INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT

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INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT

• PALM TREES
• IN
• SOUTH FLORIDA

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PALMETTO WEEVILS

• Drawn to stressed palms in sub-tropical deep
  south (mostly cabbage Canary Island Date
  palms).
• Some species spread nematode in Central and South
  America and Caribbean.

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Palm weevils
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Symptoms Treatment

• Adult females lay eggs in leaf bases of crown,
  larvae tunnel into heart, destroying the palm.
• Crowns of affected palms topple over or
  deadhead.
• Reduce transplant stress
• Preventative spray of Lindane or Dursban applied
  at and a few weeks after transplant.

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Reducing Transplant Stress

• Transplant early spring or summer - soil below
  65C discourages new root growth.
• Remove 1/2 or more of leaves at time of digging
  to reduce water loss from transpiration.
• Optimal drainage.
• Avoid transplanting deeper than originally grown.
• Micronutrient foliar spray since root absorption
  is limited.

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ROYAL PALM BUG

• Troublesome pest in Florida and Caribbean.
• Infestations increase in Spring and Summer after
  a mild winter.
• Feeds on young leaves getting in between folds
  of emerging leaf.

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Treatment

• Three species of spiders have been found to prey
  on royal palm bugs, and suggested that they,
  along with heavy rains, are major factors in the
  natural control of the species.
• whether populations of these prolific bugs are
  regulated by spiders and rain alone is still open
  to question. Tactic not in use.

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Treatment

• A relatively new insecticide discovered by Bayer,
  imidacloprid, shows promise. It can be applied
  without a special use permit.
• low mammalian toxicity - oral LD50 rates as
  1858-2591 mg/kg and the dermal LD50 rate as
  gt2000.
• Long term effectiveness due to stability in soil,
  but may take weeks for root drench to take
  effect.

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PALM APHID

• Female becomes sedentary like a scale forming a
  distinctive waxy ring around it.
• Heavily infest young leaves and secrete honeydew
  upon which sooty mold will grow.

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Sooty Mold

• Fungus that feeds upon honeydew from aphid,
  scale, mealybugs.
• Interferes with photosynthesis.
• Control honeydew producing insects.

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Leaf Spots

• Helminthosporium, Anthracnose, Stigmina,
  Pestalotiopsis
• All cause spots, some merge and form blighted
  areas.
• Easily spread by use of overhead irrigation.

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False Smut

• Significant problem of landscape palms during
  heavy rainfall.
• Grayish-black fruiting bodies on both sides of
  leaf.
• Copper based fungicides and maneb or mancozeb
  effective if applied in early stages.

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Phytophthora root rot

• Also causes leaf spots and bud rots.
• Drenching soil with metylaxyl reduce populations
  of this fungus.
• Foliar applied fosetyl aluminum will translocate
  to roots of palm.
• Prevent overwatering.

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Ganoderma Butt Rot

• Serious and incurable disease of older palms.
• Progresses from older leaves upward which turn
  brown and droop from the trunk.
• Wounds on lower trunk allow entry of fungus.

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Ganoderma butt rot

• Fruiting body a conspicuous bracket or conch.
• Rapid spread and persistent in soil.
• Remove and destroy effected palms and conchs.
• Fumigate soil and replant broad-leafed trees (not
  susceptible).

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Fusarium wilt

• Frequent in California and starting in Florida.
• Uneven decline in canopy.
• Transferred from tree to tree by pruning tools,
  so they should be sterilized between uses.

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Coconut Lethal Yellowing

• Incurable disease caused by a mycoplasma-like
  organism.
• Vector - Leaf hopper.
• Yellowing and dying of leaves.
• Avoid by planting resistant varieties.
• Decline temporarily suspended by antibiotic
  injections.

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Spider Mites

• Biggest problem in greenhouse production.
• Chemical controls diminishing.
• Best controlled by predatory mites Phytoseiulus
  persimilus Neoseiulus californicus

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Spider Mites

• persimilus is a quick-acting parasite and is
  usually released ititially.
• californicus is slower moving bat clean up and
  released later.
• These tactics work better in greenhouse where
  plants are tip to tip.

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Pest Management Approaches

• City of Hollywood, Florida, Alice Cohen -
  greenhouse palm production.
• Central Florida extension agent for University of
  Florida, Liz Felter
• South Florida extension agent for University of
  Florida, Bill Schaal - greenhouse and field grown
  palms.

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City of Hollywood

• Palms in landscape, medians, parks, etc.
• Palm weevil occasionally a problem - only treat
  when they see damage. Must spray in crown.
• Safe soaps and oils.
• Resistant varieties (lethal yellowing)
• Stopped planting impatients around trees because
  water req. is high - promotes fungal pathogens.
• Unfortunately, plants are selected by
  non-horticulturalists for aesthetic value. Some
  are tropical, req. lot of water which promotes
  disease.
• No biological control used.

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Central Florida Greenhouse Production

• Predatory mites for spider mites. 1 pest.
• Scale, 2 pest - no biocontrol. Use Dimethoate
  or Marathon (systemic). Residue up to 60d, so
  cannot release biocontrols during this time.
• Scouting and record keeping of juvenile sitings.
  Use calendar documentation in dz. forecasting.

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• Companies such as Glades Crop Care provide a
  scouting service, but charge about 600/mo. not
  seen as cost-effective by most.
• Most scouting companies specialize in agronomic
  crops, not ornamentals.
• IPM consultants rare.
• Florikan, supplier of growing supplies, focus on
  IPM products. Pheremone attractants, Opogona
  (catarpillers for nematode control), pred. mites,
  etc.

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Credits

• Pictures and info. on Palm aphid, scale, royal
  palm bug, palmetto weevils, leaf spots, sooty
  mold, phytophthera root rot, Fusarium wilt,
  Ganoderma butt rot, lethal yellowing - Betrodks
  guide to landscape PALMS, Alan Meerow.
• Pictures and info on palm weevil/nematode life
  cycle and spider mites - Palm Production and
  Culture Resources t the Ft. Lauderdale REC
  (UFL/IFAS) web site http//www.ftld.ufl.edu/palm
  .htm

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Credits contd

• Alice Cohen, City of Hollywood, Florida.
• Liz Felter, Central Florida Extension Agent.
  University of Florida, IFAS.
• Bill Schaal, South Florida Extension Agent.
  University of Florida, IFAS.