Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub

[PricklyPearSATX]

I've got a lot of Texas rhino beetles in my yard. They are palm borers. I'm trying to prevent infestations on my young (mostly one gallon) transplants.

Is it safe to use Bayer 12 Month Tree and Shrub Insect Control with 1.47% Imidacloprid on my new transplants?

It seems to be the only product approved for borers...

Thank You Very Much.

[Ken Johnson]

Sounds like "Take two asprin and call me in the morning" LOL

I use cygon and there are many other preventitive brands out there. The trick is getting the stuff into the palm, which is what happens with systemic insecticides. While these don't hurt the palm too much it is much better than larve boring into them.

I would bet that it is ok for young palms. Ever see evidence of borers in your young palms?

[Jeff Searle]

Linda,

Unless it states on the label, do not use on palms(which I doubt) then I think your safe. To make sure, spray a few of your common palms as a test and wait a week or so. You should know by then if the product is safe or not.

Jeff

[kahili]

I don't know why it wouldn't be safe for palms-it is used for a lot of different types of plants in various forms-like Marathon and Merit.

I think she is going to make up a solution and drench the soil with it. Its a systemic. It will last about 30 days.

Linda-forget what it says on the label-it wont last 12 months, you will have to reapply it for as long as you think the beetles are active

[Mark_NoVA]

I recall it saying on the label that it does last for 12 months.

  kahili said:

I don't know why it wouldn't be safe for palms-it is used for a lot of different types of plants in various forms-like Marathon and Merit.

I think she is going to make up a solution and drench the soil with it. Its a systemic. It will last about 30 days.

Linda-forget what it says on the label-it wont last 12 months, you will have to reapply it for as long as you think the beetles are active

[CromulentKevin]

I was considering using this product on some of my tall trees that I can't spray because I seem to possibly have some scale/miting or something up there. I definitely have scale on some of my smaller trees, so I figure it is possible the same thing is up there. But I have no idea how much to apply or if the big palms will even suck the stuff up systemically. The stuff is very expensive and I don't want to throw my money away or hurt the tree. The application instructions are for woody trees and tell you to measure the trunk diameter. But there is much less volume of tree on a palm of the same diameter as a real tree. It seems like it'd be way overkill to follow the trunk diameter instructions since they were designed for real trees, not palms.

[PricklyPearSATX]

I really appreciate the tip regarding testing on a sample, then waiting a week. I will go that route.

Ken: There are burrow holes in the ground next to these palms. There were holes at the base of the palms.

Rhino beetles are a major palm pest in Mexico and Texas. (I never knew that until last week.) Could be that if their population is high they get to palms. Usually these bugs aren't very common in most yards, but for some reason they decided to gravitate to my yard..

Edited August 11, 2008 by PricklyPearSATX

[_Keith]

  PricklyPearSATX said:

Thank You Very Much, Jeff and Kahili.

I really appreciate the tip regarding testing on a sample, then waiting a week. That is very helpful.

Even better is to test it on a few of your neighbors plants. :-)

[PricklyPearSATX]

  Keith from So. Louisiana said:

  PricklyPearSATX said:

Thank You Very Much, Jeff and Kahili.

I really appreciate the tip regarding testing on a sample, then waiting a week. That is very helpful.

Even better is to test it on a few of your neighbors plants. :-)

LOL-My neighbor doesn't have palms.

I've used it before, but usually on mature plants. No problems.

[Jeff Searle]

Linda,

Any chamce of seeing some pictures of your garden?

Jeff

[SubTropicRay]

I use a couple of Bayer products on my palms and crotons and have yet to see any negative effects.

Ray

[TikiRick]

This is a great product. However, it does kill fish, any aquatic life, and all honey bees.

[PricklyPearSATX]

  Jeff Searle said:

Linda,

Any chamce of seeing some pictures of your garden?

Jeff

Sure. Thanks for asking.

Dead Rhinoceros beetle found this morning.

Hole Next To Med Fan Palm

[PricklyPearSATX]

The spear pulled on the Med Fan Palm August 4. Prior to that it was very healthy. It didn't require much supplemental irrigationa and we're in exceptional drought. On August 3rd, I noticed it was wilting and I assumed it needed water. I watered it. It didn't perk up. Next day, spear pulled. It had a little bit of dusky black at the base of the spear which looked like a fungus. It didn't smell.

I then noticed a cavity at the bottom. This made me think it was a pathogen.

Here is how the Med Fan Palm looked this morning. Note the newest leaves look dry:

And a picture of the trunk with the cavity:

[PricklyPearSATX]

I sent the spear to Texas A&M, but called U. of Florida because they have a palm pathology lab. Talked with a staff member and she said to check for insects. That is when I saw this hole next to the plant. When I dug the hole, it had a beetle grub in it. (It wasn't a weevil) Like a june bug, it had legs, it moved fast, it had a mouth. Didn't even know whether this beetle grub had anything to do with anything. The hole was right next to the cavity.

(oops picture is repeat, but it follows the story)

Edited August 11, 2008 by PricklyPearSATX

[PricklyPearSATX]

Here is a close up of the trunk of a healthy med fan palm for comparision. (The color is kind of orange on the unhealthy plant)

The color appears normal. Camera is a little "off".

Edited August 11, 2008 by PricklyPearSATX

[PricklyPearSATX]

Another picture of another plant: A sabal minor. The two newest leaves discolored a few weeks ago. Turned whitish striped. The outer leaves were OK.

It was 5 leafed seedling, planted mar 2008. Spear pulled the day after I noticed discoloration. I knew it was a goner. So, I took it out. Here is picture of the cavity in this one.

This one had the exact same type of hole in the ground, right next to the base of the plant.

It's kind of hard to see things as the sample had been in my frig for several days and degraded a bit.

Both the sabal minor and med fan palm have blackish thready erosion of tissue at the base of the cavities in each plant. The other sides of the base of each plant were intact.

This plant was in a completely different bed. It was getting regular irrigation. At first I thought was due to the irrigation.

Both of these plants were planted this year. Both went bad within a week of each other.

(I've also got pics of another sabal minor with a discolored spear. It happened a week before the other stuff. But this is getting too confusing. We can elaborate on that if needed. )

Jeff: Thank you so very much for looking at my pictures.

Edited August 11, 2008 by PricklyPearSATX

[PricklyPearSATX]

Jeff:

I thought that this specific rhino beetle was fairly common through out the south. I checked University of Florida Entomology database. It wasn't there.

When I search for Strategus aloeus, I mostly get Texas sites. ( In TX databases it's function is: decomposer. A supposed beneficial, but I think the beneficial part is a bit of hype simply because it looks like it could be a danger to people. It's the kind of bug that little kids get all excited about etc. )

Apparently this specific rhino beetle is more common in Mexico than the US and it is a documented pest in palm crops down there.

So, you may not have heard of this one.

Here is an article from Mexico about strategus aloeus and palms.

Once again thank you so much for helping me on this!!!!!

***************************************************************

The Presence of Strategus aloeus L. (Scarabaeidae) in the State of Tabasco, Mexico

Saúl Sánchez S. y Carlos F. Ortiz G

ASD Oil Palm Papers, No.16, 31-34. 1997

Abstract

A report dating from 1986 indicates that the Asian rhinocerous beetle Oryctes rhinoceros L. was found associated with coconut palms in the State of Tabasco. However, more recent observations showed that the species in question could quite possibly have been Strategus aloeus L.

Introduction

Various species of coleopterans of the Scarabeidae family, commonly referred to as rhinocerous beetles, are important pests in many palms, including the oil and the coconut palms. The genus Oryctes is found in the old world, while Stategus is found in the Americas (Bachy 1963, Child 1964, Piggott 1964, Lever 1969).

O. rhinoceros is found to be widespread is Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands (Lever 1969, Hill 1975). The damage is caused by the adults, which feed on the center of the plant's crown, including new leaves which have yet to open. When these leaves open, they show a characteristic deformity in the form of V--shaped cuts. In coconut palms, the spathes and inflorescences are also commonly attacked. The plants may die either as a result of direct destruction of the growth points or of infections caused by opportunist pathogens. Sometimes the damage is aggravated due to the attraction of other coleopterans from the genus Rhynchophorus to the already--damaged areas (Menón and Pandalai 1958, Hartley 1967, Wood 1976, Taffin 1993).

According to External Quarantine number 16, currently in effect in Mexico, O. rhinoceros is not present in the country. However, Salcedo (1986) refers to its presence on the Tabasco coast, in association with young coconut palms. Due to the importance of this pest in Asia, it was considered of utmost importance to either confirm its presence in Mexico or invalidate the above--mentioned report.

Methodology

Information was gathered on the morphology of Oryctes rhinoceros adults and the type of damage caused (Menón and Pandalai 1958, Child 1964, Piggott 1964, Lever 1969, Taffin 1993) in order to study and compare the species of the Scarabaeidae family housed in the entomological collection at the Postgraduate School, Tabasco campus. Subsequently, field trips were made to coconut palm plantations in order to search for evidence of damage caused by O. rhinoceros and to collect beetles associated with the crop. This project was carried out between October, 1996 and August, 1997.

Results and discussion

S. aloeus is found in widespread distribution in the Americas, and is a common pest in coconut and oil palms (Bondar 1940, Hartley 1967, Mariau 1976, Genty et al. 1978, Chinchilla 1997). It is found in almost all the states of Mexico (Morón et al. 1997), and has been classified as a species detrimental to the coconut palm (García 1981).

Besides Salcedo's (1986) report on the presence of O. rhinoceros in Tabasco, there is no indication of its presence in Mexico. However, various observations point to the incorrect identification of Strategus aloeus as O rhinoceros.

Although O. rhinoceros and S. aloeus are generally similar in appearance, there are notable morphological differences between them. One of these is the position of the ceratoid projection or horn on the front part of the body. In O. rhinoceros, it appears on the head, while in S. aloeus it is seen on the forward edge of the pronotum (Menón and Pandalai 1958). The males of the species S. aloeus also display two other horn--like projections on the sides of the pronotum, which do not appear in O. rhinoceros.

Salcedo (1986) notes that O. rhinoceros attacks young coconut palm plants (under three years old). However, this species is actually capable of attacking plants of any age (Piggott 1967, Lever 1969, Hill 1975). Strategus aloeus normally restricts its activity to young palms, especially those in their first two years in the field (Hartley 1967, Lever 1969, Mariau 1976, Genty et al. 1978).

The feeding patterns of O. rhinoceros and S. aloeus show notable variation. The first species establishes itself in the bud of the plant and then works its way down to the terminal shoot. The adult S. aloeus digs into the base of the plant and then works its way up (Child 1964, Piggott 1964, Fremond et al. 1966, Hartley 1967, Lever 1969, Genty et al. 1978). Conclusions

The presence of the Asiatic Rhinocerous Beetle Oryctes rhinoceros could not be confirmed in Tabasco. However, the species Strategus aloeus was found in association with coconut palms, and it is very possible that this species had been incorrectly identified as O. rhinoceros in the past.

In Tabasco and other Mexican states, plans are currently being carried out to introduce oil palm cultivation, with S. aloeus expected to be part of the fauna detrimental to the new crop.

References

Bachy, A.1963. Insectes et animaux nuisables au palmier a huile. Oléagineux 18(1): 15--18.

Bedford, G.O. 1977. Informe sobre al visita a México del 7 de diciembre de 1976 al 25 de enero de 1977. Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas. Facultad Tecnológica de Sydney. Australia. 25 p.

Bondar, G. 1940. Insectos nocivos e molestias do coqueiro (Cocos nucifera) no Brasil. Tipografía Naval. Bahía, Brasil. 160 p.

Child, R. 1964. Coconuts. Tropical Agriculture Series. Longmans. London. 216 p.

Chinchilla, C.M. 1997. Fauna perjudicial en palma aceitera. In: Memorias del Curso Aspectos Generales del Cultivo de la palma Aceitera. ASD de Costa Rica. 49 p.

Fremond, Y., R. Ziller et M.N. de Lamothe. 1996. Le cocotier. Techniques Agricoles et Productions Tropicales. VIII. G.--P. Maisonnueve & Larose. Paris. 267 p.

García M., C. 1981. Lista de insectos y ácaros perjudiciales a los cultivos en México. Fitófilo 86:7--196.

Genty, P.M R.D. de Chenon et J.P. Morin. 1978. Les ravageus du palmier a huile en Amérique Latine. Oléagineux 33 (7) : 324--420.

Hartley, C.W.S. 1967. The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.). Longmans. London. 706 p.

Hill, D.S. 1975. Agricultural insect pest of the tropics and their control. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. 516 p.

Lever, R.J.A.W. 1969. Pests of the coconut palm. FAO. Rome. 190 p.

Mariau, D. 1976. Insect pest in South America. In: Oil Palm Research. Developments in Crop Science (1). Corley, R.H.V., J.J. Hardon and B.J. Wood (eds.). Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company. Amsterdam. pp. 387--393.

Menon, K.P.V. and K.M. Pandalai. 1958. The coconut palm a monograph. Indian Central Cococut Committee. Pyarelal Sah at the Times of India Press. Bombay. 384 p.

Morón, M.A., B.C. Ratcliffe y C. Deloya. 1997. Atlas de los escarabajos de México. Coleoptera: Lamellicornia. Vol. I Familia Melolonthidae. Subfamilias Rutelinae, Dynastinae, Cetoniinae, Trichiinae, Valgine y Melolonthinae. Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad, y Sociedad Mexicana de Entomología. México. 280 p.

Pigott, C.J. 1964. Coconut growing. Oxford University Press. London. 109 p.

Salcedo G., J.G. 1986. La producción coprera en el estado de Tabasco. Colección Cuadernos Universitarios. Serie Agronomía No. 11. Universidad Autónoma Chapingo. México. 186 p.

Taffin, G. de. 1993. Le cocotier. Le Technicien d' Agrilculture Tropicale. 25 Maisonneuve & Larose. Paris. 166 p.

Wood, B.J. 1976. Insect pest in south east Asia. In: Oil Palm Research. Developments in Crop Science (1). Corley, R.H.V., J.J. Hardon and B.J. Wood (eds.). Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company. Amsterdam. pp. 347--367.

[Tala]

Linda I've used Merit (which is same a.i. as yours - imidacloprid) on 1-leaf sdlgs so its safe for your palms, just follow the label. It is a systemic, the palm will move the insecticide to the new growth for about 2-4 months, depends on weather patterns & plant's growth. So it will protect the palm for a while after application. The sole caveat is some of the plant material has to be eaten for the pest insect to be affected. Unfortunately there is no repel mode of action (with this product). For that you may have to apply something that has a.i. bifenthrin or another synthetic pyrethroid.

Edited August 11, 2008 by Tala