Apple season is generally considered to be around March and April, but many heritage cultivars can be grown that mature from early December to late July.

This years apple season is pretty well over, so if you want a healthy crop next year, start thinking about eradicating any pests and diseases, especially if you want to adopt an organic approach to growing fruit.

Growing apples organically can be achieved quite readily with little loss of fruit through pest or disease damage. A main pest in southern parts of Australia is codling moth, and to a lesser extent the light brown apple moth. The two fungal diseases that can attack leaves and fruits are apple scab and powdery mildew.

Home gardeners can adopt a few simple management techniques to help prevent the build-up of pests and diseases in apples. Practising good orchard hygiene by clearing up around trees and removing all dead leaves and old apples through autumn and winter is a good start.

Apple trees can be helped by companion planting. Bird-attracting plants are ideal because the birds will eat the grubs. Similarly, plants such as borage (Borago officianalis) and lavender (Lavandula spp.) near the trees will attract bees for pollination.

Daisy-flowered species such as Gray-leafed Euryops (Euryops pectinatus) and Paris daisy (Argyranthemum frutescens) planted nearby will attract native wasp predators and give them a pollen supply during the winter months.

Species such as wormwood (Artemisia arborescens) have proved useful for distracting pest insects because of the aroma they emit. Plant directly under the apple trees - preferably in pots, because they are vigorous growers.

Nasturtium, (Tropaeolum majus), a ground-cover climbing plant, can also be useful in this way. Building up a biologically active soil using organic methods so that the soil contains worms and other soil microorganisms will aid the decomposition of fallen, diseased leaves and reduce the risk of infection.

Mulching around the base of the trees in summer also helps. Fresh grass clippings as a mulch around the base of the trees seems, for example, to have some effect on codling moth numbers. Pruning out any split limb ends and scraping loose bark from the trees will reduce the larvae cocoon spinning sites within the tree.

Codling moth larvae burrow into developing fruit, often preventing proper development, or they make holes and damage mature fruit. Damage can extend to more than 80 per cent of the crop if not controlled.

Codling moths hatch during September to October, which is when apple trees are flowering.

A deterrent is tiny pheromone traps, which are shaped like tents. They are hung in the apple trees when the first flowers begin to open. The male codling moths stick to the glue that is smeared within the tent.

During winter or spring, cardboard or hessian wraps can be placed around the trunk or on the limbs of apple trees. At the end of the cycle, the codling moth larvae look for a site to spin a cocoon to pupate, and the wraps are an ideal place for them. These wraps should be taken off every five to six weeks and the cocoons destroyed. It is also a good idea to hang jam jars half filled with a little red wine, or port plus water, in the trees. Mature moths are attracted to the wine and eventually drown.

Removing and destroying damaged fruit during the season is also necessary to reduce moth numbers. Once the fruit has formed, enclose them in bags to prevent insect predation and to help protect against diseases.

The light brown apple moth is another significant problem that can be controlled organically. The light brown apple moth larvae spins a web and causes leaves to curl. This can easily be controlled by hand squashing or with the use of Dipel, a natural bacterial preparation that is mixed with water and sprayed onto plants. The bacteria attack and kill the larvae of some moth and butterfly species.

Powdery mildew also affects apple trees. It shows as a powdery bloom on leaves or can leave webbed, russet patterns on apple skins. It can be controlled by pruning out infected shoots and leaves and by applying lime sulphur to the tree. This organic preparation can be applied at bud burst when green buds show on the trees up until 10 per cent of the flowers are fully open. Lime sulphur applied at this time will also help control apple scab, a fungal disease that manifests itself as black spots and blotches on leaves and cracked, blackened areas on apple skins.

Many of the aids for growing apples organically can be obtained at plant nurseries, but some items are only available from specialised biological control firms and specialist organisations.

Further information on apple growing and organic pest and disease control methods can be found in Allen Gilberts book All About Apples (Hyland House, 2001).