Does my Palm have Mealy Bugs?

[LOONEY]

Hi fellow Palm fans.

 

I have a canary island date palm that is about 10 years old and has fronds that extend about 2-3m in length from the .5m tall trunk.

I inspected it 1-2 weeks ago and it was looking relatively healthy, it had some minor yellow spots so i presumed it needed some magnesium and potasium so i fertilised it.

I just went to inspect it when i got home today and in the space of the last week or so i've noticed all of the lower fronds (probably 20 of them) have white growths all over them. I've done some googling and cant seem to work out if it's scale or Mealy bug.

I took a couple of photo's and wonder if anyone could chime in as to whether they know what this is?

 

 

[PalmatierMeg]

Mostly mealy bugs but I think I see scale, too. Treat both with imidacloprid drench but in the meantime give its leaves a good blast with a hose. If you are fearful of insecticides give leaves a wipe down with ivory soap (not detergent) in water but beware of spines. You could also apply soapy water with a pressure making sure to hit top/bottom of leaves, crevices and stem.

[LOONEY]

Thank you for the response. These things are on there really solidly, I couldn't even pull them off by hand, so suspect I may not be able to even pressure them off with a hose. :/  But I'll head to the garden centre after work today to get the appropriate chemicals.

 

Is this a winnable battle? Or is this potentially fatal for the tree?

[oasis371]

I think it's winnable.  You don't have to aim for getting every last one of the critters, it's a question of manageable control.  Once you reduce the number, the plant will get stronger.  Funny, I noticed odd, tiny black pests on mine today (overwintered in a garage), may be a type of scale but unlike scale I have seen in the past (maybe eggs?)..., also very adhesive to the plant. and mostly on older foliage. New growth from last month is clear. When I get a chance I am going to wash the fronds with some soapy water and use a gentle scrub brush and the hose, then insecticidal soap when it dries out.

Edited May 5, 2022 by oasis371

[Looking Glass]

When I’ve had them bad on some plants, and I’ve done the @PalmatierMeg treatment described above, hitting them once systemically , and also with homemade soapy water, or insecticidal soap from the store for a few rounds every week.  That seems to do the trick.  After you hit the adults, you’ve got to go back and hit the crawler hatchlings again as they emerge.  

[LOONEY]

Hi everyone,

Time for an update.  and I wonder if anyone can help now.  I immediately cleared the leaves as best I could with a hose, and hit the entire tree with "White oi" as it was all i could get my hands on at the time (Neem oil is hard to find here in Aus).

it has then rained for 10 days straight. 

Today was the first rain free day, and I have some Neem oil, so i doused the entire tree at sundown in neem oil.

In doing so i noticed some of the fronds (even the new growth) seem to have significant holes and damage in them. I have some pictures below, is it possible this is some worse thing such as fusarium wilt etc? The reason i ask is the tree was really healty, until the local council came and trimmed it 6 weeks ago, and it's since then that i've noticed yellow spots, these white growths, and now damaged fronds.