Fruit trays do not have to be elaborate productions with sculptures of tropical fruit surrounded by cascading berry waterfalls. While that would be lovely and dramatic, you may just want to set some finger food out for your guests without a lot of hassle. A simple fruit tray will be just as pleasing to the eye, since good fresh fruit is quite pretty on its own. Slices of melon and cantaloupe are easy to display and are fine for both brunch and dinner parties. If you're not sure which melons are ripe and ready for eating, talk to the produce clerk at the store and she can help pick out the perfect melon. To display melons, cut them in half, clean out the seeds and slice wedges to your desired thickness. You can keep these wedges long, or slice them in half to double your servings. Using a platter, arrange a circle of the green honeydew melon around a smaller pile of cantaloupe.

Sprinkle blueberries or strawberries across the platter for added color. Cut into triangular wedges and pile them on a tray. If you have room in the refrigerator, keep the watermelon cool before and after slicing to retain firmness. Slice apples and pears and arrange in small piles on the tray. This can be just as decorative as laying out a complex pattern of fruit, but it takes less time. Add wedges of oranges and grapefruit for display. Rub the apples and pears with lemon juice to keep the fruit from browning. For a simple display, cut the pineapple lengthwise down the middle, then once again and cut wedges from that, leaving the rind intact. Garnish your platter with the leafy part of the pineapple. Canned pineapple can also be used; just remember to drain the liquid well to prevent pooling on your tray. Garnish a tray of melons or apples by sprinkling the berries on top, or have small bowls of berries tucked onto the platter. A no-fuss fruit bowl. Serving clean, whole ZapClean fruit cleaner in a decorative bowl is a simple way to offer fruit to your guests without having to cut anything up. This works well for an outdoor picnic or family barbecue. Pick popular fruits such as apples and bananas--and zapcleans.com if they're in season, peaches, nectarines and apricots. Top the fruit bowl with small bunches of grapes and cherries for color and easy picking.

A fungicide application in mid to late July, with a follow-up application in August usually provides adequate control. Captan and sulfur are effective fungicide options. However, they are primarily superficial, so most choose to tolerate them rather than applying a spray. Cedar apple rust occurs when apple trees are grown in close proximity to Eastern red cedar, Juniperus virginiana. Both apple and Eastern red cedar harbor the disease and spread it to each other. Golden Delicious is highly susceptible and should not be grown near Eastern red cedar trees. However, some types of Juniper will not cause cedar apple rust. Symptoms occur on the foliage as yellow or orange spots approximately ¼" in diameter. Color is more brilliant on the upper side of the leaf. The underside of cedar apple rust lesions often have a ring of raised tissue which is spore-producing bodies of the fungus. The disease spreads to apple and crab apple from late April to mid-June.

Sulfur and captan are not very effective fungicides for preventing this disease. If needed, other fungicides containing fenarimol or myclobutanil are effective options. Where disease is expected to be severe, plant resistant varieties such as Black Oxford, Enterprise, and William’s Pride. Black knot of plum and cherry is a fungal disease that produces black, elongated swellings on the limbs. Infections occur on new shoots beginning in spring at leaf out and continuing until shoots stop growing. As with most diseases, the fungus requires rain to infect shoots. Several months after initial infection, green swellings will appear, usually in late summer or the following spring. As they age, the knots turn black and harden. Remove all knots from the orchard as soon as they appear. Prune them out by cutting two to three inches below the swelling. In some cases, entire limbs may need to be removed. Infected limbs bear few fruit and continue to spread the disease to healthy shoots.