Citrus Spraying
It is getting to be citrus leaf miner time. Time to spray to prevent the devils
from ruining my citrus leaves.
Disclaimer, this is what I use to spray and not a recommendation for anyone else. Do your own calculations, buy the garden center stuff, and use it if it is worth it to you.
"Organic" gardeners skip over this post. Spinosad is considered "organic" but imidicloprid is not. Those concerned with bees might note that imidicloprid is a soil drench applied after citrus blooms so bees can't get poisoned.
I did some quick calculations for imidicloprid soil drench using Bayer Fruit, Citrus, & Vegetable Insect Control 0.235% from garden center vs Dominion 2L 21.4% from ebay. I used the dosage on the Bayer label. Labels for more concentrated imidicloprid typically are ounces per acre for farmers and kind of hard for homeowner to figure out how much to use! The label states use only once per season. For convenience of measurement I'm assuming one teaspoon of Dominion 2L is diluted with 100 teaspoon of water(16.7 oz). This will be my first try at soil drench for in ground tree. Yes I am an engineer.
Bayer 0.235% $16 for 32 ounces at garden center
Dominion 2L 21.4% $23 for 27.5 ounces on Ebay
Results for a citrus tree with a drip line of 3 feet show a cost for treatment of $0.75 for Bayer and $0.01 for Dominion. For a large tree with a 10 foot drip line it would be $10.50 for Bayer and $0.19 for Dominion.
Also did the calcs leaf miner control with spinosad for Fertilome 0.5% spinosad $20/16 oz at garden center vs Conserve SC 11.6% $145/32 oz on ebay. I used the dosage from the Fertilome label which is 2 oz per gallon of spray vs Conserve SC 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of spray. Fertilome costs $2.50 per gallon of spray vs Conserve $.20 per gallon. The catch is you have to buy a quart of Conserve for $145 vs a quart of Fertilome for $20.
from ruining my citrus leaves.
Disclaimer, this is what I use to spray and not a recommendation for anyone else. Do your own calculations, buy the garden center stuff, and use it if it is worth it to you.
"Organic" gardeners skip over this post. Spinosad is considered "organic" but imidicloprid is not. Those concerned with bees might note that imidicloprid is a soil drench applied after citrus blooms so bees can't get poisoned.
I did some quick calculations for imidicloprid soil drench using Bayer Fruit, Citrus, & Vegetable Insect Control 0.235% from garden center vs Dominion 2L 21.4% from ebay. I used the dosage on the Bayer label. Labels for more concentrated imidicloprid typically are ounces per acre for farmers and kind of hard for homeowner to figure out how much to use! The label states use only once per season. For convenience of measurement I'm assuming one teaspoon of Dominion 2L is diluted with 100 teaspoon of water(16.7 oz). This will be my first try at soil drench for in ground tree. Yes I am an engineer.
Bayer 0.235% $16 for 32 ounces at garden center
Dominion 2L 21.4% $23 for 27.5 ounces on Ebay
Results for a citrus tree with a drip line of 3 feet show a cost for treatment of $0.75 for Bayer and $0.01 for Dominion. For a large tree with a 10 foot drip line it would be $10.50 for Bayer and $0.19 for Dominion.
Also did the calcs leaf miner control with spinosad for Fertilome 0.5% spinosad $20/16 oz at garden center vs Conserve SC 11.6% $145/32 oz on ebay. I used the dosage from the Fertilome label which is 2 oz per gallon of spray vs Conserve SC 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of spray. Fertilome costs $2.50 per gallon of spray vs Conserve $.20 per gallon. The catch is you have to buy a quart of Conserve for $145 vs a quart of Fertilome for $20.