HI Tui, apple codling moth. We have a wonderful old cox’s orange in Carterton. Usually I cope with the codling moth quite well but this year with COVID and other issues I neglected the tree and now have lots of apples quite badly infected. We thinned the fruit. We now have 50kg of badly infected little green apples in the compost bin. What should I do with all these apples to help break the cycle for next year?

Hi Peter, dispose of the infested fruit in the rubbish or burn, do not compost as the caterpillar will overwinter in the soil (or compost). Pick up all fallen fruit from around the tree and burn or dispose of in the rubbish as well to prevent the spread. A few other tricks you can try are to place corrugated cardboard around your tree to capture any larvae that have hatched in the soil, some people use grease bands as well. Place phermone traps in your trees in August/September to catch the male to break the life cycle. It is important the traps are put up then to catch the moth before it lays its eggs. Give your apples a winter clean up spray, talk to your local garden centre for a suitable control. The Tui Team