Natural Solutions to Things That Bug You (41 page)

              THE PROBLEM                                                                      CAUSED BY                                                       

Young shoots die several inches from tip,

worms living in shoots, ripening fruit infested                            Peach twig borer, oriental fruit moth

Leaves become curled, tiny green insects visible              Green peach aphid

New leaves become yellow to reddish and curl                            Leaf curl fungus

Leaves yellow, roots have galls                                                        Root knot nematode

PEACH TREE BORERS

General Information:                                                                                                       Adult

    
These are a relative of the squash vine borers and are prevalent all over North America. They will do damage to peach trees around the bottom 10 inches of the trunk and will get started at the soil line. The larvae, feeds below the surface of the soil or beneath the bark and may completely girdle the tree.

This is also a major pest of stone fruit trees.                                     

They are capable of killing young trees and will cause the trees to be too weak to withstand adverse weather conditions as well as reduce productivity.

It is common to bring this borer home from a nursery and you should pay careful attention to any trees before you purchase them. If you find one better start looking for more. Most of the controls mentioned for squash vine borers will work for these borers as well.

POWDER THEM

Placing a layer of diatomaceous earth around the base of the tree in the early spring will stop the borers from getting to the tree.
Tobacco dust works great too but may harm pets and other animals.

CRYSTALS WILL HELP

If you spread moth crystals (poison) around the base of the trees in late summer then cover them with 3-4 inches of soil, mounding it around the trunk of the trees it will eliminate the problem. Be sure and remove the mounded soil before winter rains come or you irrigate the trees.
Harmful to animals and humans!

CALL FOR THE TIN MAN

To stop these borers, just force a piece of tin into the ground all around the tree trunk. Leave a space of about two inches between the tin shield and the tree bark. About mid-May fill the space with tobacco dust and when it rains it will become a potent barrier. This treatment should be done every May.

PEAR TREES

PEAR PSYLLA

Identification:

The nymphs are small yellow bugs that will feed on the tops of leaves and skeletonize them. The adults are dark orange with transparent wings and look like miniature cicadas.

     Nymph

General Information:

    They will hibernate under the edges of rough bark on tree trunk branches and come out during the first warm days of April. They will then deposit their eggs in old leaf scars, cracks and crevices. If the infestation is not caught in time by mid-summer, a badly infested tree will have blackening on the leaves, which will fall off prematurely.

                                                                                                    
Adult
                                                                

PREVENTION IS BEST

Dusting with limestone will work; however, a good spraying with dormant oil in the spring is even better. Apply a 2% oil solution just as the buds begin to swell and the psylla are beginning to lay their yellow eggs on the twigs and buds. If they are already established then you will need to spray the tree with soapy water with as hard a spray as possible that will not cause damage to the buds.

NATURAL ENEMIES

    There is a chalcid wasp that will eradicate these pests called
Trechnites insidiosus
. Just one of the parasitic wasps will parasitize up to 90% of the nymphs during July and August in unsprayed orchards.

SAN JOSE SCALE

General Information:

    This little sapsucker will suck the sap from fruit trees such as pear or peach and just about any other they can get to. Serious infestations will damage the tree and kill off a number of branches. The mature female is yellow and the size of a pinhead. When the young are hatched they are so light that the wind will carry them to other trees. The Osage orange trees will support these pests even though the fruit from this tree (hedgeapples) will repel most other insects.

SQUIRT, SQUIRT

In order to control the scale you will need to spray the new buds in the early spring with an oil emulsion. This treatment should be repeated about one week later to assure good results.

PARASITE TO THE RESCUE

The parasite
Aphytis melinus
has been used very effectively against the scale. They are available commercially through you garden or agricultural supply stores.

SHOTHOLE BORER

This small dark brown beetle lives and breeds under the bark of pear and peach trees. The holes that the beetles emerge from: look like small buckshot holes. They are usually found in the northern states and loves weak trees.

PEAR TREE PEST PROBLEM SOLVER