Phylloxera plague

[Blaze]

I am pretty certain that I have an infestation of phylloxera in my main garden. I noticed the first signs yesterday. So far I am seeing all the typical signs: elongated scarification at the base of the plant, lower leaves are yellowing and dying, and there are some small blisters forming at the base of at least one plant.

When I look at the soil under my jeweler's loop I can see little tiny grey-white bugs about the size of a spider mite in every bed where I have a cannabis plant growing. I can also see tons of what I think are eggs but it is hard to tell without stronger magnification. What ever they are they are little tiny, almost microscopic spheres that are translucent and reflect the light. They are definitely not a soil particle and I am finding them spread through the garden, even in all the veggies, fruit trees, flowers, etc.

Has anyone else had any experience fighting this plague? From what I have read and seen first hand (a friend got it last year) it is one of the absolute worst pests you can get. It wiped out almost all of the European vineyards and almost caused the extinction of the wine grape at one point apparently.

So far my course of action has been to start applying soil drenches of predatory nematodes to all the different plants and trees I have growing out there. I am also going to apply a bacterium that is supposed to out-compete the phylloxera and starve them to death, but that will not be here for a few more days. I have also adopted standard agriculture quarantine practices. No tools or supplies have left the site unless they are thoroughly sanitized and I have been changing my clothes and showering before going to another garden site.

Any recommendations or words of wisdom would be appreciated!

 

[opt1c]

merit 75 wp... .015gram per gal as a soil drench; you can mix with nutes no prob... 30 day systemic so avoid using in mid-late flowering

a 60 dollar bottle will last you forever... also kills all gnats, thrips, and whiteflies... dunno bout mites but i don't think it does much to em

same active ingredient as the stuff you use to kill fleas on your cats and dogs so its probably not that bad but it is not organic

thank me later

 

[ScuzyRoach]

I've had some lil bugs similar to your description in my outdoor garden too. Do they jump about like tiny fleas if disturbed? I've notice they also pool together when watering if they get into potted plants. From what i've heard they are beginning stages of soil knats but i dont really know because i've never noticed soil knats outdoors in any large amounts like there should be if those lil guys were their babies. I have tried everything in the past in my garden to no avail. I think I got them originally in a large truck load of compost i bought. My garden seems to do ok but maybe its because they are quick veggies unlike long living plants like your girls. The potted plants i've pulled and the soil had colony like groupings of eggs.
I'd say if you can keep up on a routine compost tea spray/drenching you may keep them under control. If its what i've got no even pestisides work. Normal i never use such things but after pulling last yrs garden i srayed everthing and the buggers are back? Good luck w/ whatever you have. I wish i had a pic. to compare.

 

[PorchMonkey4Life]

what he said Or bayer tree & shrub ,,,Made of IMID also.....:anim_09:

 

[PorchMonkey4Life]

I've had some lil bugs similar to your description in my outdoor garden too. Do they jump about like tiny fleas if disturbed? I've notice they also pool together when watering if they get into potted plants. From what i've heard they are beginning stages of soil knats but i dont really know because i've never noticed soil knats outdoors in any large amounts like there should be if those lil guys were their babies. I have tried everything in the past in my garden to no avail. I think I got them originally in a large truck load of compost i bought. My garden seems to do ok but maybe its because they are quick veggies unlike long living plants like your girls. The potted plants i've pulled and the soil had colony like groupings of eggs.
I'd say if you can keep up on a routine compost tea spray/drenching you may keep them under control. If its what i've got no even pestisides work. Normal i never use such things but after pulling last yrs garden i srayed everthing and the buggers are back? Good luck w/ whatever you have. I wish i had a pic. to compare.

sounds like springtails they attack compost , if they jump around........there supposed to be harmless and beneficial,,,,i still dont like spring tails

 

[ScuzyRoach]

merit 75 wp... .015gram per gal as a soil drench;

Can you get it in California?. One place says no. Maybe you know better , i've never seen it so have no knowledge. If its really good on knats i'd love to try it if its avail. here.

thanks

 

[Blaze]

Opt1c - thanks for the info. However I forgot to mention that since this is a communal garden and one of the people involved is an organic nazi what ever gets used out there HAS to be organic. I'm not real happy about it myself, but my hands are tied, so the merit 75 wp is probably out of the question.

ScuzyRoach - as far as I know and as far as I have seen in my garden the phylloxera do not jump around. Sounds like you may have a similar pest though. For your sake I hope you do not have what I have.

Porchmonkey - when I googled Bayer Tree and Shrub a bunch of different products came up. Which one do you use? Also, it is not organic, is it? =(

Thanks for the quick responses everyone!

 

[PorchMonkey4Life]

Not Organic

 

[opt1c]

if you have root aphids and you want to grow organic your going to learn what its like to loose multiple crops real quick..... there are NO organic controls that even seem to slow down the root aphids.... NOTHING.... only thing that might possibly work is a soil drench with some azatrol or azamax... one ounce per gal i think is the ratio for a drench.... no since its a communal garden you charge the organic nazi for the cost of the azatrol and tell him that if they don't kill the bugs he's gotta reimburse u with cash for the lost meds cuz you wouldn't loose em if you used the merit once

root aphids r evil.... no what organic gardners do once they get em.... they toss EVERYTHING... soils; mediums; rockwool cubes; etc.... everything has to go... the room has to be scrubbed top to bottom and unless you move to a new grow site there is probably a 75% chance you'll get them again.... oh yeah you gotta toss all your plants and genetics too... moms, clones, everything has to go to have an organic control for root aphids.... oh yeah... u know these bastards will live in dwc systems too... they don't even need dirt or coco

seriously i'd just add the merit in the dark of night and not tell anyone..... on blind blind tests nobody can actually tell the difference between organic and nonorganic nugs; it's all in their head so let em think what they want but if u let the organic nazi get his way you're gonna loose EVERYONES meds

btw the caps r because root aphids r like mites but worse as they're harder to get rid of and they will fuck your plants up... yield, trichs, and eventually even the entire plant will be compromised


i like rosemania.com for all my nuclear options... also has my parents rose garden on point this year

organics r cool and all but most people into em are horribly ignorant of plant science... things like a plants metabolism and the effective life of systemics seem not to enter into their closed minds.... sure chems r bad on plants... but they spray stuff way crazier than what we put on our plants on food plants the day of or a day before harvest; that's how they get in your system... not hiding in a plant for 90 days just waiting to pop out... biology doesn't work like that


but yeah.... merit or move

 

[opt1c]

Can you get it in California?. One place says no. Maybe you know better , i've never seen it so have no knowledge. If its really good on knats i'd love to try it if its avail. here.

thanks

i got it online shipped to cali no prob... while we're on the subject floramite off ebay is a cropsaver and you only have to spend 30bux instead of 300

rosemania has everything... eagle-20w = powdery mildew killer anytime before the flip

once you have all your bases covered pests and disease r no longer an issue... once plants have been treated and if u aren't bringing in any new plants an indoor garden can remain disease free for multiple runs

 

[Blaze]

they toss EVERYTHING... soils; mediums; rockwool cubes; etc.... everything has to go... the room has to be scrubbed top to bottom and unless you move to a new grow site there is probably a 75% chance you'll get them again.... oh yeah you gotta toss all your plants and genetics too... moms, clones, everything has to go to have an organic control for root aphids....

It's an outdoor garden so control is going to be a bit more difficult. I have started applying controls to everything that is out there though - the fruit trees, the vegetables, everything.

seriously i'd just add the merit in the dark of night and not tell anyone.....

I am certainly considering it.

organics r cool and all but most people into em are horribly ignorant of plant science... things like a plants metabolism and the effective life of systemics seem not to enter into their closed minds....

Yeah, that's pretty much like the person I'm dealing with. They do not understand ANYTHING about plant science, even the most basic concepts, and have a pretty idiotic view of the of how commercial organic agriculture works in the real world.

It really pisses me off that the landowner has apparently decided that keeping this person's vegetables 100% organic (they do not even have an interest in the cannabis being grown at the site) is more important than the entire yearly crop for the whole medical collective. That's a rant for another day though.....

I am all for organics too, but if it comes down to losing a plant or a crop, or using a pesticide or a chemical spray I'm all for using chemicals if it is the only viable option.

 

[Jalisco Kid]

I swear I posted here yesterday. I would offer to pay for everyone's veggies and then go nuclear on them or move. I have heard of a friend of mine' friend who sold his house and moved because he gave up the battle. People have lost their livelihood these bugs and they were not using organics. Suerte JK

 

[Blaze]

Yeah I know, that's what has be a little scared. Even nuking the crap out of them with chemicals may not stop them from what I've read. I've seen these little bastards wipe out vineyards in my area in the past - they are ruthless and VERY hard to stop.

My options are a bit more open after today though. After speaking with the other people involved more, I think they finally realized that if we do not do something fast the whole garden could be lost so keeping it "100% organic" will be a moot point.

At this point the plan is to continue with predatory nematodes followed by spraying with the bacterium once it arrives on Monday. If that does not work, I will probably follow up by spraying and soil drenching with a pyrethrum based product that has been effective against it at other gardens. If that still doesn't work then fuck the organics - we'll be going full nuclear.

 

[bicycle racer]

i had them i eliminated them with 3 full medium and foliage drenches with pyrethrum. it has to be done at least 3 times spaced 5 days or so apart to kill all life stages. worst bug problem i have had horrible bastards. they killed a few plants. the pyrethrum certainly worked but i would go with a systemic if i had to deal with them again. lately i see them on clones at dispensaries here and there always pick carefully.

 

[PorchMonkey4Life]

I was hit hard by this fuckers right as summer was coming on and my mothers in coco Got demolished and kept trying to save them, In coco they just seem to thrive alot more then in EDIT<SOIL> !!! after so many drenchs of bayer tree & shrub and only thing getting sick was my mothers and the bugs Just drink imid!!! i had to toss my moms and left me GNAWING:fighting0087: ON MY OWN COCK:fubar

ALMOST LOST ALL MY STRAINS before i noticed the lil fucks walking around my pots,

 

[Seamaiden]

:( Really sorry to read that. Really sorry. You have back-up?

 

[PorchMonkey4Life]

:( Really sorry to read that. Really sorry. You have back-up?

yeah a i took cutts off all before i chucked them in the trash,,,,:rasta2: just left me in a fucked up state with not having cutts when i need them to ruin cuttin schedule:icon_dizzy:

 

[bicycle racer]

i was at a dispo and every clone was covered with them gave me flashbacks i got out of there quick i was scared to go home figured they might hitch a ride lol. 3 worst things imo root aphids powdery mildew and for outdoor growers gypsy moths and there larvae. thrips and mites get an honorable mention. the thing with root aphids is even if you kill all of them which i did you are still generally stuck with root rot many plants i killed after the aphids were gone they just could not recover.

 

[bicycle racer]

i think often people mistake them for fungus gnats which are more of a nuisance than anything else. by the time they realize what there dealing with its too late.

 

[Blaze]

The predatory nematodes and the microbe product that we applied seems to have worked. Within a few days the plants started growing again and there has been no additional die-off on the lower leaves and branches. No more scaring or grooving has appeared on the base of the stalks either, and those that were scared have healed up nicely. I am actually really surprised that bio-control worked so well on these little bastards.