wooly aphid....

[kevwrenn]

any one know a cure for the above???

[skyhuck]

wooly ladybird?

[John Shutler]

ive used sb plant invigorator before, and it seemed to do the trick

[Charlieh]

dursban , sorts out most aphids :wave:(and its approved for forestry and fruit tree use, gives the apples some flavour.

 

whats the wooly aphid on just out of interest

[Dagmar]

The woolly aphid (Eriosoma lanigerum) appears in the spring on the bark of some fruit trees - it is common around bark, which has not been cleanly pruned. The aphids are covered in a waxy substance, which makes them look like a fungus or mould. If you rub your finger over them, the aphids will be crushed and wet, which is the proof that it is not mould. The waxy coating makes them difficult to treat with sprays.

Where the pests are ignored, the bark will develop lumps (noticeable in winter) that may split in frosty periods, leaving the tree open to apple canker

 

If the aphids are noticed early, simply paint them with methylated spirits, or scrape them off individually. If they are ignored and larger areas are infected, spray with derris (if a single tree is affected). Failing this cut the resulting lumps out from the bark.

 

Orchard management has an impact on woolly apple aphid populations. The following guidelines may help prevent a build-up of aphids, and reduce the population without pesticides.

Remove suckers at the base of the tree trunk. This will eliminate a favoured establishment site for these aphids. Early generations that develop on these suckers will migrate up into trees.

Remove sucker and water sprouts on major scaffold limbs. These are the preferred sites of aphids and "hand suckering" early in the season (June) improves spray coverage inside the tree.

Paint large pruning cuts with a commercial pruning paint to discourage aphid colonies.

Summer pruning in August will remove larger developed colonies.

Failure to control aerial infestations can result in underground infestations on susceptible rootstocks. Chemical control of root infestations is not always successful; resistant rootstocks provide the best defence against underground infestations. Professional applicators can make soil injections of the systemic insecticide imidacloprid, (sold in the UK as ‘Merit Forest’ licensed for treatment of forest plants against insect attacks), which is quite effective against aphids infesting large street trees and not very harmful to beneficial soil organisms. Because it takes a substantial time for the product to get from the soil to the growing points of trees, applications must be made up to 2 months before problems are expected.

 

 

Insecticide soap, neem oil, and narrow-range oil (e.g., supreme or superior parafinic-type oil) provide temporary control if applied to thoroughly cover infested foliage. To get thorough coverage, spray these materials with a high volume of water and target the underside of leaves as well as the top. Soaps, neem oil, and narrow range oil only kill aphids present on the day they are sprayed, so applications may need to be repeated. Predators and parasites often become abundant only after aphids are numerous, so applying non-persistent insecticides like soap or oil may provide more effective long-term control. Although these materials do kill natural enemies that are present on the plant and hit by the spray, because they leave no toxic residue, they do not kill natural enemies that migrate in after the spray. These and other insecticides with only contact activity are generally ineffective in preventing damage from aphids such as the woolly apple aphid or the woolly ash aphid that are protected by galls or distorted foliage. Do not use soaps or oils on water-stressed plants or when the temperature exceeds 90°F. These materials may be phytotoxic to some plants, so check labels and test them out on a portion of the foliage several days before applying a full treatment.

Supreme- or superior-type oils will kill over-wintering eggs of aphids on fruit trees if applied as a delayed dormant application just as eggs are beginning to hatch in early spring. These treatments will not give complete control of aphids and are probably not justified for aphid control alone. Earlier applications will not control aphids.

 

 

Alternatively, repeatedly syringe leaves and stem of plant with tobacco or lime water, or fumigate infected plant with tobacco, syringe afterwards with clear water, if not possible to fumigate then wash with strong tobacco water applied with soft brush.

[Andy Collins]

Sorry Dagmar, dont understand the tobacco treatment. Can you explain it? Please.

[Peter]

Sit in the tree with a roll-up and blow smoke on each aphid in turn?

[Andy Collins]

Thats ok then, I was hoping it didnt mean to soak a coupla ounces of sweet Virginian finest rolling tobacco in water for a couple of weeks!!

[Peter]

Nah, just drop the butts in a bucket of water, after a while there will be enough nicotine in the water to stun a rhino. Old gardeners recipe for homebrewed insecticide. Quite illegal to use commercially nowadays.

[Dagmar]

Tobacco water is produced by boiling strong tobacco in water, or by steeping the tobacco in water for a longer period. When cool, the mixture can be applied with a spray, or 'painted' on to the leaves of plants, where it will prove deadly to insects.

My father kept a plastic container of water just to make this. Any smoker had to put their butts in the water which was left for around a month. Then strained and put into a clean receptacle. When used it was diluted by a ration of 10:1. It worked very well!! Nicotine is a very powerful poison, the ammount in just one fag would kill you if it was injected

 

Its legallity in commercial applications is banned ( this refers to the use of nicotine in commercial pesticides), but for single applications and on some traditional orchards it is still used as an organic spot treatment.