This is the article:www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article134592774.html
This is my reply:
I’m a commercial avocado grower in Homestead, Florida. Thanks you for bringing the plight of the industry to the public’s attention. I will like to point out certain inaccuracies in your piece.
First Xyleborus glabratus or the Red Bay Ambrosia Beetle is not a problem in Homestead’s avocado groves. I believe only a few have been found in the last 12 months. There are at least two other beetles locally that have now become vectors of the Laurel wilt fungus. These other beetles have a different mode of action. These two are more attracted to stressed avocado trees. Unless these materials are tested and work on a broad spectrum of borers this announcement can give people unrealistic expectation that the solution is near. The fact that it only repels 90% of one species can give people a wrong sense of security. It takes only one beetle to inoculated an kill the tree.
Right now I would say that most trees in commercial groves are dying from root transmission of the pathogen rather that beetle inoculation. Trees that were infected by beetles allowed to stay dead on the ground for too long or just cut and roots left in place. The pathogen stays underground for a long time moving from tree to tree. An improperly attended infected tree can set in motion a chain of events that can take dozens of trees.
I personally find the problem very manageable. in my 20 acres with 2700 trees I lost 1 tree in February 2016 and 4 from a lightning strike in September 2016, with subsequent inoculation from beetles. (lightning strike assures beetle attraction and boring activity) these events if handled properly end right there. The is a protocol from UF in handling these events I adhere to it, strictly, and enhance it with a nutritional program design to keep my trees in optimal condition. So you see, there is more a grower can do than just wait for the tree to die and then remove it.
These beetles are not going away, we just have to learn how to deal with the problem effectively. So far beetles are winning, but not in my grove.
Regards
Carlos de la Torre
I’m a commercial avocado grower in Homestead, Florida. Thanks you for bringing the plight of the industry to the public’s attention. I will like to point out certain inaccuracies in your piece.
First Xyleborus glabratus or the Red Bay Ambrosia Beetle is not a problem in Homestead’s avocado groves. I believe only a few have been found in the last 12 months. There are at least two other beetles locally that have now become vectors of the Laurel wilt fungus. These other beetles have a different mode of action. These two are more attracted to stressed avocado trees. Unless these materials are tested and work on a broad spectrum of borers this announcement can give people unrealistic expectation that the solution is near. The fact that it only repels 90% of one species can give people a wrong sense of security. It takes only one beetle to inoculated an kill the tree.
Right now I would say that most trees in commercial groves are dying from root transmission of the pathogen rather that beetle inoculation. Trees that were infected by beetles allowed to stay dead on the ground for too long or just cut and roots left in place. The pathogen stays underground for a long time moving from tree to tree. An improperly attended infected tree can set in motion a chain of events that can take dozens of trees.
I personally find the problem very manageable. in my 20 acres with 2700 trees I lost 1 tree in February 2016 and 4 from a lightning strike in September 2016, with subsequent inoculation from beetles. (lightning strike assures beetle attraction and boring activity) these events if handled properly end right there. The is a protocol from UF in handling these events I adhere to it, strictly, and enhance it with a nutritional program design to keep my trees in optimal condition. So you see, there is more a grower can do than just wait for the tree to die and then remove it.
These beetles are not going away, we just have to learn how to deal with the problem effectively. So far beetles are winning, but not in my grove.
Regards
Carlos de la Torre
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