Hello evereybody!
I live on the island of Cebu - Philippines, just 10°N from the equator and I've several little fruit trees in my garden ( 1-3 years old).
I'm experiencing a terrible attack which is threatening practically all of them.
This year is really hard for plants here.
Because of El-Nino the climate is really crazy. January was raining all the time and since then, until now, we're experiencing several months of strong drought with unnormally hot temperatures and sometimes strong wind. Just the end of june and July have been quite normal.
The problem started with sugarapples and the soursops whose leaves started to crumple and turn irregularly yellow showing dark brown "stains" in the lower side
.
Then same destiny for avocado
The upper side of the leaves shows irregular, asymmetric chlorotic areas with a blotchy mosaic appearance.
The lower side loooks "rusty" with tiny brown dots wich merge in bigger, dark brown areas.
The leaves become at first dull green, then bronze-green then yellowish, they look leathery, tend to curl and sometimes fall down.
Growth is stunted and there are no more fresh buds sprouting.
Same destiny for mango.
And finally lemon started to fall sick
I immediately suspected a mites attack (I know they thrive with hot dry weather) and I even sprayed the small trees with a special miticide but with no effect.
Actually I've never been able to see any of those small scritters examining several leaves with magnifying lens.
All the trees are planted in "holes" properly dug in the local limestone and filled with good soil.
I water them regularly, I remove all weeds which grow around and I fertilize once in a 3 months with a 12-12-12 NPK product and twice a year with a chelated microelement product.
I'm asking anybody who has any idea to help me please for identifying and fixing my problem.
I thank you very much in advance for any advice or suggestion!
Show Posts
