What Is the Truth Concerning Neonicotinoids ?

[paus]

Ace you nailed it. I think some of the problems we have today stems from what a company or individual wants, rather than their needs.

[CoolBees]

The I planted orchards,

Amazing you started with fruit.  Fruit is the food item that has the highest application of pesticides and chemicals.  How do you keep it to a minimum?

Well Ace - I'm not sure what you mean. Maybe you could explain further.

Heres what I do know - There are no pesticides, chemicals, etc used in my orchards. It's a slow process. Pure Bond method. It took me 7 yrs to admit that Peaches (6 varieties) weren't going to grow here. The apples (7 varietals) slow, but solid and healthy. Cherries (utah, bing, and tartarian) are going crazy. Pomegranates also crazy. Plums struggling - some are surviving. I could go on ...

As far as fertilizer - the local news channel provides plenty, but I can't stand the smell ... so I shovel out the chicken coop and provide that to the trees. Seems to be working so far.

Cheers!

[Acebird]

Good for you to try organic with fruit.
My experience:
We got a couple of peach trees that were engineered for zone 5 out of western NY.  They went crazy with the best peaches I have ever tasted.  After about 4 years they struggled.  Our weather was horrible for fruit in those years so I don't know if it is zone related or global warming.
What I have been told:
Our plums have always gone nuts but the tree gets this parasite that looks like black fungus.  This parasite can affect all your other fruit trees so it is imperative to cut this out of the plumb tree and burn it as we were told.  As the tree got bigger it was harder to keep up with.
Fertilizer can curtail blooming.  Apparently trees have to struggle a little so they will bloom.  All we did is plant comfry (sp) near the trunk of the apple trees which brings up minerals from down deep.
Good luck.
You found customers that don't mind the spots?