A SAFE, NO-COST FRUIT AND BERRY FUNGICIDE

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by Celine Caron

People who live in wet climates are often all too familiar with the effects of mildew on such plants as gooseberries, currants, raspberries, grapes, phlox, and roses ... and if the same individuals keep fruit trees, they're probably acquainted with apple or pear scab (Venturia inaequalis) as well. Many commonly used wholistic controls aren't terribly effective against these fungi ... while more potent fungicides—including lime sulfur—do indeed destroy mildew and scab but, unfortunately, also kill Anthocoris musculus, a valuable predator of mites and aphids.

The dilemma does have a resolution, though ... and it came about through the work of an English entomologist, Dr. Peggy Ellis. Since commercial fruit growers commonly spray a 5% solution of synthetic urea on fallen leaves to control apple and pear scab, Dr. Ellis reasoned that human urine—which contains 2 to 4% urea, depending on the diet—could serve the same purpose.

The entomologist first tested her theory on a backyard gooseberry patch ... and was pleased to find that the urine was extremely effective in combating a mildew problem that had afflicted the plants. Encouraged by this success, she reported her discovery to the members of the Henry Doubleday Research Association in the fall of 1978. As a result of her report, I soon became aware of this breakthrough in wholistic fungus control. And since my own currant crop was plagued with a severe mildew problem at the time, I was able to test the remedy immediately ... and my results were every bit as good as those that Dr. Ellis had observed.

More work has been done—on both a formal and an informal grower-to-grower level—over the past few years, and the success record is impressive enough to make me want to pass the news of this technique along to MOTHER's fruit-growing readers.

UREA . . . I'LL NEVERSTOP SAYING UREA

Thanks to the research completed thus far, it's possible to outline both preventive and curative urine treatments. In either case, though, be aware that undiluted urine will sometimes scorch leaves and could kill foliage, so the substance should generally be used in its pure form only on dormant wood.

PREVENTIVE TREATMENT

Step 1: Spray straight urine on trees and shrubs just before the leaves fall in the autumn ... or soon thereafter (in this case, of course, leaf burn won't be a problem). Make sure, too, that the ground beneath the plants—out to the drip line—is well covered with the liquid ... as this precautionary measure will destroy any spores present on the fallen leaves.

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