citrus pest problem

[b54red]

I have been growing a few lemons and limes in containers for the past few years and this year I am noticing a lot of leaf miners. I have never sprayed them with anything but they are getting pretty bad on a couple of them. One plant has almost no healthy looking leaves now because of them. Does anyone have a treatment for leaf miners that works on citrus?

Bill

[Worth1]

Bill I dont know of anything but removing the effected leaves Texas A&M says not to do it.

You need to treat the new growth so they wont infest it.

Here is a link.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...TuavshhfyoJvzQ


Worth

[Hermitian]

Alternate monthly between Spinosad and Green Light brand Fruit Tree Spray. Do not remove affected leaf(s). If the plant can't use them for photosynthesis it will drop them. This spray program will keep the damage on new growth to less than 10%. For better control you'll need to add a nicotinoid such as Assail to the regime.

[DavidP]

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTN...tml#MANAGEMENT

UC pest notes might be of help

[Hermitian]

In California, there are no documented successes controlling Citrus Leaf Miner with biological, cultural, or physical controls except where plants are being grown in hermetically sealed greenhouses.

[b54red]

Thanks all. I guess I'll just have leaf miners.

Bill

[Hermitian]

Originally Posted by b54red

Thanks all. I guess I'll just have leaf miners.

Bill

So you're going to be a breeding ground for the rest of the locale? Let's hope you don't also acquire Asian Citrus Psyllid.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Hermitian

So you're going to be a breeding ground for the rest of the locale? Let's hope you don't also acquire Asian Citrus Psyllid.

This is not a citrus growing region other than a few Satsumas and a lot of them were killed by the cold this winter. I'm sure if there is a pest that can live here it will find me as all the tomato pests have.

Bill

[kurt]

The leaf miners do drop from the foilage onto/into the ground,burrow,morph,emerge,fly,land ,inject and all over again.Deep soil drench contact killer(at least 3 inch),spinosad leaf coating,and green plus yellow sticky traps have worked to keep my grapefruit/oranges alive.Takes some time.I am not in containers but survey your yard and place traps where you can detect them.You have to stop thier life cycle.Make sure to wipe the spinosad leaves underneath so as to let the little buggers eat and injest the spinosad on the way out.
http://www.infonet-biovision.org/res...7.600x500.jpeg

[ginger2778]

+1 on the yellow sticky traps. Since I have been using them I have almost no leaf miner problems, and that goes for whiteflies too. I would not garden without them now. One lasts about 6 months for me.

[epsilon]

Our local nursery (For those in the area:park view) Next to UCR (UC Riverside) recommended Spinosad as a preventative control measure.

Also Reading some info on it it seems that most pollinators are unaffected by the stuff after it dries, so they're fine unless it is directly sprayed onto them, Or just apply at night so that it will be dried before the bees and other things start becoming active in the morning.


I'm hesitant on the nicotinoids as recent scientific papers have been pointing to these as being at least partially responsible for the rise of sudden colony collapse syndrome occurring with honey bee populations. But that's just my personal opinion.

[Hermitian]

Originally Posted by epsilon

...
I'm hesitant on the nicotinoids as recent scientific papers have been pointing to these as being at least partially responsible for the rise of sudden colony collapse syndrome occurring with honey bee populations. But that's just my personal opinion.

That's true about the nicotinoid Imidacloprid where used in seed coatings (e.g., corn). For awhile the Asian Citrus Psyllid control program was requiring growers and nurseries to apply it to Citrus (myself included). Now we have choices. The nicotinoid in Assail is Acetamiprid - a much friendlier approach when it comes to bees, and a more effective on leaf penetration for leaf miners.

Putting all nicotinoids in the same impact category is like saying all pyrethroids are the same. In reality, some are nasty that I'd never use in my garden but a few of them are part of my IPM program.

[Sun City Linda]

The big honkin grasshoppers have developed a taste for my citrus leaves.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Sun City Linda

The big honkin grasshoppers have developed a taste for my citrus leaves.

The deer are eating mine as fast as they can grow I just about give up.

Worth

[Hermitian]

Originally Posted by Sun City Linda

The big honkin grasshoppers have developed a taste for my citrus leaves.

My neighborhood is patrolled by battalions of Blue Jays, Mockingbirds, Orioles, and Phoebes. The grasshoppers don't stand a chance and are simply not seen.