Worms Eating Fruit Tree Roots

[bubbaba]

Hello. I need some help.  My Jackfruit trees in the past and now my Mulberrie trees all of a sudden start to die and are dead in less then a week. I have been advise by a local that is is a type of worm that attacks the roots of the tree. Next day or two the tree drys up and dies.  I need to know the name of this worm and I especially need to know how to kill these worms.  What type/or name of stuff will kill them.  They seem to be spreading from on corner of my yard with the mulberry trees and slowly moving across my yard.

[cooked]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockchafer ? try googling cockchafer Thailand. 

You should be able to find the whitish worms around the roots, but there are other insects, larvae and even rodents that could be responsible.

[drtreelove]

Cooked is right, without a positive ID you are just going on hear-say and will not be able to address the problem directly.

 

I have not seen the rapid die-back that you are describing, attributed to "worms".  This type of rapid mortality is most often, in my experience, attributed to water deficit, drought stress.  Have you ruled that out? What is your irrigation program? 

 

Or the opposite, overwatering and root rot. How have you improved the soil in order to avoid poor drainage and nutrient deficiencies? High Magnesium to Calcium ratio makes a tight soil that cannot drain well. Jackfruit trees are highly susceptible to this. 

 

Look at these cultural factors first. Even if there turns out to be a pest or disease, the cultural factors, growing conditions will have created the susceptibility. I find this 99% of the time. An aggressive pest or disease that is not dependent on predisposing factors in the cultural conditions, is rare. 

 

If I suspected a "worm" infestation, I would get down and dirty and dig up a recent, or preferably an "in progress" fatality, examine the roots and root crown for specific damage, discoloration, and presence of grubs or other biology. Try to determine the exact damage and identify a specific causal agent.

 

Post photos if you do not have an educated advisor other than "a local", or a relationship with a university pomologist or laboratory. (In Chiang Mai I got good information on local pest and disease management from MaeJo U and Chiang Mai U agriculture dept and a helpful pomology professor). 

 

Short of a positive ID, I would approach it with a general purpose treatment program.  You don't say how many trees you have, but if a significant number, then a 'must have' is a 200 liter hydraulic tank sprayer. If one or two trees, then you can use a watering can or buckets. 

If I were guessing at possible soil borne disease or insect pests, beetles or moths and their larvae, I would make a soil drench tank mix with Azadirachtin (neem seed oil extract insecticide) for possible nematode infestation, plus two other types of biopesticides, Tricoderma h. to combat soil borne fungal disease, and Beauveria b. along with Metarhizium a. for grubs/larvae/worms of insect pest origin.

 

Please post your follow up discovery and treatment results. '

 

[drtreelove]

In addition: 

-if you are mixing these bio-pesticides, put a liter of molasses in the tank mix as sugar-food for the beneficial biology. (available at HomePro garden section)

- avoid high NPK chemical fertilizers. If it turns out to be a disease, like Phytophthora root and crown rot, the high N and K will contribute to the advance of the disease.  High salt index fertilizers dessicate roots and increase drought stress, and are detrimental to beneficial soil organisms. 

- do soil testing and prescription amendments, based on actual deficiencies found.

- build soil fertility with organic matter inputs

- use a high quality EM soil drench regularly. I do monthly with EM-1 or EM from OrganicTotto, one liter per 20 liters water.   

[Rimmer]

A troll post has been removed

[IsaanAussie]

10 hours ago, drtreelove said:

In addition: 

-if you are mixing these bio-pesticides, put a liter of molasses in the tank mix as sugar-food for the beneficial biology. (available at HomePro garden section)

- avoid high NPK chemical fertilizers. If it turns out to be a disease, like Phytophthora root and crown rot, the high N and K will contribute to the advance of the disease.  High salt index fertilizers dessicate roots and increase drought stress, and are detrimental to beneficial soil organisms. 

- do soil testing and prescription amendments, based on actual deficiencies found.

- build soil fertility with organic matter inputs

- use a high quality EM soil drench regularly. I do monthly with EM-1 or EM from OrganicTotto, one liter per 20 liters water.   

Thanks for your last two posts, very helpful. Do you have a source of soil testing and amendment prescriptions here in Thailand we could use? 

I will have a look at the Trichodermia product when next in town, sounds like a viable tool against damping off and possibly rice blast. 

[drtreelove]

13 hours ago, IsaanAussie said:

Thanks for your last two posts, very helpful. Do you have a source of soil testing and amendment prescriptions here in Thailand we could use? 

I will have a look at the Trichodermia product when next in town, sounds like a viable tool against damping off and possibly rice blast. 

Yes the Trichoderma h. biofungicide is becoming quite popular, for soil borne pathogens and foliar fungal disease suppression.  There are several formulations/strains on the shelf at the big cannabis growers supply shops here in weed-legal California. Also, I was just taking a fresh look at tree wound dressings and found an Australian Trichoderma product that has some research behind it, for vineyard pruning cut treatments. I'm going to be recommending it for tree root pruning on construction sites for suppression of soil borne fungal pathogens that infect cut roots and cause root and crown rot. The thing to know about biological fungicides,  is that they are not the same as chemical fungicides, the action is different, and they need moisture and sugar-food to survive and stay effective. 

 

The photos I posted of products are from an ag shop across the road from MaeJo U campus, Chiang Mai. There may be other sources. 

 

For soil testing, I have not found resources in Thailand for full range nutrient analysis consistent with my preferred system of high nutrient density/Cation Exchange Capacity based analysis, only SLAN system (Sufficiency Level of Supplied Nutrients).  Most growers don't know the difference and think that a university must have the best soil testing available. But that is controversial. SLAN is field-crop/broadacre oriented for chemical fertilizer inputs and does not use Total CEC and does not address cation balancing and full range of macro and micro nutrients. SLAN will get you what's needed for maximum yield with minimal expense, but it won't necessarily get you high quality, best taste and color, shelf life and nutrition, pest and disease resistance. 

 

I haven't used NTS 'Nutrition Farming' soil testing services out of Queensland, but you may know more about that than I do through your Aussie agronomist friend.  I have been working with the bonemeal factory out of Nakhon Pathom,  with some of their Thai farmer customers, organic growers who are sending soil samples to Logan Labs in the US, a state of the art CEC based lab, popular with Albrecht system farmers. Contact bonemeal.net for quotes on soil testing. And they have bulk amendments for sale too.