Dormant Sprays for Tree Fruit with CS 2005

Dormant Sprays for Tree Fruit: Building a Strong Foundation for Early-Season Disease Control

Dormant sprays have been a trusted early-season practice in Northeastern orchards for decades, and a dormant copper spray for fire blight control remains one of the most effective ways to start the growing season strong today.

Applied while trees are still dormant, these sprays provide an opportunity to reduce overwintering disease pressure, improve spray coverage, and establish a proactive defense against some of the most damaging threats to apples and pears, including fire blight, apple scab, black rot, white rot, and pear psylla.

With rising disease pressure and increasing resistance to traditional antibiotics, dormant copper programs are more important than ever for long-term orchard health and productivity.

⏰ Why Dormant Sprays Still Matter

Timing is everything. During dormancy, trees have minimal foliage, allowing for easier and more thorough spray coverage compared to later growth stages. This improved coverage translates directly into better early-season control.

Dormant CS 2005 sprays help growers:

✅ Reduce overwintering bacterial and fungal populations

🛡️ Establish an early barrier against fire blight

🍎 Suppress apple scab and rot pathogens before infection cycles begin

🌿 Support integrated pest management (IPM) programs

Starting clean gives your orchard a measurable advantage once spring conditions arrive.

🔵 Dormant Copper: A Cornerstone of Fire Blight Programs

Dormant copper applications are a critical first step in fire blight management. By lowering bacterial populations before bud break with CS 2005, growers can significantly reduce the risk of early-season infections.

This proactive approach is especially valuable in regions experiencing:

⚠️ Increased fire blight outbreaks

🧬 Streptomycin resistance

🌧️ Warmer, wetter spring conditions that favor disease development

When applied correctly during dormancy, copper provides broad-spectrum protection while helping preserve the effectiveness of in-season tools.

📊 Magna-Bon CS 2005 Research: Proven Fire Blight Protection

One of the best examples of research-backed performance comes from trials with Magna‑Bon CS 2005 fire blight control data, conducted at Cornell AgriTech in Geneva, NY.

📌 Key Trial Results

📍 Apple orchard trials evaluated Magna-Bon CS 2005, an OMRI-listed copper sulfate pentahydrate in-solution formula, across blossom and shoot blight stages.

Blossom Blight Control:

  • CS 2005 alone achieved ~83% control using a strategic timing protocol.

  • CS 2005 plus FireWall 17® and Regulaid delivered 100% control across blossom stages — an exceptional level of protection for high-pressure fire blight situations.

Shoot Blight Control:

  • Similar results were seen for shoot blight, with the CS 2005 + FireWall + Regulaid combination delivering 100% control in structured application protocols.

⚡ These results demonstrate that combining Magna-Bon CS 2005 with compatible partners in a bloom-targeted spray program can deliver field-proven, orchard-wide fire blight defense — giving growers confidence through critical infection periods.

🍏 Added Benefits: Scab and Rot Suppression

Beyond fire blight, dormant Magna-Bon CS 2005 sprays also contributes to control of:

🍎 Apple Scab

🍂 Anthracnose

🔥 Blossom Blast

⚡ European Blast

🔥 Shoot Blast

🌳 Collar Rot

🌳 Collar Rot (Root Zone)

This multi-disease activity makes dormant sprays with CS 2005 a highly efficient investment early in the season, particularly in blocks with a history of disease pressure.

In higher-risk situations, more than one dormant copper application may be beneficial. However, many traditional high-load copper products are limited to a single application and should not be used after green tip on fresh-market apples due to russeting concerns.

🍐 Dormant Sprays for Pear Orchards

Dormant copper and oil sprays also play an important role in pear production. These applications help manage:

🔥 Fire blight

🐛 Pear psylla

Applying dormant sprays in pears with CS 2005 supports cleaner orchards heading into spring and reduces reliance on reactive treatments later in the season.

🚀 Start the Season Strong

Dormant sprays remain one of the most cost-effective and impactful steps growers can take to protect apples and pears. By reducing early inoculum levels and establishing a solid disease management foundation, orchards are better positioned for healthy growth, stronger yields, and fewer in-season surprises.

A thoughtful dormant spray program sets the tone for the entire year — and proactive protection always beats reactive control.

👉 Protect your apples and pears with Magna-Bon CS 2005.
Explore our fire blight research trials, talk with your local distributor, or connect with a Magna-Bon representative today to build a smarter dormant spray program for your operation.

Research Backed. Field Tested. Grower Approved.