drtreelove

- unless intelligently cultivated with adequate nutritional support, soil health building, and proper water management.

Get a cat. Ours make sport of stalking and snatching them off the walls, with fascinating aerial acrobatics.

"I see my wife and her mother doing things while we are at my wife's plot of land and think, "That doesn't look right to me." I voice an opinion and am shot down ... " Good luck with that aspect of getting involved. How's your tolerance and communications for these differences of opinion and practices that "don't look right" to you. Because from my own experience and that of farming friends, that's not going to go away. If the frustration is going to stress you and your marriage, then stay out of it and let the wife and MIL do it their way. Some horticultural practices depend largely on whether you are growing for commericial sales, or hobby farming for personal use and ornamental value. For example, I'm not a commercial grower. I grow bananas for the awesome green beauty, fast growth and fruiting, and visual screening function, as well as for family consumption of the fruit. So I manicure the plants with weekly monitoring and trimming of dead and dying leaves, and I thin for spacing and directional pruning. All that may not be practical, cost effective or necessary for commercial production. The flowers can be used, cooked and eaten, but we don't often do that. We usually cut them off and give them away to neighbors or chop and compost. After harvesting the bananas, I 'chop and drop' the spent plant and leave-lay for mulch. The cut plant will regrow from the center, but I prefer to continue to cut it until it gives up, and I cultivate one or more of the offshoots. I don't have dairy or chicken manure available on site, so I buy and blend composted manures and other ingredients for my own COF (complete organic fertilizer. Durian have special requirements, especially for soil and water management, and prevention of root and crown rot soil-bor)ne pathogen infections. See TM Durian Farmer channel on YouTube for some tips. Papaya, mango and other fruit - its best to buy known varieties as seedlings or grafted young plants. When you propagate from seeds you are taking a chance at disappointment in the resulting growth and fruiting.

What kind of work are you needing? For a tree service, I don't have personal experience with anyone there in recent years, but I'm attaching an old list I have from the Thai Arboricultural Association, (TAA on Facebook). Forum member CLW had tree pruning done at his home in Bangkok by a woman-arborist owned TAA member tree service but I don't remember the name. Maybe he will see this and post the name and contact. For landscape design and installation contact Ben at Thai Garden Design. https://www.thaigardendesign.com/ For larger tree and landscape projects, Nong Nooch Botanical Garden in Pattaya has a services division.

Contact forum member Grafting Ken by PM. (He may not be permitted to post commercial plant sales information). Otherwise, It is possible to find grafted lemon varieties at plant markets, but look for actively fruiting plants for sale where you can identify the actual fruit you want. Lime and lemon foliage and growth habit can look similar when there is no fruit present. Kickstart is right about providing afternoon shading, but from my experience that applies mostly for newly planted and young trees. Once a root system is established, preferably in fertilie soil and with adequate deep watering and mulching of the soil surface, maturing trees can take full sun. Allow a full foliar canopy to grow and shade the soil surface to avoid drying and cooking the all-important beneficial soil biology. I have grown lemons in full sun in Chiang Mai and India and in the Arizona desert.

I'm not sure what that worm is, but there is low tox general treatment available for wood boring beetles and moth larvae. Apply a pyrethroid insecticide drench (permethrin, cypermenthrin, or preferably bifenthrin active ingredient as in Chaindrite Stefast 30SC. Dilute 30 ml of the concentrated product wih 1 liter of water, spray on the wounded stems where borers and their 'frass' are present. Spray only the woody stems, avoid excessive over-spray and soil contamination. Pyrethoids are low toxicity for mammals, people and pets, deadly for insects and fish, avoid ponds and creeks. But wear long sleeves and pants and mask to avoid skin and respiratory exposure ). Bifenthrin has longest residual effectiveness, 6 months or more, while organic insect repellents would have to be repeated every week or two. Pyrethoids are not systemic and won't enter the conductive tissues of the tree, the flowers or fruit. But I believe that the borer is not the causal factor of the wounding, it is a secondary opportunist invading the exposed heartwood of the previously wounded stems. The borer activity will likely not advance the wounding of living tissue, but could hasten the decomp of the heartwood and structurally weaken the stem. In general for preventive management, avoid wounding of woody stems, build healthy soil which promotes general tree health, natural resistance to pests and diseases, and facilitates the formation of callus tissue and wound closure . I hope that helps, Don

Dr Wittawat Rawiyotai https://www.bangkokhospital-chiangmai.com/en/doctor/dr-wittawat-rawiyotai-m-d/

Possible anthracnose fungus disease. (Colletotrichum gleosporoides) Starfruit is also known as carambola tree, Averrhoa carambola. Search for info and images to identify the condition and get tips on culture. A quick-fix spray application for advanced infections is not feasible. Covering, netting may not be appropriate or effective. Preventive management is best. Build natural resistance to disease by addressing plant health with good growing conditions, soil fertility and water managment.

First of all, recognize that growing from seed you will not be guaranteed of fruiting and or that the fruit will be true to the variety that you ate and enjoyed. Vegetatively propagated, grafted trees are the only way to ensure the chosen variety. But you can have a good learning experience with soil preparation and management, planting, pruning, watering through the hot, dry season which is coming right up. If you decide to go for it, then I recommend that you first do some YouTube viewing to help prepare for what you are getting into, the size of the trees, space and management that should be considered. TM Durian Farmer from Kanchanaburi on the River Kwai is enthusiastic and shares a lot of good information on his YT channel. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tm+durian+farmer He's not an organic grower, and in my opinion has some built-in problems that will develop with chemical management, crude pruning technique and watering practices that will exacerbate disease issues and early decline in the long run, but it's a good overview with some important information for durian growers. Personally I wouldn't be putting a lot of money into an unknown seedling variety, but if you are going all-out, consider a hemp grow kit for each of your seedlings, from Maruchu Bussan: https://maruchubussan.co.th/product/hemp-grow-kit/ At least get their potting soil and excellent hydrolysed fish fertilizer, Takumi Fish Amino Fertilizer . Upgrade your six-inch seedlings, each into a 2 to 5 gal pot and grow in partial shade until a meter tall or more before planting out. They will need to be in full sun for the final location, but it looks like you will be planting in the ground during the hottest, driest time of year, so a diligent watering program will be vital, and maybe some temporary shade cloth coverings. Appropriate watering is critical, not too much or too little, and that takes some experience to get it right. Durian trees are highly susceptible to a fungus-like pathogen called a water-mold - Phytophthora spp root and crown rot. Avoid watering directly on the tree trunk and root crown, and avoid overwatering and excessive frequency. Cover cropping and/or mulching can help build soil organic matter content, soil aggregate structure, soil moisture retention, and nutrient cycling. I hope that helps, Don

Yes DoHome is awesome, and usually less expensive than the other home improvement superstores mentioned, depending on what you are buying. But no one of them has it all, I still shop around. And not only at the superstores, our local mom/pop hardware-materials shop often has just what we need.

Chaindrite Stedfast 30SC. 30 ml of the concentrate per liter of water. The active ingredient is bifenthrin, a potent pyrethroid with residual effectiveness (the pest won't return for awhile). It's a contact insecticide, not systemic, won't penetrate durian fruit. It will get an immediate knock down of the sucking insect pest, and ants. (Don't spray the soil, only the tree trunks and foliar canopy,) Use a 'spreader-sticker' adjuvant. Use PPEs, cover skin, long sleeves, long pants, gloves and mask. Respirator not required. Permethrin, cypermenthrin or other pyrethroids would be similar and just as effective. Pyrethroids classs of chemical insecticides are based on the chemistry of the naturally occuring extract from a Chrysanthemum flower, called pyrethrum or pyrethrins. Pyrethrins are just as strong for 'knockdown', but biodegrade in 12 to 24 hours (which is why it is considered 'organic program compatible'. ) You can use the organic product, if you can find it, but it will be much more expensive, and it won't have the residual effectiveness of bifenthrin. Pyrethroids are relatively low toxicity for mammals, people and pets, but are highly toxic to fish, keep away from ponds and waterways. "Good fauna" will be killed also. But you can work on restoring that with an organic program, after the acute infestation is controlled. This approach and pyrethroid chemistry is not organic, but then neither is your entire management program or your trees would not have this plant pest. Healthy plants grown on healthy soil don't get pests or diseases. Physiological stress, from poor growing conditions, poor water management, and nutrient deficiencies will make plants susceptible to pests. Soil fertility and good water management will help trees develop natural resistance to pests and disease. Avoid high NPK, high salt index chemical fertilizer, which creates a pest magnet. Insecticidal soap, wood vinegar, lemon grass concentrate, rosemary, cloves and other botanicals are organic options, but will require repeat spraying every week until pest infestation is controlled.

See SBF's post on page 3 of the Regenerative Ag discussion that he iniiated. Posted August 7, 2020 Cover cropping is becoming much more widely known and appreciated as an important practice for soil building. https://kisstheground.com/education/resources/cover-crops/ Please share if you find sourcing for cover crop seed mixes in Thailand. SBF is developing some but I believe its primarily for export. Another inactive forum member's company is Best Garden State. They were starting to develop seed mixes but ran into regulatory issues for imports, requiring chemical treatments for imported seeds.

I don't know exact ID, but it appears to be superficial on soil and fallen plant material, due to the wet conditions you have noted. I don't think it's powdery mildew and does not appear to be a plant pathogen. It will likely clear up as the dry season proceeds. I would regard it as "nature's way" of seasonal decomp. It may be a good thing, and beneficial for soil building with your red gravel that appears to be deficient of soil organic matter content. But keep an eye on it. If you notice the growth on the living plant parts, then re-post some new pics and we may be able to recommend an organic program fungicide like Potassium bicarbonate. Don

I don't want to discourage biololgical control efforts, but I'm not sure that this is realistic. "If you can get them" is a key term, and if you can release enough numbers (repeatedly) to adequately feed on the pest population for a short time before the ladybugs fly away. And "new hatchings" is another key term. Advanced infestations are difficult to control. Preventive management is preferred. Why are the mealybugs there in the first place? Healthy plants grown on healthy soil don't get pests and diseases.

Good points! And enfeebled also by nutrient deficiencies and reduced natural resistance to pests. Oily residue and the smell of neem oil is objectionable to some gardeners and for some edible plants. Mealy bugs can be water-jet sprayed off to greatly reduce numbers, and also on some types of plants can be rubbed off with a rag or cotton-glove. I recently used an insecticidal soap solution to knock down mealy bug infestations (and ants along with it) on some customer's plants. Then biofertilized to begin building soil, plant health and resistance. Homemade Insecticidal Soap Recipe The simplest insecticidal soap is nothing more than a 2% soap solution. To make this at home, you will need: Sprayer: Any clean spray bottle or garden sprayer will work fine for spraying insecticidal soap. Make sure the sprayer or bottle hasn’t been used for herbicides. Pure Soap: Use a pure liquid soap, such as Castile, or all-natural soap. The active ingredient in insecticidal soap comes from the fatty acids in animal fat or vegetable oil, so it’s important to use the real thing. Don’t use detergents (which aren’t actually soaps), dish soaps, or any products with degreasers, skin moisturizers, or synthetic chemicals. Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castile Soap is usually pretty easy to find in stores, or check your local natural-foods store for other options. Pure Water: Tap water is fine for making insecticidal soap. If you have hard water, you may want to use bottled water to prevent soap scum from building up on your plants. To make homemade 2% insecticidal soap, mix together: 5 tablespoons soap to 1 gallon of water OR 1 heavy tablespoon soap to 1 quart of water Homemade Insecticidal Soap Recipe Variations Like any other home remedy, there are as many variations on this recipe as there are gardeners! You can also try: Diluted Solution: If the spray causes damage or burns your plant foliage, cut the amount of soap in half and try a 1% solution. This is the concentration usually found in commercial sprays. The lighter solution might be less effective but is gentler on plants. Cooking Oil: To help the solution stick a little longer, add two tablespoons of light cooking oil (such as corn, canola, olive, or safflower) per gallon of water to the mix. Vinegar: To make a spray that also targets powdery mildew, add a teaspoon of cider vinegar per gallon of water to the mix. Garlic or Pepper: To help repel chewing insects, add a teaspoon of ground red pepper and/or garlic per gallon of water to the mix. Bar Soap: For a less-exact recipe, drop a bar of pure soap (such as organic bar soap or Ivory) into a gallon of water and leave it overnight. Remove the bar and shake well before spraying.