we recorded 2.67% cluster damage. So it turns out that today is also a good day to start insecticide applications.
    The weather for spraying pecan trees over the next few days will be far from perfect. A combination of high winds and high temperatures will make the effective application of pesticides almost impossible. To make sure we get good spray coverage of our trees, we will limit our spray operation from the morning's first light until the winds pick up mid morning.
    For this first spray of the 2014 season, we will apply Lorsban insecticide and Stratego fungicide. The best tip I can give you on spraying pecan trees is to slow down your tractor speed and make sure you get complete coverage over the entire canopy. Complete coverage is especially vital for getting  fungicides to work properly.