4 responses |
John of Brisbane starts with ... Hi, I am having trouble with all of my dwarf fruit trees (mainly citrus, and one dwarf advocado tree) in that the (just formed) fruits fall off after flowering. There are a lot of black ants around, and on the buds, would this be the cause? If so, what can I treat the fruit trees with without compromising the tree and also introducing health risks? All the trees have mulch around them, the trunks protected by PVC piping to stop mulch contacting the trunks. Any advice would be appreciated. John | About the Author John of Brisbane Brisbane 14th October 2008 11:17am #UserID: 1514 Posts: 1 View All John of Brisbane's Edible Fruit Trees |
Greg says... John, The ants are usually a sign that there are other pests there as the ants farm them and feed on them. To control what may be there try a pyrethrium based spray. Also, citrus and other fruits quite often drop the small fruit if water stressed. I would suggest 4 things: 1: Spray with a pyrethrium based spray. 2: A few days later spray with seasol or similar seaweed product. 3: Copious amounts of chicken manure or dynamic lifter, or blood and bone. Spread that around the drip line and water in very well. 4: Make sure the trees are watered regularly as Citrus and Avocado need a lot of water to grow and fruit well. Greg | About the Author Greg9 Wangaratta, VIC 14th October 2008 12:04pm #UserID: 1510 Posts: 10 View All Greg9's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Wayne says... As Greg says John, the ants are feeding on something but they will not hurt the tree, in fact they do a good job. In my trees they were chasing the Aphids so I used White Oil but only late in the afternoon when the ants were gone. My Lime tree had fruit drop so I did pretty well what Greg said to do but at the end of the day I think it was caused by a fungus. After spraying it with Copper Oxychloride I lost no more fruit so I'm doing it as the fruit is about to set now and it seems to be working. | About the Author Wayne 15th October 2008 12:43pm #UserID: 338 Posts: 908 View All Wayne's Edible Fruit Trees |
About the Author Trish2 east gosford 27th May 2010 9:08am #UserID: 3717 Posts: 5 View All Trish2's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author jensen innisfal 8th February 2018 4:50am #UserID: 16572 Posts: 16 View All jensen's Edible Fruit Trees |
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