Nice looking trees. Amazing how citrus can look and how easy they are with just a little bit of time each week.
I live up the road in Melbourne. Have grown a few citrus trees in containers and lost 2 of them so far to HLB. Use systematics around May/June, thats usually when I see the psyllids on my trees. After I have started using the systematics on my remaining tree- it seems to still be healthy with no sign of the disease yet. Fingers crossed.
Yes I'm concerned about the greening also, could you explain
systematics a little more for me or point me in the direction
where I can learn more about it?
Thanks!
You can find it at the big box stores.
https://www.bioadvanced.com/products/insects-pests/fruit-citrus-vegetable-insect-controlIts poured at the base of the tree and absorbed by the roots, so its basically pesticide that is inside the tree. Whenever a bug eats the leaves, it ingests the pesticide and dies. It lasts for about 3-4 months. 1 Application a year, so do it right after flowering (as to not kill bees/butterflies/etc) during spring.
Its definitely not organic but its really the only way to truly protect against the disease unless you can be vigilant and spray your organic pesticides every few days and make sure to fully drench the tree leaves, which can be difficult as the tree gets bigger. The first year I did this with my last remaining grapefruit tree. I sprayed pyrethins on it every few days when I saw the bugs and then after it got established and a decent size canopy after the first 1/1.5 years, I am now using the systematics. So far, I see no signs of the disease and psyllid activity has been low.