Archive for September, 2009

Invasion!

Posted in Fruit trees on September 12th, 2009 by rmd – Be the first to comment

Psyllid sounds like Cylon, but it’s more District 9 than BSG. These guys are smaller than Prawns or skin-jobs. Also they are not intelligent and don’t have guns. And they’re from Asia, via Mexico, not outer space.

Asian citrus psyllids in Echo Park! They carry Huanglongbing, a plant disease that threatens the state’s citrus industry.

So far, our Nagami kumquat, Meyer lemon, Bearsss lime and Valencia orange are psyllid-free. The Dept of Food and Ag is spraying insecticides that go by innocuous sounding names like Tempo and Merit. We aren’t even in spraying range, because the bug was found on a backyard calamondin south of the 101 in Filipinotown. I’m not one to panic, either about insecticides or the demise of California’s citrus growers, but I’m glad we won’t get sprayed. In the meantime, I’ll be on the lookout for eggs like this:

Right now, I’m more concerned about getting the poor trees out of the pots and doing something about those nasty leafminers who are threatening my supply of cocktail ingredients.