Chiclanagir

This happened last year and the fruit although prolific was rotten. What should I spray with that I can buy in Spain?

bil

Wel, you need to be pretty careful. Some sprays have such a long tox period that by the time they were safe to eat they would be rotten anyway.

Confidor, tho excellent has a 30 day period for citrus, so after you spray, no oranges for a month. What its tox period for other fruits is I have no idea.

Personally, I would try insect traps, and see if you can't damage the population badly with those. Plant garlic and other stuff around the tree that has the reputation of discouraging pests, and remove all damaged fruit quickly, using it as bait in the traps if necessary, tho I would start the traps well before the fruit was ripe. Finally, picking it early will help reduce loss.

Dxf

Hi

Simply take a leaf into Viveros Infraplant and they will tell you the best thing to spray. There are english speakers there if you need it

Davexf

GrapeEater

Hi, Interesting because many people in Hondon who have citrus trees have a problem with 'curley leaf' - the trees grow but the leaves are like "disfigured' odd shapes... You can't see any sizeable insect / pest We think t=it stunts the growth and fruit a little. Even the Garden centres here aren't much help !!

Any ideas !!??

Fred James

It's caused by a "minador de citricos". An insect lays its eggs on the leaf and the tiny grubs burrow into the leaf leaving tell-tale squiggly trails. The leaf curls up to give then a nice comfy place to hatch.

It is more cosmetic than harmful but Confidor is the preferred insecticide sprayed well before it gets infested.

Fred James

Not a lot!

Apart from fly traps (it's a very small fruit fly) a mosquito net over the whole tree could work - that's what I am planning to try this year.

rugbymatt

Any systemic insecticide will help, if the infestation isnt too great and you only have one or two trees then just burn up all the infected leaves, otherwise, sadly, there are few organic routes................


I did read something a while back showing some success using products containing IVERMECTIN which is odd since its actually an animal de-wormer, which actually I guess makes sense!

bil

As Matt says, a systemic is needed. Miners can do a lot of damage, and pests like those, and woolly aphid as well, are almost impossible to irradicate with conventional treatments, however a systemic makes the whole tree poisonous, so you don't need to stand there spraying toxins aout all over the place in the hope of hitting every leaf.

What I would suggest is at the appropriate time, you prune the tree into a good shape, opening up the centre into a vase shape, and removing all crossing branches, as those are where I found a lot of the pests hiding away.

Fly traps are good, effective, simple, cheap and a damn sight easier than trying to mosquito net a tree.

snikpoh

In English - "Peach Leaf Curl" I think. Take a look on internet for treatments.

rugbymatt

.....................................

Fred James

No, not the same thing at all.

Peach Leaf Curl is a fungal infection. The Citrus Leaf Miner is an insect problem - it is caused by a moth.

Confidor is the best treatment. It is a systemic and can be applied neat to the trunk of the tree and can remain effective for 3 months.


Some technical info here http://www.uom.ac.mu/Faculties/foa/A...0pest_S4P1.htm

After a bad bout of the problem when we first planted the trees, I have used it successfully for about 4 years and never get the problem.

bil

I do like the idea of being able to apply it to the trunk. It beats spraying, or more accurately 'trying' to spray the whole damn tree. Personally tho I think iriigating it in is easier still. Here's a useful link http://www.afikgan.co.il/afik_shop/d...onfidur-EN.pdf where they say you can dig a small pit, eg with a trowel, I suppose, use a syringe to deliver the right amount and then water it in, ensuring that no runoff occurs. I'd dig half a dozen on the circumference of the drip ring, ie just inside where water falls from the leaves onto the ground, and spread the dose between them. Confidor isn't cheap, it can be anything between 150 and 200 euros where we are, but its efficiency and ease of application for even decent sized trees makes it worthwhile.

Used as I say, it prevents drift spray contaminating other plants, and you as you spray, and it makes it a more discriminate killer.

Good housekeeping on a tree is very important IMO. A nice open vase shape keeps the centre well aired and thus reduces problems due to humidity, and removing crossing branches et al gives pests less places to hide. A high pressure jet of water can be a help too in reducing numbers of wooly aphid.

Fred James

It is possible to buy the "generic" equivalent. My viveros sold me a litre for €38 four years ago - no doubt it has gone up since but it is about 50% of the price of the "official" product.

It comes in a plain bottle lablelled "Imidacloroprid".

The other way of applying it to the trunk, and I have seen the viveros do this, is to soak a bandage in it and wrap it round the trunk and then over wrap with cling film.

snikpoh

Thanks Fred, I stand corrected. Looks like I may be treating my trees for the wrong thing then. Quick trot to the garden centre I think.

Chiclanagir

Just tried to make a fly trap with beer and washing up liquid but it fell out of the tree and the dog drank the beer!