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drtreelove
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Posts posted by drtreelove
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On 10/7/2014 at 4:32 AM, WtFugarwe said:
I have always considered EM to be pop science. Microbes require oxygen and EM is anerobic. I take about 4 kilos of finished plant based compost in cheesecloth, suspend in a 32 gallon plastic trash can,fil it with water., then suspend the hose of an aquarium pump for aeration i the water. I add molasses to feed the microbes and they reproduce in multiples.
In my opinion this statement is flawed and gives a wrong impression, confusing EM (effective microorganisms) with AACT (actively aerated compost tea) .
Both of which are cultured for the "microbes" content, but with different combinations of organisms for different purposes. All EM is not created equal, as with compost, compost extract and compost tea. Both EM and compost derivatives have aerobic and anerobic components.
Dr Elaine Ingham's Soil Food Web School has the compost/AACT cultivation down to a science with microscope analysis of exactly which organisms are present in the mix and which are desireable or not for soil and plant health. There are many formulas that have come out of this general approach, with bacterial dominant and fungal dominant microbe mixes cultured for specific purposes.
Dr Higa's original EM formula is what the concept of EM and many EM formula's are based on, and which is primarily a "bio-digester" used for sewage and manure decomp and odor control, to accelerate crop residue and turf thatch decomp, pond water algae control, and other purposes.
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4 minutes ago, ozimoron said:
I'm totally on board with using natural methods for anthracnose control. I do think it's probably for smaller orchards up to about 10 acres but more than that might, as you suggest, be a losing battle, especially in humid areas. Like all tree diseases, close mono cropping makes pest and disease control difficult
Well said! Yes, mono-cropping has its advantages of course, and in fact is considered a necessity for large commercial orchards. But it comes with potential horendous problems.
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Not my thing, I prefer 'in the ground' bio-intensive system. But there are good reasons as stated for raised beds for some folks, if you can afford the higher costs for initial construction and soil imports. Tons of info with an Internet search: "raised bed vegetable gardening for beginners".
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1 hour ago, ozimoron said:
Some species of mango are more susceptible than others. I owned a commercial mango farm in oz for 15 years. I used to spray mancozeb soon after the fruit set and then copper every 2 weeks.
https://industry.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/233591/604.pdf
This is of course a viable conventional approach for commercial growers who are not yet on board with modern ecological farming methods and materials and efforts to adopt practices that are more earth and climate friendly. A losing battle maybe, but some of us think its important to try.
From your countryman Dr Christine Jones, Australian soil microbiologist (https://amazingcarbon.com/)
cover cropping orchards and vineyards
https://youtu.be/PJs8GU1cG30?si=aKmMgXp1oCSDH112
why change
https://youtu.be/SYRpFqUlK78?si=iUJnvKVDJtGt5boK
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First recommendations:
1. Review and improve your watering program for during the dry season. Not too much or too little. Drought-stressed trees will be more susceptible to pests and diseases, decline and die-back.
https://www.fertileearthlandcare.com/watering-trees/
2. Soil fertility. Avoid high NPK chemical fertilizers. Use biologicals, real compost, vermicompost/worm-castings, aged/composted manures, COF (complete organic fertilizer), hydrolized fish fertilizer, and mulch the soil surface throughout the tree root zone (dripline and more). This may be practical for small home orchards, but larger commercial orchards must consider costs of inputs and more economical alternatives like well managed mixed-species cover cropping.
Some examples of local Thailand sources for biologicals:
COF and Vermicompost
https://www.facebook.com/bestgardenstate/
https://maruchubussan.co.th/product/takumi-organic-fertilizer/
https://maruchubussan.co.th/product/fish-amino-organic-fertilizer/
3. Biocontrols With good watering and soil restoration practices in place, then biological fungicides and botanicals can be used with greater effectiveness. (They are not a stand-alone substitute for chemical fungicides, they don't work in the same way. They must thought of as components in a comprehensive IPM program.)
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That's a very thorough paper on Mango Athracnose Disease. Read the entire article and recognize that its never a good idea to reach first for chemical treatments, cypermethrin or bordeaux mixture or any other quick fix dreams.
In my professional opinion, based on over 50 years as a tree care professional, as my father before me, that its always best, for any pest or disease problem to look first at the growing conditions, soil and water management to determine why that pest or disease is there in the first place and what you are doing or not doing to create the conditions that make those trees susceptible to biotic and/or abiotic disorders. Because healthy plants grown in heathy soil don't get pests or diseases, and that is a well established scientific and practical truth of IPM (Integrated Pest Management) and the Soil-Food-Web, Regenerative Ag movement.
"The mango trees are all grafted varieties planted by us..." Recognize that grafted varieties are usually bred for desireable fruit characteristics and often not so much for resistance to disease. This is a critical factor in IPM.
Chemical fungicides should not be depended on as a stand-alone, or a long term treatment. IPM considers a much wider viewpoint, especially the environmental and cultural factors that contribute to resistance or susceptibility. If you don't improve the growing conditions and management of watering, soil and plant health, then you are fighting a losing battle. Also, if you are using high salt index, high NPK chemcial fertilizers, are not mulching and/or cover cropping, then the problems will be exacerbated. And if it's not one thing (MAD), it will be another ("There is also a problem with what I believe to be leaf cutting weevils.")
From the article: "Alternatives to fungicides have been developed in light of rising awareness of the fungicides’ deleterious effects on human health, the presence of fungicide residues in mango fruits, and the contamination of the natural environment that results from their widespread use. Essential oils, botanicals, and oxalic acid treatments have all been shown to be effective alternatives to chemical control, especially in locations where the use of synthetic fungicides is prohibited. Microbial agents and biological control of the MAD have also broadened developmental prospects for establishing environmentally friendly pest management."
If you are still reaching for chemical treatment as the first response to plant problems, then you are way behind the times with modern plant science and environmental, biological awareness and practical treatment modalities.
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Start with an on-site assessment from an experienced grower/orchard manager to evaluate current status and available water and other resources. I may be able to help myself or with a referral. PM me.
Structural pruning may be one of the first remedial measures to consider. Cover cropping for soil restoration is another.
cover cropping orchards and vineyards
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20 hours ago, lickard said:
I've been experimenting with these principles on my small farm, focusing on improving soil health and biodiversity. One thing I've found incredibly beneficial is integrating a diverse range of plants and reducing chemical inputs, which has noticeably improved the quality of my soil and the health of my crops.
In line with these practices, I've also been exploring intelligent farming technologies to enhance my farm's efficiency and productivity further. I came across https://thingsboard.io/smart-farming/, a platform that significantly streamlines the creation of smart farming solutions. It offers features like reliable data collection from IoT devices, a powerful rule engine for data processing, and advanced visualization tools for real-time and historical data. This technology has helped me optimize resource consumption and gain valuable insights into the farm's operation, aligning well with my regenerative agriculture practices.
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.
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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)
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On 10/9/2023 at 10:32 PM, JeffersLos said:
We bought some sods of Japanese grass at a garden store yesterday for 16 baht for 100x40cm. It's so cheap that we decided to experiment with it.
We bought bags of top soil and layered it around 5/8 inch thick on top of a concrete area and placed a few sods on top.
We're looking at topping a large concrete area with it. We're not going to break the concrete just to do it. It would be watered every morning and evening.
Is there a better way? More topsoil, less topsoil, no topsoil, forget the whole plan of placing it on concrete?
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.
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On 8/30/2023 at 9:14 PM, brianthainess said:
Sounds like to much water to me, I have had one growing for 4 years from pips just spat out, gets a lot of water has never flowered or grown fruit. meanwhile the ginger is growing really well.
"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.
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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.
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On 8/24/2023 at 5:37 AM, jak2002003 said:
Get the oranges from the market.
Chuck the tree and plant some nice flowers.
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
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On 8/22/2023 at 5:51 PM, Wandr said:
I have a small, young, Thai orange tree - maybe too small to call it a tree as of now!
It does get a few fruit, but the problem is the skin, or rind, of the orange splits before it ripens. Anyone here can suggest what the problem may be?
This is in the Hang Dong area of Chiang Mai.
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
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On 8/10/2023 at 9:55 PM, Phantom57 said:
ACC, Asiatic Citrus Canker, Google it.
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.
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Chiangmai Sriyont288 Thanon Charoen Rat
excellent service dept too
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On 8/2/2023 at 3:04 AM, bbko said:
Whenever I have unwanted woody weeds or small trees popping up, I'll cut them as close to the root as possible and spray the stump with glyphosate, they don't grow back.
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.
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The remarkable Australian soil microbiologist Dr Christine Jones does it again. Extraordinary presentation of revelationary information for growers and livestock ranchers:
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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.
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On 8/3/2023 at 1:59 AM, indyo said:
if beetles, bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki works against them.
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:
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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.
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On 7/1/2023 at 6:59 PM, Pogust said:
I still have to use some sprays but need less over time. Mealybugs love papayas, but so do I and the ducks.... Try to work after Permaculture principles, but it's not easy when surrounded by commercial durian farms that spray all the time. All their bugs come to me instead.
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 .
Beauveria bassiana, is available in Thailand
You can make your own insecticidal soap.
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2 hours ago, Pogust said:
I been using wood vinegar for some years now. There are different producers with what I guess different "strength". Tried one highly refined clear liquid, but trees didn't appreciate that. 1:100 dilution with the black stuff seem to work OK on fruit trees. I mix in 1:200 detergent also to suffocate some bugs.
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.
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Cooked was on to it all along!
When Graeme Sait speaks, I listen. New blog article:
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Growing broccoli sprouts in Thailand?
in Organic Farming, Smallholding and Kitchen Gardening
Posted
Keyword "Growing" = Farming or Plants/Pets forum. Try "Health Benefits of ..." or something like that next time.
In any case, we all would like a quick fix, a single 'superfood' that makes health and immunity from harm a simple matter. But in fact achieving health comes from a comprehensive wellness program with many factors to consider. Even the linked article, even though focused on broccoli sprouts as a superfood, points out that public policy and genetics are also important factors in the defense against pollution. Personally I don't like broccoli, but I have some other cruciferous foods and 'superfoods' that I consume, home grown organic high-nutrient-density fruits and veggies, spirulina, moringa, wheat grass, matcha green tea, cloves, and a lesser known 'superfood' - fulvic acid (https://www.manalifelab.com/wu-jin-san), as well as an omnivore diet with minimal added sugar, no maltodextrin, low carbohydrate diet, has helped me maintain health into old-age, along with exercise and qigong, hiking, mtbiking and outdoor work.
I apply the same 'wellness', preventive approach to the work I do with plants, crops, and landscape turf and ornamentals. No one product or practice fits all, but what works is a comprehensive program considering the growing conditions, soil and water management, species selection for the right plant - right place, integrated and compatible plantings, appropriate irrigation, minimal tillage, mulching, shading of soil surface, cover cropping where possbile, Integrated Pest Management, biologicals for soil and plant health and avoidance of detrimental products and practices like high NPK chemical fertilizers and pesticides as much as possible.