We have a lovely nectarine tree we transplanted very successfully. The first year we planted it into its special spot, we actually got quite a few nectarines from it and they were good.
The following year, all my fruit trees ended up with leaf curl which needed to be treated with a fungicide. We did treatment after the trees lost their leaves; though we still have further treatment to go.
And now I am dishearten to see that my nectarine has something else going on. It was a little challenging to work out what it is. It wasn’t a condition listed under the stone fruit pests and diseases in my ‘Garden Pests, Diseases & Good Bugs’ book I have.
I finally found some examples of the problem and have worked out it is thrip, Western Flower Thrip. Thrip are teeny tiny insects that feed within the flowers and on young fruit. It’s mostly a problem of nectaries at bloom. These insects damage the fruit and scars will form as the fruit matures.
What to do: I have read that only an insecticide will prevent thrip. Spinosad is what is needed. It can be applied when the petals drop from the flowers, at dawn and dusk so the insecticide will dry and not harm the bees. One application is apparently all that is needed.
So I plan to get some and see how we go. I have come across a couple of options:
- Yates Nature’s Way have a fruit fly treatment that has spinosad as the main ingredient. Spinosad is derived from naturally occurring bacteria and attracts the bugs killing them after they ingest.
- Natural Guard Spinosad Soap. For organic gardening.
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