Pest Damage on Fruit Trees - Aphids[Greenfly]

Look for Symptoms of attack on Fruit Trees - twisted young growth, curled leaves with aphids on the underside, black mould on leaves , presence of ants on the stems

 In Spring and Summer aphids feed on the sap of  fruit trees, damaging the young growth . They enjoy young and soft  growth. The adults arrive on the young growth of fruit trees traveling miles on hot air currents.
During warm weather a small colony will soon become an infestation as they multiply rapidly.
Populations can increase more than tenfold in a week as they produce live young[no egg involved] and no
fertisation is required.They inject enzymes into the plant to digest the sap, this distorts growth. They excrete waste sugars and this grows black mould on leaves and stems of fruit trees.Ants often feed on the sugar as do bees.

Distorted stem curled leaves

Treatment -Specific chemicals targeting aphids are usually very quick and effective, these generally contain  
 Pirimicarb .General insecticides should be avoided as these kill benefical insects like Ladybird larvae and
 preditory mites etc..
 For low environment impact, several sprays of soft soap solution are effective.
 Look at your trees often
 Now you know what you are looking for, spot it early, and treat the damage will be greatly lessened.

The difference between a good gardener and an average one...is one week
 
Often aphid populations decline naturally due to predators[birds included], weather, the growth becomes
tougher and less palatable. On young trees the damage can be serious,as trees get bigger the damage is less significant , it can be pruned out without affecting tree shape or yield.

Young growth damaged BUT once sprayed growing away

 In our polytunnels at Adams Apples we use introduced parasitic wasps that keep aphid damage to a
 minimum. To an extent these build up in the summer on our outside Fruit Trees, but one or two sprays are generally required to grow nice straight Apple Trees.