Apple scab is a challenge to prevent and to predict: Fruit growers can buy support from Apple scab warning programmes, when to decide to spray or not. The programs predict the risk of scab infection in the orchard. But do they show the reality?

Preventing apple scab infections by strategic irrigation is possible but only at a low level. The strategic irrigation alone does not sufficiently prevent apple scab, but might be a good supplement to fungicide sprays. The apple scab warning programmes might need an adjustment for Danish conditions, with more focus on the earliest infection periods before flowering. Apple cultivars like ‘Red Aroma’, ‘Alkmene’ and ‘Holsteiner Cox’ are very robust against apple scab, with a maximum of 4% apple scab infection during 4 years of trial in an unsprayed orchard.