drtreelove

Interesting! Tell us more. What province is your farm located in? What are you growing? Commerical crops, or for your own consumption? What soil improvement methods and inputs are you using? And how does this 'Internet of Things' work with your farming.

Excellent new blog article on composting from Graeme Sait, Australian agronomist and educator. https://blog.nutri-tech.com.au/composting-choices-aerobic-vs-anaerobic The EM from Organic Totto that is now widely available in Thailand, at Home Pro, is based on the formula from Dr Higa that is mentioned in this article. This can be used in place of BAM and is one of the best Thai brands of EM in my opinion. I buy a liter of EM and a liter of molasses (also from HomePro) and brew it for a week in a 20 liter jug. (Note: Molasses can be found in the garden section at Home Pro, but the Organic Totto EM is in the household cleaners and pesticide section)

That would be a short term plan, a few weeks to a few months at best. Without drainage - root rot, yellowing and mortality will occur. Go with plastic grass.

"Never flowered or grown fruit" - is exactly what you can expect from "pips just spat out". Desireable citrus varieties are grown on grafted trees with proven root stock. And with good soil and water management. The citrus in the photos are severely chlorotic, indicating poor soil fertility, suppression by crowding with the ginger, and other aspects of managment.

https://www.homefortheharvest.com/best-tasting-apples/#:~:text=Some of the best-tasting,a few months of harvest. But flavor is not just about the variety, but how it is grown. You're not likely to find an organic, high nutrient density, soil food web conscious, regenerative ag apple grower in Prachuap Khiriikhan or anywhere in Thailand. The supermarkets will have imports that are grown like you say, for appearance and shelf-life. Look for a special order.

Ha Ha, lazy man! Market bought oranges and other chemically grown food are unlikely to be healthy and high nutrient density. Grow your own with good soil fertility and water management. Orange trees have 'nice' fragrant flowers

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/oranges/oranges-splitting.htm Obtain a soil moisture meter, to take the guesswork out of when to water. Fertilize with Takumi Fish Fertilizer https://maruchubussan.co.th/product/fish-amino-organic-fertilizer/ to go all-out for best plant health care, add a biostimulant- inoculant; liquid worm castings effluent, from MaeJo University Cannabis Farm worm compost operation. At MJU Farm. I hope that helps. Don

Good guess but I don't think so in this case. No corky raised lesions and no lesions on foliage reported. I think its Citrus rust mite (silver mite)—Phyllocoptruta oleivora Damage The mite and its feeding damage generally occur on the outside surface of fruit that is 1/2 inch or more in diameter. Feeding damages rind cells and causes the fruit surface to become silvery on lemons, rust brown on mature oranges, or black on green oranges. Most damage occurs from late spring to late summer, but does not hurt the internal quality of the fruit. Solutions Predaceous mites, dustywings, and mite midges prey on citrus rust mite. It is not known if these are important in the biological control of this pest, but natural enemies are responsible for preventing many potential pests in citrus from becoming a problem. To improve the effectiveness of biological control, control ants, minimize dust (e.g., periodically hose off small trees), and avoid the application of broad-spectrum, persistent insecticides and miticides for all citrus pests.

Chiangmai Sriyont288 Thanon Charoen Rat excellent service dept too

Yes. Glyphosate solution with 20 to 25% active ingredient is the most effective, if applied immediately according to directions for "cut stump" treatment. (48% glyphosate active ingredient, diluted 50:50 with water) There is nothing else like it. It is a systemic herbicide and will translocate throughout the plant tissues and kill the root system. Used this way on the outer circumference (sapwood) of the cut stump surface has the least environmental contamination. No need for drilling, motor oil or other variations. Don't overspray onto the soil or nearby plantings. Caution: glyphosate will readily translocate through root grafts to nearby trees of the same species. So if you have a situation where you want to kill some, leave some, use another method. BTW, no longer at HomePro, but check the independent plant markets outside in driveway/parking lot area. I don't think triclopyr is available, but if so it will be a lot more expensive and usually requires repeat treatment. https://growitbuildit.com/how-to-stop-tree-stumps-from-sprouting/#:~:text=In order to kill tree,no new sprouts will emerge.

The remarkable Australian soil microbiologist Dr Christine Jones does it again. Extraordinary presentation of revelationary information for growers and livestock ranchers: https://youtu.be/DLoWXE81OKw Attachments area Preview YouTube video RAMP CH Guest Lecture Presentation: Christine Jones

No answer for you yet. I don't know about Phuket, but in Chiang Mai it goes for about 20 to 25 baht for a half sqm rectangle section. Soil preparation is everything for successful establishment, so you could spend more than that on rototilling and compost and top-dressing to do it right.

B.t. maybe, but not kurstaki, that's specific for lepidoptera, moth larvae. Use that for budworms. Other strains of B.t. can affect beetle larvae, if you can get them to eat it. National Pesticide Information Center: How does Bt work? Spores made by Bt damage the gut of insect larvae after the larvae eat them.2 The insect gut must have a pH of 9.0 to 10.5 (high pH) in order to activate the toxin.2,10 This is different from the human gut, which has a low pH and is more acidic. The activated toxin breaks down the insect's gut lining. The insect larva dies of infection and starvation.10,11,12 Death occurs within 1-5 days.10,12 Young insect larvae are most affected.1 Each type of Bt toxin is specific to the target insect family.2,3 Some strains of Bt toxins are also toxic to nematodes.1 Common types of Bt strains: Bt israelensis controls immature mosquitos, flies, and gnats.2 Bt aizawai and Bt kurstaki controls caterpillars of moths and butterflies.2 Bt tenebrionis and Bt japonensis control beetle larvae.2,3 Bt san diego controls beetle larvae.3

Two other biological control agents for beetle grubs that are definitely available in Thailand; (the pics attached are from products on the shelf at an ag shop in MaeJo, Chiang Mai.) https://biocontrol.entomology.cornell.edu/pathogens/Metarhizium.php https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beauveria_bassiana IPM preventive management methods can include sanitation, cleaning up piles of wood and green waste, netting compost piles and the soil surface around your plants where adult beetles emerge from pupa stage and fly to new sites to breed and lay eggs that become the larvae that feed on the plant material.

Great story and pics, with the reality of challenges and successes. This is a brilliant approach: "Started with whatever I could find of organic material, sawdust, grass, water hyacinths that I spread on the land. With plenty of cow manure on that I started to grow sesbania and other fast growing legumes that shaded the land and gave grass a chance to cover the dirt. Chop and drop of the legumes gave some more organic matter to the soil and slowly a thin layer of living soil built up. Different "weed plants" moved in, was regularly cut and contributed to the soil buildup." Mealy bugs are challenge for certain plantings and conditions. Avoid high salt index, high NPK chemical fertilizer like 15-15-15 (which creates foliar biochemisty that is a pest magnet), and keep up with the building of soil fertility. I've found that blast-washing off of heavy mealybug infestations can be fairly easy for small plantings, papayas, plumeria and other succeptible plants, and significantly knocks the numbers down, where you can reach the plants with a water hose with jet nozzle. For larger commercial plantings it may not be practical unless you have a mobile sprayer. As with any pest control method, start early with prevention and early intervention, don't wait for a heavy advanced infestation to develop, which can be much more difficult to control . https://www.planetnatural.com/pest-problem-solver/houseplant-pests/mealybug-control/#:~:text=Found in warmer growing climates,sap out of the tissue. Beauveria bassiana, is available in Thailand You can make your own insecticidal soap. Homemade Insecticidal Soap Recipe.docx

Good points! Yes concentration of the mixture matters. Vinegar in higher concentrations is an herbicide. Don't get carried away, I would use this and other bio-pesticides only as a last resort. Anything that we spray or drench on foliage, woody stems and soil will affect the microbiome that exists there, and which is mostly beneficial, and is the first line of defence. Be aware that it's not only pests that become the target. I've come to trust the cultivation and protection of the benefical biology in the soil and the foliar crown as the primary pest and disease control measure, along with plant nutrition as the key to building natural resistance. "Healthy plants don't get pests and diseases" principle. I shelved my biopesticides long ago, including wood vinegar and neem products, in favor of methods and materials for building soil organic matter and beneficial biology, soil aggregate structure, mulching, and inoculating with forest-floor soil that I forage where I hike and mountain bike.

Cooked was on to it all along! When Graeme Sait speaks, I listen. New blog article: https://blog.nutri-tech.com.au/activated-char-condensate-acc-the-wonders-of-wood-vinegar/?utm_source=Nutrition+Matters&utm_campaign=bcc4f55d89-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_05_25_07_16_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-14a95eae32-[LIST_EMAIL_ID]

Possibility: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pestalotiopsis_palmarum#:~:text=Pestalotiopsis palmarum is the causative,sometimes bud rot of palms. General information: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/PP142 See "management" notes. Consider all factors, especially the soil and possible nutrient deficiencies as a contributing factor.

Your wife should be acknowledged for a profound statement of understanding. Perennial ground covers and mixed species plantings, some better than others, are highly beneficial in channeling photosynthate root exudates into the soil that nourish the beneficial soil biology and the rhizosphere, facilitating soil aggregate structure buiilding, nutrient cycling and plant heatlh. Much better for surrounding and intermingled plantings than grass alone. See posts and links and videos shared in the Regenerative Agriculture discussion on the Farming in Thailand Forum.

Controversy over the benefits of cultivating it aside, you want to eradicate it and establish a uniform grass lawn. I don't know the species ID. Google Lens is rapidly becoming the superior plant ID app. Chemical control has some disadvantages and uncertainties. I would dig it out (ship it to Patman30 who appreciates it) 10 to 15cm beyond the margins of the grow, and 10 - 15cm deep. Replace the underlying soil. Purchase and install sod (pre-grown grass mats) of the same species as your surrounding turf. Top dress with fine topsoil and/or compost, water until muddy-wet and then compress to level and settle into place. Water daily if no significant rain. until its rooted and new growth appears. Then back off on watering to a less frequent schedule, to be determined by conditions and need. Avoid foot traffic, kid's play or pets access. Fence it temorarily if necessary. Don't mow it for a couple of weeks or a month, until well rooted and growing, it needs grass blade surface to photosynthesize carbs for rooting. Monitor daily, or at least weekly, throughout the growing season. If it flowered and seeded, or if it has persistant roots or rhizomes you will have more come up. Hand pull or dig undesireables at an early stage. Deferred maintenance, advanced "weed" growth is always harder to control.

I ran this by my friend who is a landscape irrigation specialist in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo horticulture degree and over 20 years experience. Here are some of his comments. I've known of these for some time. They come in many different flow rates and would allow really good fine tuning of a system. They would be a great system if they were gardener proof. The downside is they would be foreign to other professionals so I've had challenges where I've put in a nice system and then somebody else comes along and bad-mouths my system and then the homeowner gets confused and doesn't know who to believe. A few times I've had my systems replaced because it was new and unfamiliar. And the gardener talked trash about it and put in a traditional system. And more from our discussion about irrigation if anyone is interested: It is unreasonable to expect a homeowner to become a proficient irrigator. Concept of "adequate soil moisture" seems impossible for most homeowners to comprehend. I have tried numerous analogies that they may relate to such as "you want your soil to feel like moist cake, not cake batter" But that means they still got to get their hands in the soil. And that means they've got to do some "work" before they set their next irrigation cycle. The idea of irrigating to "field capacity", and then letting the soil moisture level fall safely close to "permanent wilting point" is not something most homeowners want to consider understanding. And so we have the conundrum that it's really not application method it is irrigation programming that plays the biggest part in plant problems. I'm seeing people in this cold Spring already irrigating their lawn 3 days a week for 15 minutes. Watching that water run off the lawn into the shrub bed that's now all mud, and knowing that that shrub bed is getting irrigated 3 days a week for 15 minutes as well. The average homeowner has a kindergartner's understanding of irrigation, infiltration, percolation and evapotranspiration. An interesting fact I learned through regenerative ag study: Evapotranspiration is nonsensical in a good regenerative system. You don't have any significant evaporation in a good regenerative system. You just have transpiration as your primary loss of soil moisture. Cover crop, crop residue, or mulch will do such a tremendously good job of cooling the soil that evaporation is cut to near insignificant level. Evapotranspiration assumes that you're going to have big expanses of bare, hot soil between your plants. Evapotranspiration goes along with dead soil devoid of a living microbial community, which now we agree is just dirt-hydroponic. Primarily, overhead irrigation is considered inefficient because application rate exceeds infiltration rate and therefore you have runoff. Additionally overhead irrigation is considered inefficient when you have small droplet evaporation, and wind drift. Any wind drift skews distribution uniformity and so you end up with excessively wet spot downwind excessively dry spot upwind. Irrigation with overhead systems in the wind is totally insane. And the finer the droplet size the more drift. Which is part of the reason that big lawns use stream rotors. Huge droplets tend to resist drifting far in the wind. Companies like Netafim have design manuals that can show how to calculate precipitation rate with drip. Most people don't lay out a drip system in a way that would provide uniform "precipitation". As you know, two drip emitters at the root crown is total BS. We have to lay out our drip system over the root zone similar to netafim in concentric rings. And then netifim provides all the charts necessary to calculate precipitation rate so that you know that your tree got a very specific amount of water. It's all in the tables. It just requires a human to lay out the netafim on uniform spacing (12 in. space grid if the emitters are 12 in on center. Netifim also sells 18 in spacing and a couple other variations) So if the system is built correctly and we know the flow rate and we know the spacing we can calculate the precipitation rate. And still we may have runoff because many soils are so <deleted>ty that even 0.5 gallons per hour runs off!! But if we're doing it right, then we have addressed the crust and compaction and we should have infiltration adequate to keep up with 0.5 gallons per hour. The guess and check model is: irrigate the system for 3 to 5 hours, and then monitor weekly until soil moisture in the top foot (or so) drops to a level that is "dry" enough to irrigate again. Then set up your irrigation system with a weather sensing timer and tell it to adjust up or down based on CIMIS data that it gets through the pager network every day. In fact many of these smart irrigation timers are smart enough to keep most homeowners out of trouble once they get set up correctly. My gut tells me they are 70% more effective than the homeowner and maybe only 20% more effective than a smart horticulture expert who knows irrigation. The one thing they do is they provide consistency over great periods of time. So that a human doesn't have to run around and soil probe every property and play with the clock and adjust for every heat wave and cold spell.

This is an interesting development, thanks for sharing. As a tree care professional, that's what I do almost every, is get called to diagnose tree problems and make recommendations. In the top two of problematic issues that I see is water managment, too much or too little. Drip emitters, drip lines and sprinkers all have their strengths and weaknesses, and water efficiency usually comes down to how they are set up for thorough coverage, frequency and amount of water being put out. Thorough coverage of the soil surface and depth of water infiltration into the soil profile throughout the absorbing root zone is a key to good management. Drip emitters just can't get that kind of coverage. Emitters water spots and not the full soil surface, so this highly unnatural method of watering may keep plants alive, but by missing so much of the natural fertility resources that exist in the full soil volume, the plants cannot thrive. I often see drip emitters placed too close to the tree trunks and left in those placements for the long term, where they create over-wet conditions and crown rot. Netafim-type drip lines and soaker hoses are better, depending on how many lines are installed, the placement and spacing, and how much water volume is applied and at what frequency. Usually this is shortcut to a single line and minimal volume, and therefore this setup still only delivers to a limited amount of root zone with shallow watering. Sprinklers have some disadvantages, but overall I see much better coveage and tree health promotion possibilities this way, depending on setup, programming, with frequent monitoring and management. Besides delivering water to the existing root zone, irrigation should be set up to cover a little beyond the existing root zone, in order to encourage root growth to the largest area possible. Facilitating an expansive absorbing root zone means more soil moisture and fertility resources for the tree. Frequent shallow watering promotes shallow rooting and reduced drought tolerance, so deep watering should be preferred Mulching and/or cover cropping aid soil microbiome management, soil aggregate structure building and will increase fertility, soil moisture retention and drought tolerance. I'm tree and landscape, home orchard and home veggie garden oriented. Commercial growers have their own considerations. Container plantings are a little different for water managment strategy and sprinklers usually don't fit in that model. Compatible plantings and species-specific irrigation requirements should always be considered. https://www.fertileearthlandcare.com/watering-trees/

Interesting about the Brazil nuts. Great food, high in selenium, hard to farm so most of the Brazil nuts we can get are foraged from natural, high nutrient density growing conditions. Your young plantings have promise, but the photo screams of bare ground and mulch or cover crop deficiency.

Please share what products you are using for abamectin and neem oil. Abamectin would be a good choice for leaf miner control in an active infestation, because it is a "translaminar" and one of the few insecticides/miticides that can penetrate the leaf surfaces to get to the feeding larvae without going full systemic and contaminating the fruit. Unless you spray the fruit. Translaminar is a type of insecticide that travels only shorter distances in the plant. Translaminar insecticides penetrate into the plant tissue and move within a plant organ such as a leaf. After penetrating leaf tissues, they form a reservoir of active ingredients within the leaf. However, they do not travel to other parts of the plant. For example, these chemicals may move from the upper to the lower surface of a leaf. Neem oil and wood vinegar, with the right timing, will have preventive action for the moth that lays the eggs that become the larvae that mine and feed inside leaf surfaces, but will not cure an active advanced infestation. Commercial growers who are monocropping and using high salt index, high NPK chemical fertilizers and pesticides will have more challenges with this and other pests and diseases. They will need to have a vigilant monitoring and spray program. I prefer not having to resort to the chemistry, even the botanicals, by using a purely preventive organic approach, cultivating good soil fertility, with good water management, enhancing plant nutrition and natural resistance to pests and diseases.

I love the guess-work, fascinating! But consider this: Citrus leaf miner https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74137.html https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS914US914&sxsrf=APwXEddU_E0MCNwzdR4mDMzMwc_lJhq9TA:1685198649780&q=citrus+leaf+miner&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjRnZWX3pX_AhX2EFkFHWtbA7kQ0pQJegQIDBAB&biw=1600&bih=781