that's strange tho;
are they in full sun? mulched with compost and not some kind of wood? No
chemical fertilizer?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steven Garrett" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 12:05 PM
Subject: [Community_garden] tolerate the eriophyid mites - they are food
forgood guys
Chris and Mike,
I am all for predatory/beneficial bugs. I have released lady bugs on
several occasions and I raise orchard mason bees. But these little mites
are wasting my trees. It is not about aesthetics. My Italian prune tree is
in the prime of life (around 10 years old) but it is neither growing nor
bearing much. Meanwhile my neighbor's trees are laden with fruit
(indicating that it is not climatic or the wrong cultivar). And now my
cherry trees have fallen victim.
Thanks for the Whatcom County Extension bulletin (I live just down the
road). I do take solace in this little excerpt from it: "use a dormant
oil to smother the overwintering females." That is advice I am going to
take.
Cheers,
Steven
________________________________
From: Chris Reid <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 6:50:52 AM
Subject: [Community_garden] tolerate the eriophyid mites - they are food
for good guys
Steven Garrett posted about using hort or dormant oil on eriophyid mites
on stone fruit trees (right, Steven? I am facing miles of posts to find
your post again, so will trust memory).
I found a U of California paragraph about this topic. First, are the
levels of mites at 300 per LEAF? if not, the IPM guys say to relax. A
Washington State bulletin I found said that treatment of this type of mite
is NOT for the trees -- it is for the worried tree owner.
We fear for our trees, but they apparently don't do much damage to the
crop itself (do you have a type that you have learned is going to hurt
your fruit?). The red spider mites that may come later are more damaging
to a fruit crop, from what I have read online in the ag extension
literature.
Now, what to us (when we look at this eriophyid mite) is "ew, bugs" is not
the reaction of the insect good guys -- the predatory mites -- they say,
"MMM, Dinner!!!" No accounting for taste, but what it means is this:
tolerate the eriophyids now to "farm" yourself a nice little micro-crop of
predatory mites, who will patrol your trees and keep any later red spider
mites -- which truly are crop damaging, it says -- in check. Killing the
eriophyid mites now means less dinner and therefore less attractive living
conditions for free sentinels -- predatory mites that eat red spider
mites.
Interesting stuff. Link to one of the sources of this info is below.
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/homehort/pest/eriophyd.htm
Chris Reid
Stamford, CT
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The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of
ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and
to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org
To post an e-mail to the list: [email protected]
To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription:
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_______________________________________________
The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's
services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out
how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org
To post an e-mail to the list: [email protected]
To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription:
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