fruit borer problem

pinakbet · January 4, 2011

First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERY ONE. MAY 2011 be a very productive year!

I have a healthy looking pepper plant with 7 developing pods...

I was happy to see that each pod grows bigger by the day. Then one by one, each unripe pod drops.. I saw a smaill pinhole on each pod and when I dissected the biggest pod, I saw fruit worms inside! How frustrating....

Not only I am experiencing thing on non-pungent peppers but on eggplants as well...

How do you prevent those pesky critters from damaging the fruits without using chemical pesticides... hot pepper spray doesn't seem to work.

Thanks...

feldon30 · January 4, 2011

Are they little green fruitworm caterpillars? If so, BT is a solution.

Stepheninky · January 4, 2011

Spray with Thuricide HP or Dipel (Bacillus thuringiensis) these are biological controls and should control them. If not you may have go the chemical route and use one of the following brands that are available in your country Lannate 40 , Decis R, Karate,
Provin

pinakbet · January 6, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by feldon30

Are they little green fruitworm caterpillars? If so, BT is a solution.

They look like white maggots.. Pardon me but what's BT?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stepheninky

Spray with Thuricide HP or Dipel (Bacillus thuringiensis) these are biological controls and should control them. If not you may have go the chemical route and use one of the following brands that are available in your country Lannate 40 , Decis R, Karate,
Provin

Thanks Stephen. Karate is available here. I'm not sure if the biological stuff is available here. I'll just ask around here if there is a local substitute for Bacillus thuringiensis.

Stepheninky · January 6, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinakbet

They look like white maggots.. Pardon me but what's BT?

BT is Bacillus thuringiensis

Thanks Stephen. Karate is available here. I'm not sure if the biological stuff is available here. I'll just ask around here if there is a local substitute for Bacillus thuringiensis.

NP you should be able to find it under the brand names Thuricide HP or Dipel in your country. If you know anyone that is a commercial grower of fruits and veggies they might be able to help you find it there.
You also may want to search on Ebay.ph

Heritage · January 6, 2011

It sounds like you have "pepper maggots", in which case BT will not do you much good. If you google "Pepper maggot" you will find photos of the fly which you should see on, or around, your peppers and eggplants. You will need to control the flies before they lay their eggs in the pepper skins. There are pesticides recommended for control of the pepper maggot but complete control will be difficult if the flies are continuously hatching from the soil around the peppers/eggplants.

If you don't have many plants to protect, I would try wrapping the plant in a fine netting so the flies can't get to the small peppers and lay eggs. Maybe a large tubed-shape netting, over the entire plant, then tied close at the bottom stem so the flies can't get in (just assume the flies are hatching out in the soil beneath your plants so don't just drape the material over the plants and leave the bottom open).

Good luck!

-Steve

pinakbet · January 6, 2011

Thanks Stephen. Its embarrassing that I didn't get the meaning of BT immediately.

I'll check out the local gardening supply store this coming weekend.

______________________________
Thanks Steve. Speaking of wrapping, Is it advisable to bag the individual fruits using small plastic bags instead or will it affect the development of the fruit? I'm be lucky to get more than 5 pods on one plant at a time.

Mangoes for export here are wrapped individually with newspaper during the development stage.

feldon30 · January 6, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinakbet

Pardon me but what's BT?

Bacillus thuringiensis.

Asked and answered.

Also sold as BT Worm Killer (liquid) or Dipel Dust.

Heritage · January 6, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinakbet

Speaking of wrapping, Is it advisable to bag the individual fruits using small plastic bags instead or will it affect the development of the fruit?

You could certainly try bagging the fruit individually if you want but it seems like it might be a more delicate operation. Do whichever is easiest for you. If you do bag the fruit, do it before they bloom and use a material that will allow air and light through without allowing the flies through. Something like a nylon "footie", or nylon legging would work. I think plastic bags would cause problems with heat/rot but you could try it on a few fruit as an experiment.

Try a couple different methods - this is a pest that may test your creativity.

RinTinTin · January 6, 2011

A good material for bagging is cheese cloth, or the material used for making bridal veils (forget what its proper name is). It will allow air (and some light) through. In your tropical climate, using plastic bags would hold in all of the humidity, and block all ventilation...not a good idea. Cheese cloth is cotton, and therefore would wick away some of the moisture.

January 4, 2011	#1
pinakbet Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Pearl of the Orient Posts: 333	fruit borer problem First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERY ONE. MAY 2011 be a very productive year! I have a healthy looking pepper plant with 7 developing pods... I was happy to see that each pod grows bigger by the day. Then one by one, each unripe pod drops.. I saw a smaill pinhole on each pod and when I dissected the biggest pod, I saw fruit worms inside! How frustrating.... Not only I am experiencing thing on non-pungent peppers but on eggplants as well... How do you prevent those pesky critters from damaging the fruits without using chemical pesticides... hot pepper spray doesn't seem to work. Thanks...

January 4, 2011	#2
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	Are they little green fruitworm caterpillars? If so, BT is a solution. __________________ [SIZE="3"]I've relaunched my gardening website -- [B]TheUnconventionalTomato.com[/B][/SIZE] * [I][SIZE="1"]*I'm not allowed to post weblinks so you'll have to copy-paste it manually.[/SIZE][/I]

January 6, 2011	#7
pinakbet Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Pearl of the Orient Posts: 333	Thanks Stephen. Its embarrassing that I didn't get the meaning of BT immediately. I'll check out the local gardening supply store this coming weekend. ______________________________ Thanks Steve. Speaking of wrapping, Is it advisable to bag the individual fruits using small plastic bags instead or will it affect the development of the fruit? I'm be lucky to get more than 5 pods on one plant at a time. Mangoes for export here are wrapped individually with newspaper during the development stage. Last edited by pinakbet; January 6, 2011 at 04:24 AM. Reason: added something

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January 4, 2011	#3
Stepheninky Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Kentucky Posts: 682	Spray with Thuricide HP or Dipel (Bacillus thuringiensis) these are biological controls and should control them. If not you may have go the chemical route and use one of the following brands that are available in your country Lannate 40 , Decis R, Karate, Provin

January 6, 2011	#6
Heritage Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: San Diego Posts: 1,255	It sounds like you have "pepper maggots", in which case BT will not do you much good. If you google "Pepper maggot" you will find photos of the fly which you should see on, or around, your peppers and eggplants. You will need to control the flies before they lay their eggs in the pepper skins. There are pesticides recommended for control of the pepper maggot but complete control will be difficult if the flies are continuously hatching from the soil around the peppers/eggplants. If you don't have many plants to protect, I would try wrapping the plant in a fine netting so the flies can't get to the small peppers and lay eggs. Maybe a large tubed-shape netting, over the entire plant, then tied close at the bottom stem so the flies can't get in (just assume the flies are hatching out in the soil beneath your plants so don't just drape the material over the plants and leave the bottom open). Good luck! -Steve

January 6, 2011	#10
RinTinTin Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Seattle Posts: 581	A good material for bagging is cheese cloth, or the material used for making bridal veils (forget what its proper name is). It will allow air (and some light) through. In your tropical climate, using plastic bags would hold in all of the humidity, and block all ventilation...not a good idea. Cheese cloth is cotton, and therefore would wick away some of the moisture.