Citrus trees, fruits falling off after flowering. (forum)

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

Time: 14th October 2008 11:17am

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About the Author John of Brisbane
Brisbane
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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


Time: 14th October 2008 12:04pm

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About the Author Greg9
Wangaratta, VIC
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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.

Time: 15th October 2008 12:43pm

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Pat says...
Hi John - I too had ant problems with my potted dwarf fruit trees but when I removed the mulch (eucalyptus bark) the ants disappeared. Think the ants were living in the mulch.

a finer mulch is much better I think to eradicate the ants.

Time: 27th May 2010 9:08am

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About the Author Trish2
east gosford
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jensen says...
I have green tree ants in my garden - but not on the lime tree.
Does that mean that the problem with the lime tree is not caused by the insects green ants prey on?
-And I thought green ants were my friends.
-Apart from the occasional confrontation. ...

Time: 8th February 2018 4:50am

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About the Author jensen
innisfal
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