Agave guadalajarana, sick.

[leomx]

what could be possible happening to this little fellow? it was so nice and now it´s got those greasy stains and that necrotic damage.

[Matt Maggio]

Your plant has an advanced case of Agave mite, one of the worst pests ever. It's an Eriophyid mite similar to the Aloe mite.

I would give a nice eulogy... then toss it immediately!!

[Allen Repashy]

Search the Agave forum for "Agave Mite". There is a thread with some more info. A. guadalajarana is one of the most susceptible species. I have been trying the new miticide spiromesifen (Forbid 4f) and having some very promising results so far for treating both Agave and Aloe Mite. If the plant isn't really special to you I would remove it from your property and burn the ground it grew on . It is very "contagious" so to speak, and your other plants are at high risk.

Allen

[Matt Maggio]

I know spiromesifen has translaminar mobilty because I was looking to get Judo with the same AI. For anyone not aware, that term means the chemical moves into the leaf surface to act on pests feeding beneath the epidermis. This is crucial for controlling these mites because that's where most of the population resides.
Allen: Are doing anything else when you spray? - surfactants?, partial coring? Keep us posted with your results... this is an important and nasty pest. I will advise you and others to alternate treatments with at least one other miticide... with a different mode of action. This should prevent pest resistance. Another possibility, if you can legally acquire it, is Pylon... it's freakin' expensive too. One needs a lot of agaves to justify a basket of miticides.

Matt

[Allen Repashy]

It has been about three months since I walked around and shot every Agave I could find with signs of the mite. A particularly bad A. macroacantha has been my most observed specimen. After only a few weeks, the classic grease marks had dried up and started looking 'dusty' for lack of a better word. The new flush of leaf's on the plant now look pretty good. A little damage, but it isn't greasy. I alternated with sevin at about six weeks, and just hit the plants again with Forbid a week ago. I also noticed for the first time, some mite damage on some one gallon Furcraea roezleii.
I think the waiting period to see if it is really working can be significant if the mite has been down in the crown of the plant. it can take quite a long time for the plant to flush through all the growth. I think another two or three months will tell the whole tale, but general observation is that the specimens are showing really good signs of improvement.
I was putting a drop per gallon of my palmolive surfactant in the solution, as well as using distilled water... would a little DMSO be a consideration?

[Matt Maggio]

I'd have to look and see what's in my surfactants... thought I saw dimethyl something... but something to that effect. The most important thing is to break the surface tension. Try it on a few plants on a sunny day and see if you get phytotoxicity or not.
One should assume that plants around those with visible symptoms also have the mite. I try and spray everything.

[Tim Harvey]

I love Forbid; cool structure, mechanism of action and bioavailability!!

T

[Matt Maggio]

...love the name too

[leomx]

Oh that´s a shame! just checked forbid price and it´s just too expensive. guess would have to toss it.

thank you guys.

[Steve Steward]

Has anyone considered stylet oil? It is said to work on Aloe mite, so perhaps it's worth a shot. I have not used it yet because I read it had to be applied at at least 400 psi (!!!???) and I just don't have that kind of firepower. Any experiences with this?

[rpw]

This may be a stupid question, but I figure you guys might know the answer...
Is neem oil any good as a miticide?
Peyton

[Allen Repashy]

I don't think any kind of an oil will do much beyond give the mites that are on the surface of the plant a hard time. In order for an oil to work, I believe it has to contact the pest directly while it is on the surface. If the mite is inside the tissue, it won't even know the oil is on the surface.

[Steve Steward]

As i understand it, the mites reside in microscopic fissures (correct me if i'm wrong) and the more refined the emulsified oil, the more it penetrates into the fissures. This was according to Dr. Jared Wheeler from the UofA. I don't know how much he knows about agaves or aloes however.

Steve

[Matt Maggio]

I'm always leery of oils... have damaged agaves with a few different kinds before. Products that are emulsified usually contain a solvent, those can be damaging to the cuticle as well.

[agavegreg]

I agree with Matt, I used some of Dr. Wheeler's emulsifying oil with dimethoate and killed a bunch of small A. ovatifolia

Greg

[Allen Repashy]

I have been doing a bit of research on the use of DMSO as a surfactant and found some interesting stuff.... My thought process with Aloe mite and Agave mite is that because this bug can live inside the gall, it takes penetration of the miticide into the tissue to have any effect. As mentioned already, Forbid is advertised to have this translaminar effect.. DMSO is a solvent that can increase penetration of it's solution into both plant and animal tissue. I found reference to it being used to that effect invitro and with herbicides... Might be worth playing around with to get at these buggers...

JSTOR: An Error Occurred Setting Your User Cookie

Herbicidal compositions containing DMSO - US Patent 6133200 Description

[Tim Harvey]

I would prefer to know whether these products will work as they are (I suspect they will).

Be careful with DMSO, as it will carry chemicals through gloves and your skin into you very easily. It is also cytotoxic so has the potential to damage plants on its own.

T

[Allen Repashy]

Point well taken Tim....

I wish I was a little smarter back in the days when I pitched baseball and the other guys said.... Hey, put this stuff all over your elbow and it will make it so you can pitch.... Don't worry about that funny taste you get in your mouth after

Problem is that it worked!.. not sure what it did to me, but at least I am still alive! LOL.

[Steve Steward]

Yeah, but it stunted your growth allen