AusBonsai

If you use confidor you can't eat the fruit, if any, is that a problem? (That's my understanding, anyway...)

If you use confidor you can't eat the fruit, if any, is that a problem? (That's my understanding, anyway...)

This from Bayer:
Withholding periods:
DO NOT PICK STONE FRUIT FOR 21 DAYS AFTER SPRAYING
DO NOT PICK BRASSICAS, CAPSICUMS, EGGPLANTS, POTATOES OR SWEET POTATOES FOR 7 DAYS AFTER SPRAYING
DO NOT PICK TOMATOES FOR 3 DAYS AFTER SPRAYING
DO NOT PICK CUCURBITS FOR 1 DAY AFTER SPRAYING

but there is more info implicating imacloprid with unintentional bee deaths so please consider using this product.

Thanks Neil. I wasn't aware there was a problem with it killing bees!

Thanks for that info, Neil & Mel.
I had decided that if any of my stock plants (and they are all stock plants, as I can't call them bonsai yet ) need ongoing chemical treatment to stay healthy, I would give up on them as they are clearly not suited to my conditions. With the Pomegranates, I am not worried about the fruit withholding period, but I do not want to harm bees, so these pomegranates will be left to their own devices now. I will let them run rampant and if they don't recover, they can either be ugly, curly leafed fruit trees, or I will chop them below all growth to see what happens.

Confidor does not kill the twin spot mite....Lime sulphur will kill the mite used at 5 mls to the one litre of water.

If you have an out break you will repeat the treatment in 7 to 10 days time it will knock them for six,above is maintenance in late Autumn and winter.

Did you try Anthony's suggestion?

I must admit, I haven't bothered worrying about the problem too much...

melbrackstone wrote:

Confidor does not kill the twin spot mite....Lime sulphur will kill the mite used at 5 mls to the one litre of water.

If you have an out break you will repeat the treatment in 7 to 10 days time it will knock them for six,above is maintenance in late Autumn and winter.

Did you try Anthony's suggestion?

I must admit, I haven't bothered worrying about the problem too much...

Hi Mel,
I think Anthony was talking about using Lime Sulphur to treat the twin spot mite (spider mite?) that lives on the surface of the leaves. I figure the Mavrik hasn't been working for me because the Pomegranate mite lives inside the leaf bud, so a systemic was needed. I know Imidacloprid (Confidor, a systemic) doesn't do much for mites on animals, so it would have been a trial and error treatment, which I am not prepared to do if there is potential harm to bees.

I think your Pomegranates are much less affected than mine. Maybe healthier plants, better care or position? I might try moving my 2 to a less humid area.

Oh right....soz....

I did cut into my tree quite severely, I must admit, and perhaps that helped it get over the worst of it.... I dunno. All I do know is that it'd be hard to find somewhere less humid anywhere in the city atm...

Pretty sure this is thrips. Same thing that affects the maples and same remedy.

treeman wrote:Pretty sure this is thrips. Same thing that affects the maples and same remedy.

I see thrips on my figs, and I know what they look like. Never seen any on these Pomegranate leaves.

I have an interesting update for those who followed this thread.

Before Christmas, I was thinking about these plants and how I had never seen reference to the Pomegranate Leaf Curl mite on Australian sites. I wondered if it could be an exotic pest, and decided to ask Biosecurity Qld. I sent them a couple of photos, and they were interested enough to come out to sample both my plants.

The plant pathologist had a look, the sample was sent to NSW, more opinions were sought, and finally last week I received confirmation that it is the Pomegranate curl mite (Aceria granati).

I am waiting to hear back from Biosecurity Qld regarding what to do. They haven't yet confirmed if the mite was considered exotic to Aus. I won't mind too much if my plants are destroyed as they have been pretty pathetic since all this began, but I guess it will depend on the mite's ability to spread to other plants.

While waiting for the pathology results, I tried Confider with no result. A single spray of Yates Success Ultra (Spinetoram) seemed to improve things, however, so now I am using this at 2 week intervals.

I will keep you guys posted....

That is an interesting development Sonya. I guess they're not too concerned if they haven't asked you to destroy the trees? I didn't need help from the Leaf Curl mite to destroy my dwarf pomegranates....

Noting you are not overtly concerned about letting go of the plant, have you considered repotting into clean new bonsai mix in winter after a nice dip in a fungicide/acaricide? With no leaves and a clean soil, you might hit pay dirt.

Akhi wrote:Noting you are not overtly concerned about letting go of the plant, have you considered repotting into clean new bonsai mix in winter after a nice dip in a fungicide/acaricide? With no leaves and a clean soil, you might hit pay dirt.

Sorry Akhi, I somehow missed your contribution. When I read it just now, I was confused about your reference to "no leaves". Then I remembered that Pomegranates are deciduous, just not here in Brisbane! Biosecurity came out again the other day for a new sample, as the other one was degraded (something about being left on a bench over Christmas). They have reconfirmed it is a mite, but their expert is away so can't tell me if it is exotic. They got hold of an entomologist for advice on treatment and he said:

From what I can tell Folimat is the only systemic product that is registered for flowers ornamental trees and shrubs against ‘mites’. But it’s pretty toxic, you’d want to have full safety gear to apply such a product. And it’s not a good match anyway as it doesn’t cover bearing fruit trees.

Folimat doesn't sound like much fun, and a quick check of the manufacturer's website says it is registered for commercial use only and is too hazardous for use in the home garden. There used to be an aerosol can of the stuff, but it has been discontinued.
I suppose I could do as you suggest and dunk the whole plant in say, Mavrik, but I think the problem would still be that the mites live inside the nodes and won't be affected.

Hi Redsonic,

I know this is an old post but did you ever get a solution for treating the leaf curl? I bought a pomegranate earlier in the year and the leaf curl is quite bad. I have a couple in the ground that have always had the issue but I've never felt the need to treat them, but the one in the pot looks awful.

Matt.

Thanks for the bump Matt - interesting thread. I'm in a fruit fly outbreak area and have guys from PIRSA coming into my yard and spraying various (full-sized) trees every couple of days. I'll try and catch them one day and see if they have any suggestions!