Aside from color, the strangest thing so far is that the leaves don't unfurl from the center whorl properly... and become "glued together" I'm confident they'll eventually grow out of it, but my concern in the long-run is that the trunks will form a weak-kink at that spot... or the apical meristems will die altogether... then I'll have to wait sometime for them to branch. In either case, the Aloe mite can return again in that time span. We'll have to observe and see, conduct more test sprays, and maybe play with the rate (never exceeding the highest on the label), but I'd be looking for other products in the meantime. Another one with good translaminar activity is Pylon (chlorfenapyr), but this is an ATP inhibitor (other potential problems in plants). I know they have been using Pylon at Rancho S. I'd be interested in observations of that chemical's effects as well.
I just procured a jug of super systemic Safari insecticide. Being a neonicotinoid, it's a nerve poison. It's not labeled for controlling mites, but I'll have to see if it controls them incidentally.
Last edited by Matt Maggio; 09-22-2010 at 01:03 AM.
Reason: spelling correction
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