wiping leaves with alcohol wipes

[lycheeluva]

i have some bugs and or fungal disease on my tangerine leaves. i have a packet of alcohol wipes (70% alcohol) that i thought would be a good idea to use to wipe down the leaves. will the alcohol on the wipes damage the folliage?

[fruitlovers]

My guess is that it will not, but have never tried that. Suggest you experiment on a few leaves, and wait at least a week for results.
Oscar

[CoPlantNut]

I have tried wiping leaves with alcohol before, and in general I would not recommend it.  The alcohol doesn't seem to be the issue-- I spray with alcohol with no issues, but the slight mechanical damage to the leaf caused by physically wiping leaves with alcohol seems to cause problems days or weeks later.  I've had plants get fungal infections within weeks of wiping leaves with alcohol; and fungal infections are not normally a problem in Colorado.  Thicker, waxier-leaved things tend to show some pitting and scarring within a few weeks of being wiped with alcohol.

If I stick strictly to spraying the alcohol on, I've never had these issues, so I stick to only spraying.  Your results may vary of course-- it's possible that my low humidity is part of the problem.

I should point out that I don't think wiping is necessarily the problem either-- I can wipe leaves down with horticultural oil and have no issues...  My guess is that the alcohol dissolves enough of the natural waxes on the leaf that wiping it at the same time causes damage to the leaf.

   Kevin