Bad news in Prince Edward Island

Controlling pests of bamboo

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Re: Bad news in Prince Edward Island

Post by needmore »

I was checking out your blog and I think I see mite damage on the Ps japonica photo of it in a wrapped pot - was that upon receipt in 2010? Look closely at a couple of the leaves and see if you see damage.
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Bad news in Prince Edward Island

Post by tncry »

Johnw- like I said before, I can't believe how much they propagated in a short time. My plants are relatively small and I usually give them a good inspection everytime I visit.

Brad - The pseudosasa in that wrapped pot came with my first big order from Canada's bamboo world. It was crammed in a box with 6 other plants. None of those plants show any signs of mites. That P japonica spent two winters inside, I never noticed any mites and then spent last winter outside where it suffered total leaf and culm loss.

To make things more confusing, all the other bamboo that show signs of mite damage came from my second big order of bamboo from Canada's Bamboo World the following year. The japonica is the only plant with mites from that original shipment.


TC in PEI
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Re: Bad news in Prince Edward Island

Post by canadianplant »

I think its time to call the bamboo. If its that bad, and been that long, the infestation is more then likely beyond control, at least for the pseudosasa you showed. If something isnt done, im sure it is going to be hard to grow any bamboo without infestation.

Im only saying this due to 2 reasons:

a) If john said that the infestation is as bad as he has said, then there probably isnt much you can do. The line "never seen an infestation this bad outside of BC, not even 1/10 of that" sends the message home

b)There are a good amount of natural predators that eat bamboo mites according to ABS and a few other legitemate sources. Since its been a few years, it looks like you dont have many. The predators wont get rid of them all, more then likely stop them from spreading (which, they seem to be doing). Since they seem to be AWOL, its up to you to do something to stop the spread. Unfortunately, its probably digging up any badly infested plants and burning them (bamboo world might want you to send them the plants to send back though)

Post pics of all of your bamboo, let some mor experienced people see the rest, so we can help you decide what to do with them. the japonica is well beyond help IMO. Again, id get in contact with them as well, and ask them why they are willingly selling "damaged product", with no warnings on the site. Its almost legal grounds for misappropriaton. Again, see if you can get ahold of the "better business beureau". They should be able to tell you if youre legally oblieged to some sort of refund.
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Re: Bad news in Prince Edward Island

Post by Alan_L »

Why would digging up the plants be necessary?
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Re: Bad news in Prince Edward Island

Post by johnw »

Alan - re: canadianplant on digging up the plants.

I ask myself the same question. In the literature there are conflicting reports of bamboo mites over-wintering on and attacking rhizomes. Can anyone comment if this is or is not the case? If it is the case then the PEI case would be a lost cause and digging would be advisable.

Personally I would have chopped off the entire tops of the affected bamboos and burnt them on the spot, a quick job. Pseudosasa japonica is growing in the central part of Prince Edward Island but freezes to the ground every winter, even close to house foundations. So tncry you may not not lose it. Surely any beheaded Phyllos would come back as well. Let's hope some action was taken with all affected plants, if the mites return next year we will know a lot more about their cold tolerance, perhaps more than we want to know. BTW Bamboo mites are found in Hokkaido which has massive amounts of snow and is cold as well - doubt if they see much below freezing temps under meters and meters of snow.

The important thing is to annihilate the mites immediately to both protect the collection and the plants of others in the area. What would others do?

re: the BBB and Canada Bamboo World. A refund after a year or two would be impossible to get; the BBB approach would be hopeless - a bug on a plant, who hasn't bought a plant with a bug on it; I fail to see any legal obligation. The best and perhaps only approach is to broadcast this experience far and wide. The Pseudosasa they sent initially is certainly not up to snuff and given the climate of southern BC it should have been a picture-perfect plant. I suspect by the shape of it that it wintered outside unprotected in a pot - everyone on this forum can grow a better Pseudosasa in a pot than that one.

I am re-assessing my plans to import any more bamboos from the west until I learn more about the threat ..... :roll:

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Re: Bad news in Prince Edward Island

Post by needmore »

Perhaps it is just me but I see potential mite damage on the wrapped japonica on 4 different leaves - the center of the plant is sort of bare, to the right of that a big leaf plus a small one hanging directly above it are suggestive as are a couple on the left.
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Re: Bad news in Prince Edward Island

Post by canadianplant »

Im only going on my knowledge of any mites ive dealt with. If you are really worried about the spread of them, digging up would be a "better safe then sorry" measure. I didnt say "all the plants", but I think the pseudosasa would be a good idea, since its really far gone. Not to say im saying fire isnt effective, just that if there is even a slight chance that they may sit/rest or be in the soil or in the rhizomes at all, would cause me to dig it up. This is coming from someone who would rather save a plant then kill it, usually no matter how far gone it may be. Too much? Possibly.

Also John, you said it better:

"The important thing is to annihilate the mites immediately to both protect the collection and the plants of others in the area. What would others do?"

RE: BBB/return

I can see where you are coming from John. I was thinking more of a product, and AFAIK, plants from a nursery are classified as "product". You might be able to get around some wording. I did say its worth a try. If they gave any mind to customer service, they would do something, again especially concidering there are no warnings on the site about the known mite infestation there (its just common sence and customer service).

I do believe you said youve worked for nurseries, so if the way it works there is different then the general retail rules, please correct me.

Also, I cannot agree more with this statement:
The best and perhaps only approach is to broadcast this experience far and wide. The Pseudosasa they sent initially is certainly not up to snuff and given the climate of southern BC it should have been a picture-perfect plant. I suspect by the shape of it that it wintered outside unprotected in a pot - everyone on this forum can grow a better Pseudosasa in a pot than that one.
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Re: Bad news in Prince Edward Island

Post by johnw »

canadianplant

Yes I've worked for several large west coast nurseries and the guarantee for most if not all wholesalers is that the plants are guaranteed to have left the nursery in fine shape. Once the trucks pick-up that's it. Obviously good nurseries will cover problems noted on receipt, usually if noted on the trucker's copy upon delivery. I worked briefly for a couple of nurseries in Ontario that would not relent on the "upon pick-up" clause and so when I agreed to sell for the west coast nurseries instead they had to agree that if I insisted on a credit they go with it - no questions. Most problems crop up within a week or two so if other customers are also experiencing the same problem then it's hard to disagree with a claim. As far as bugs go that would be difficult, never experienced it. Seems obvious in this PEI case who was at fault.

The present big concern is SODS and so nurseries out west do not even trade material with growers in SODS-affected areas and are hesitant to trade with nurseries outside the affected zone (nurseries that is tht grow SODS susceptible material). If SODS ever was found east one would be obliged to take the same drastic action as one would with bamboo mites. Perhaps PEI agricultural inspectors could raise more than a little hell with Canadian Bamboo World.
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Bad news in Prince Edward Island

Post by tncry »

Image
Here is another pic taken shortly after delivery.

Image
Pic taken one year later.

TC in PEI
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Bad news in Prince Edward Island

Post by tncry »

I figured I would just post pics of most of my bamboo at the moment and comment on their mite situation. Then I can update it next year to see if the mites are spreading and to see if any control methods are working.

Phyllostachys aurea - purchased in Nova Scotia - mite free
Image
Phyllostachys nuda - Canada's Bamboo World - 80% infestation
Image
Phyllostachys aureosulcata harbin inversa - mite free
Image
Phyllostachys aureosulcata aureocaulis - shipment 1 - no mites
Image
Phyllostachys aureosulcata aureocaulis - shipment 2 mite activity on a few of the oldest culms
Image
Phyllostachys aureosulcata spectabilis (a) - from first shipment mite free - 20 feet from japonica
Image
Phyllostachys aureosulcata spectabilis (b) - from second shipment - 50% mite
Image
Phyllostachys aureosulcata alata - from BC - mite free
Image
Phyllostachys aureosulcata alata - from Nova Scotia - mite free
Image

TC in PEI
Last edited by tncry on Fri Oct 12, 2012 10:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Bad news in Prince Edward Island

Post by tncry »

Phyllostachys bissetii - shipment 1 from BC mite free
Image
Phyllostachys bissetii - shipment 2 from BC mite free
Image
Phyllostachys atrovaginata - shipment 1 from BC mite free
Image
Phyllostachys atrovaginata - shipment 2 from BC mite free
Image
Phyllostachys rubromarginata - shipment 1 - mite free
Image
Phyllostachys rubromarginata - shipment 2 - mite free
Image

All Fargesia have no signs of mites.
Image
TC in PEI
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Re: Bad news in Prince Edward Island

Post by johnw »

tncry wrote:Image
Pic taken one year later.TC in PEI
I'm pretty sure I see might damage in the above photo.

If you drop down directly from that righthand 2nd storey window and look at the first two big leaves directly below it, the first two pointing towards the viewer (one on the right has a slightly burnt tip), I think I see those diagnostic white rectangles.

Brad am I seeing things? Can you confirm?

You've got a really good collection going in PEI. I hope you took time to eliminate those plants that threaten the rest.

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Re: Bad news in Prince Edward Island

Post by needmore »

I see what you see John and also think I see it upon arrival a year earlier, part of the reason it looked crappy upon arrival mite have been an attempt at might removal :drunken: by the vendor.

It could well be that it had a residual infestation upon arrival, that slowly woke up and this year really did well for a mite colony. I've mentioned before that I've had them here but not for a few years now so I think my winter killed them off maybe 3 years ago? Never had it bad, saw them upon arrival from the vendor, thought I'd cleaned them off as the infected plant looked stable but found them down the road on my Sasa megallophylla. Also remember getting a Sasa from TN that had mites and the vendor 'gave it a haircut' - his language - he clear cut the sod as it was March and we left the foliage with him before I drove off so that could be where my other Sasa got them.

Ps japonica is not such a nice cold area bamboo that I'd probably kill and burn that one, the others maybe cut to the ground treat the area and hope for a snowless cold snap?
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Re: Bad news in Prince Edward Island

Post by ShmuBamboo »

johnw wrote:Bamboo mites! Other mites would not be a concern with frost in a few weeks.
Last I heard there the at least 3 types of bamboo spider mites floating around. I have never made a distinction between them or ID'd them under a microscope, but there seem to be some that are less progressive than others. I have been to some large boo plantations that have massive boo mite infestations, and some that just have spotty infestations. Most large boo plantations in the west have some boo mites that I have seen myself. If I get some iffy boos from a source that I am not sure about, I will quaranteen them in a corner of my property and soak them with ag oil.

I am suprized that you cannot get ag oil in Canada. I read that Neem oil is being taken off the shelves in Canada as of December, 2012 after some accidental death of a child (hard to believe that story though). I use the Lilly Miller insecticidal oil and it seems to work well. I have no boo mites here anyway. I am rather selective about any new boos I bring here now. Also for that reason I trade only rhizomes online through this forum. Mites are not easilly transfered through rhizomes, and I do not believe that they can survive on rhizomes.

If I had a bad infestation, I would cut the worst culms out and burn them. I would psray the area around them with ag oil, and then I would treat with Avid (mixed with a spreader), and then rotate their diet with other miticides until they were gone. Oregon is pretty open about pesticides, for better and worse. Anyone here can buy the most potent herbicides and pesticides. In California you need a license to buy and apply the more potent herbicides. Ag oil is not restricted in any US states that I am aware of. It and herbicides like Roundup are available pretty much everywhere.

Here are some good posts on boo mites:

http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/ ... b1992e.pdf
http://mayagardensinc.com/bamboo-pests/
http://oregonstate.edu/dept/nurspest/Ba ... oomite.htm
http://www.ent.orst.edu/urban/PDF%20Fil ... _(web).pdf
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted_sites/acaro ... asp04c.pdf
Happy trails...
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Re: Bad news in Prince Edward Island

Post by Tarzanus »

Last year I've had a lot of mites inside. Bamboo seedlings were not affected much, but some other overwintering plants looked like crap. This year I bought something to fight flea infections, and it seems to kill everything. I have to test if it's phytotoxic - it shouldn't be. One bottle should be enough for a couple of years. :mrgreen:
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