Nematodes....the bane of the sandy gardener

[Alicehunter2000]

I have recently planted a Trachycarpus wagnerianus and am starting to worry that maybe I should have added a large area of organics to the really sandy soil. Certain fruit trees like peaches have a hard time in this area due to nematodes and now I'm wondering if I should be paying more attention to this problem as more Trachy species will be planted in the future.

Lets talk about nematodes and what you have done to alleviate the problem. What organic and non-organic amendments are the best at controlling this problem? What palms are most affected by nematodes?

"Organic amendments can be added to soil as compost, manure, green manure, or other materials (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vh037). Organic matter can help prevent nematode damage in several ways. The organic matter increases the ability of the soil to hold water and nutrients, and it improves soil structure. This makes a better environment for most plants and can help the plants survive in spite of the nematodes. Organic amendments can also increase natural enemies of nematodes that suppress the nematode populations. Some organic amendments can release chemicals or gases that are toxic to the nematodes.

There are several “organic” nematode management products for sale. Researchers with the University of Florida have worked with a number of these, but probably not all of them. In the majority of cases, these products work no better than adding any other, less expensive, organic material."

[Peter G]

This is what I'm dealing with!

I have moved so much sand out of my garden over the years it isn't funny. When planting I dig a pretty large hole, put some sheep manure at the bottom, then fill with organic based soil and mulch after planting. Every few weeks I am applying products such as Charlie Carp, Seasol, Rooster Booster, some NTS products. In Summer I use trace elements and Nutricote Total.

Tyrone would be a good source of information when it comes to sandy soils.

[Peter G]

Same area 5 years on

[Shirleypalmpaws]

PeterG, just wow on those before-n-after shots….such beautiful work!

I'm very uneducated about nematodes, well, except the warning that nematodes are bad, and that some plants are attractive hosts. Then I stumbled on some nematodes are good. Do the beneficial ones destroy the bad ones? Is it an option to pursue?

[Eric in Orlando]

They are bad here where the soil is usually very porous sand. Chamaedorea and Trachycarpus are the most susceptible I have found. Chamaedorea microspadix is about the only one that is fairly resistant.

[tropicbreeze]

There's over 20,000 species of nematodes, so you're talking about a few members of a very large group. Some nematodes are predators on other nematode species (as well as fungus, bacteria, etc.). And then there's fungus and bacteria that kill nematodes. It's a bloodthirsty hellhole down there in the soil. Adding a lot of organic matter will help keep the different sides fairly balanced but won't completely get rid of your problem nematodes. They're quite tough little critters, the only living organisms to survive the Columbia space shuttle disaster.

[JMBreland]

Which nematodes affect Trachycarpus and Chamaedorea palms?

[JLeVert]

Dr. Wilcox told me to take kaolin and soak it in water to make a milky tea and then water the Trachy's with the stuff. Apparently it would add enough clay to the soil to discourage the nematodes. Also, a heavy mulch around shaded roots will help. I've seen Trachy's do fine and then canopy trees were removed and the palms succumbed to nematodes pretty quickly. I'm in straight sand as well and lost some beautiful Waggies to the 'todes'.