Weekend Gardener: Protecting plants from citrus leafminer
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – There’s something you should check for right now to protect your citrus plants.
“This time of year is when we start worrying about citrus leafminer,” said Dr. Tim Hartmann with Texas A&M AgriLife. “If you look, this is a sheet I brought from home actually. You can see most of the leaves look nice and healthy, but some of these are kind of disfigured looking. If you look carefully, it almost looks like there are little tunnels in there, and that’s exactly what’s happening. There are little caterpillars that have hatched and are feeding on the inside, tunneling through that leaf.”
Hartmann said it may not be a big deal in a larger tree, but a heavy infestation in a younger tree can slow it down.
“One way you could treat for this problem would be you could do a systemic insecticide, but you’ve got to be careful. You don’t want to do that too close to fruit,” said Hartmann.
He said you can use softer chemicals like neem oil and Spinosad.
Watch the video in the player above to learn more about protecting your citrus.
