The Apple Club Newsletter, Winter 2008, Page 1

Welcome to our winter newsletter. I would like to wish all our customers and friends a happy Christmas, and a healthy 2009.

Codling moths

Joke:
What is worse than finding a worm in your apple?
Finding half a worm in your half-eaten apple!
This old joke was told in the days when finding a worm in your apple could happen every now and again.
The worms that people were talking about were not really worms, but caterpillars, which are the young of moths and butterflies. The most common caterpillar that you might find in your apples was the one produced by the codling moth.
Adult codling moths overwinter as pupae in the orchard, and in the springtime they emerge and fly around. At this time the males and females must meet, so that they can multiply. After mating, the females find some apples, and lay their eggs on them. Small caterpillars hatch, and these eat into the apple, making a burrow that gets bigger as they grow. During summer some of the caterpillars emerge, and change into adult moths, and go through another cycle of mating and egg laying, and this gives rise to more caterpillars in apples later in the summer or autumn. It is these caterpillars that might be found in your apples when you eat them.
Obviously people do not want to eat apples containing caterpillars, but luckily a really eco-friendly way of controlling them has been found.
In order to have caterpillars, adult moths must mate. And for this to happen, adult male moths must be able to find the females. In nature, male moths are able to detect females by the scent that they give off. These scents, called phermones, can be detected by male moths even if they are a kilometer away from the females.
So once a male picks up the pheromone trail, all he needs to do is follow it until he finds the female.
Now though, scientists are able to manufacture this pheromone or scent in the laboratory.
As a result, plastic “traps” containing the scent have been made, and apple growers can place these in their orchards.
Once these “false females” are put in the orchard, the male moths, instead of finding females, only find the plastic traps, and then mating cannot happen. And if there is no mating, there are no pregnant females, and so no caterpillars can be born.
The best thing about these traps is that they do not require the use of any pesticides in the orchards, and that the codling moth scent does not affect any other butterflies or moths, so other species are not harmed.
For an apple grower like me, there is no greater satisfaction than the clever application of science.

In our farm shop

We have our usual range of apples, including really beautiful Elstar, as well as that traditional favourite, Karmijn de Sonnaville. Bramley cookers are also available, as are Golden Delicious.
Our juices are as popular as ever and really good value, with a case of 12 large bottles of apple juice; enough to keep you going for ages, only 22 euros.
The sparkling juice has been a great success, with people coming from all over Ireland to get it.

Newsletter Winter 2008		page 1 of 4