Orange Pippin Forum Board

Just a quick question here...I usually avoid apples that are not organic, but I recently discovered Opal apples and so happy they are non GMO, but do they get sprayed multiple times within toxic sprays?
TIA

Yes. Not an easy apple here to grow organically but certainly possible.

Don't confuse organic, GMO, and un-treated.

Any apple variety can be grown organically, even a GMO apple.

Similarly, any apple variety can be grown without treatments, including GMO apples.

There are hardly any GMO apple varieties.

Apples grown organically are usually subjected to a regular spray program, similar to those used in non-organic orchards, except the spray materials must be approved by an organic licensing authority. Organic sprays are obviously less harmful to the environment, but they still have many of the issues found with non-organic sprays, such as residues etc.

The best solution is to know the provenance of your apples - either by growing them yourself, or buying direct from the orchard (so you can ask the grower exactly how they are grown), or from a supplier who is able to assure of standards used by his growers.

I have a buddy who is a fourth generation apple grower and i've heard him say some interesting things about spraying.

The chemicals they use are almost identical. Organic orchards have to spray two or three times more than conventional orchards. If they spray correctly, whether organic or conventional, there should be NO residue left on the fruit.

There seems to be a lot of confusion with growing terminology when it comes to agriculture.

GMOs are genetically modified organisms. They have been changed in a laboratory to have factors such as resistance to a bug, weed killer, bacteria etc..

Organic is a method of growing fruits veggies and animals using a determined set of guidelines that are approved by a governing body.
People can still medicate animals and spray orchards or plants with pesticides or herbicides, but only those that are approved by that governing body.