Working with COPPER

摘要

Copper is a potent spray chemical, useful on many stone and pome fruits. It is active against bacterial diseases like fireblight, bacterial canker, and bacterial spot, and fungal diseases like cherry leaf spot, peach leaf curl, and apple scab as well.Used correctly, copper sprays, especially very early in the season before plant growth starts, prevent overwintering disease inocula from infecting new tissue and set the stage for lower disease pressure when life resumes in spring. But its ability to kill is not limited to disease organisms. It can damage plant tissue, russet fruit, suppress earthworms, and accumulate in the soil. It is toxic to aquatic organisms and some higher animals, especially sheep, but humans have a high tolerance to it.