BajaNomad - Too late to plant trees and bushes now?

Planting at this time is not a problem. Perfectly o.k.! And YES the winds were brutally this year. Knocking over our oleanders as well. More important four of our Ficus Benjamini are crippling. They are about ten years old. Last year more than 6 feet high having perfect dark green leaves they are now turning to cripples. Leaves falling off being pale green. Dying branches. They are getting water every second , third day. More water dosn`t help at all. Normally in summer they are getting rid of some leaves when not supported w/ enough water. That`s normal. Anybody knows something about that??

might be soil fungus. i have had similar symptoms on ficus and neem trees.
i treat the soil with a fungicide and buckhorn the affected trees. also apply the fungicide to adjacent trees. its a good idea to treat your shoes and tools with a bleach solution. if you keep it moist, it may survive.
if you can toss some malla sombra over it sick tree it will aid in recovery. good luck

pacificobob - 4-16-2021 at 07:06 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Bob and Susan

i've planted a couple here

an oleander bush would be ok if watered
ficus trees love the heat but you have to water them

the fruit trees will burn and die no matter what you do

if you are going to be there all summer you could try anything but
if you leave its too late in the season...

it never seems to work out with having people water for you in
the summer...dont count

i have all electric automatic sprinklers that come on with the timer
this is the ONLY way to go

the sun is BRUTAL in the summer months on new plantings
OCT is the BEST month to plant

baja California has many micro climates. we live in the todos,pescadero area. a more mild climate than the SOC.
i will be putting a couple citrus and avocados this week. they will do as well as the other 70 fruit trees planted in all months. most people don't "get" what plants require. transplanting is traumatic in the best of conditions...i agree, nobody will irrigate like the owner will.
[Edited on 4-16-2021 by pacificobob]

[Edited on 4-16-2021 by pacificobob]

[Edited on 4-16-2021 by pacificobob]

JC43 - 4-16-2021 at 09:26 PM

might be soil fungus. i have had similar symptoms on ficus and neem trees.
i treat the soil with a fungicide and buckhorn the affected trees. also apply the fungicide to adjacent trees. its a good idea to treat your shoes and tools with a bleach solution. if you keep it moist, it may survive.
if you can toss some malla sombra over it sick tree it will aid in recovery. good luck[/rquote]

Thanks a lot for that information. I was thinking its the soil, but didn`t conclude to the end. Fagin o.k. Treating w/ fungicide o.k. But where to get fungicide?? I asked in Home Depot/Garden Dept. here in Cabo. They have no idea about fungicide. Maybe I should ask mercado libre about that.
Or is there any other recommendation??
Our soil is very poor anyway. More clay than soil. We are mixing sand in between. R U recommending fertilizer in such case?
THX again.

JC43 - 4-16-2021 at 09:50 PM

I just learned out of mercadolibre that most fungicide are based on copper. Copperproducts. Is that o.k.? Others are based on sulfur. What is correctv to use?

[Edited on 4-17-2021 by JC43]

Hook - 4-17-2021 at 07:09 AM

If you have a choice, plant after the hot season. You will need less water, as well, to start.

This is especially true if you plan on leaving for the summer and HOPING they make it. Better to be able to monitor their conditions and adjust accordingly.

pacificobob - 4-17-2021 at 07:25 AM

are you in an area that has commercial agriculture? go to an agriculture supply place. ask for benoma-t. or a similar soil fungicide.
it's a powder..i use a cup to 5 gallons.
drench the surrounding soil..
a lot of these ag supply places have an engineer on staff who can offer council.
fertilizer is not the fix...but a light application won't hurt. nothing wrong with copper..its naturally found in soil.
don't buy ag products designed for a suburban homeowner...go pro!
good luck...report your results. i have had about 50/50 results saving trees that suffer from these plagas.

JC43 - 4-17-2021 at 08:55 AM

are you in an area that has commercial agriculture? go to an agriculture supply place. ask for benoma-t. or a similar soil fungicide.
it's a powder..i use a cup to 5 gallons.
drench the surrounding soil..
a lot of these ag supply places have an engineer on staff who can offer council.
fertilizer is not the fix...but a light application won't hurt. nothing wrong with copper..its naturally found in soil.
don't buy ag products designed for a suburban homeowner...go pro!
good luck...report your results. i have had about 50/50 results saving trees that suffer from these plagas.

First and foremost: THANKS! for the info. There are no Ag-Pros in Cabo but a lot of Sex-Pros. They won`t help - I suppose. :lol:

So I will drive towards Todos to find what`s needed.

JC43 - 4-17-2021 at 10:18 AM

Well, the old lady Google helped me. This is what she said:
https://www.velsimex.com/fungicidas/

But the application recommends: Spray it onto the plant. Nothing about soil treatment. ???

[Edited on 4-17-2021 by JC43]

pacificobob - 4-17-2021 at 11:09 AM

Well, the old lady Google helped me. This is what she said:
https://www.velsimex.com/fungicidas/

But the application recommends: Spray it onto the plant. Nothing about soil treatment. ???

[Edited on 4-17-2021 by JC43]

benoma-t is the 3rd product listed. as you enter la paz from the south, there's numerous ag supply places along the highway. most of the office staff lack much knowledge....but they know how to contact the staff engineer ...talk with that guy.
i have made good use of their knowledge on ⁶many occasions.

JC43 - 4-17-2021 at 01:51 PM

Quote: Originally posted by lencho

There are no Ag-Pros in Cabo but a lot of Sex-Pros. They won`t help - I suppose.

They don't last long as sex pros without knowing how to treat fungal infections. :light:

THATS A REAL GOOD ONE :bounce:

I LIKE IT!!

JC43 - 4-17-2021 at 02:03 PM

Thanks again, but on this recommendation I don`t think want to drive all the way to La Paz only talking to people which may or may not tell me if or not I can just pour it onto the soil. Of course I can pour it wherever I want, that`s not the point. Point is: Does it help the soil? Do u know? I would guess it will. If it kills fungus on a leave it will kill the same fungus in the soil. And ordering it from mercadolibre.com is more easy. Shipment in most cases are 99 Pesos. I have to walk to get to La Paz for 99 Pesos !

JC43 - 4-19-2021 at 11:01 AM

@ pacificobob - and others interested.
This is what I found about Benoma T 50
The BENOMA-T 50 Product or Service is described for:
Pharmaceutical and veterinary preparations; sanitary preparations for medical purposes; dietary substances adapted for medical use, baby food; plaster for medical use, material for healing (dressings and bandages); material to cover teeth; dental wax; disinfectants; preparations for the destruction of harmful animals namely; insecticides, pesticides, miticides, fungicides, herbicides.
The owner of the BENOMA-T 50 brand is:
Velsimex, SA De CV; MX; Av. Central # 206, Floor 3, Col. San Pedro De Los Pinos. Mexico DF. 01180, MEXICO. It is a class 5 brand
Registration dates for " BENOMA-T 50 " was:
Concession: 2008-03-19 Presentation: 2008-02-25 Trademark registration file: 916474

We do not have the RFC of BENOMA-T 50 available, but this product and / or service is for Pharmaceutical and Veterinary Preparations; sanitary preparations for medical purposes; dietary substances adapted for medical use, baby food; plaster for medical use, material for healing (dressings and bandages); material to cover teeth; dental wax; disinfectants; preparations for the destruction of harmful animals namely; insecticides, pesticides, miticides, fungicides, herbicides.
OTHER BRANDS RELATED TO BENOMA-T 50, AND REGISTERED WITH THE IMPI. (Mexican Institute of Intellectual Property) are:

BIK'IT
EL ANTIGUO
CAMELLO DEPOCALITZIN

Other areas included in this class of brands are: Caffeine preparations for stimulant use, Herbs for medicinal purposes, Food for infants,
Food supplements, Pharmaceutical products for treatment of erectile dysfunction, Bacteriological culture media,

Nasopharyngeal swabs for medical use, These products are classified in class 5 by analogy with the "cotton swabs for medical use" in the Nice alphabetical list of class 5. Swabs for medical use are accepted; More specifications are accepted, but not required. of BENOMA-T 50, Pharmaceutical Preparations for Use in Chemotherapy, Radiopharmaceuticals for Imaging and Detection for Cancer Diagnosis and Monitoring,
Biocides, Germicides, Bactericides, Virucides, Fungicides, Insecticides, Pesticides and Herbicides, Anthelmintics, Nutritionally Fortified Water for Medical Use, This article refers to water that is simply a carrier of nutritional supplements. A regular Class 32 drink that simply has an additional component for health, such as calcium-enriched orange juice, is still in Class 32. 01-01-2016: On 01-01-2016, this entry from 08- 06-2001 was modified to add "for medical purposes" in accordance with the Nice Classification, tenth edition, version 2016, effective from 01-01-2016. According to Nice 10-2016, identifications of fortified, improved or nutritionally enriched foods or beverages must indicate a medical, therapeutic or veterinary purpose for classification in Class 5.
BUSINESS ITEMS

WEL ! They say its good for baby food? Does it really kill fungus??

pacificobob - 4-19-2021 at 11:51 AM

that's a lot of information...if it doesn't cure your ficus, you could feed it to the kids!

Skipjack Joe - 4-19-2021 at 01:40 PM

Since we’re on the subject of fungus. My tomato plants here in Baja all start out well but soon pick up a fungus, wither and die. The fungus starts from the bottom of the plant and grows up. I grow them in earthbox containers. Anybody have a good solution for that?

BajaTed - 4-19-2021 at 01:43 PM

What's the best time to plant a tree?

20 years ago :biggrin:

CaboMagic - 4-19-2021 at 01:50 PM

Skipjack - if you re-use soil that has had those plants, without treating it for the fungus - perhaps that could be [part of] the problem.
Hope this helps, Lori

pacificobob - 4-19-2021 at 02:15 PM

Since we’re on the subject of fungus. My tomato plants here in Baja all start out well but soon pick up a fungus, wither and die. The fungus starts from the bottom of the plant and grows up. I grow them in earthbox containers. Anybody have a good solution for that?

sounds like powdery mildew. super common on some veggies and flowers. its a big problem with the chili growers here. some years are worse than others. in my experience any tomatoes grown in tropical and sub tropical areas using organic methods usually will suffer from some pests or disease....but will still give fruit.
there are a variety of organic treatments. including milk, and H2O2 [hydrogen peroxide]
check out youtube...lots of informative content.

JC43 - 4-19-2021 at 04:37 PM

O.K., ficus is not tomato. But it sounds very similar. Our ficus was about 6 feet high already Dark green leaves. Looking healthy and strong all the past years. It started last year, the leaves turning yellow loosing leaves (which is normal in certain amounts and times) but loosing a lot of leaves. Now looking real poor. Same with the agave. Several! Strong and tall. 5 feet as well. Then crippling by the day. When we pulled them out with a car we found lots of white maggots at the roots. Maybe normal as those praying on everything which is rotten. Has maybe nothing to do with the fungus, I think.

JC43 - 4-19-2021 at 04:44 PM

Quote: Originally posted by BajaTed

What's the best time to plant a tree?

20 years ago :biggrin:

Going back to the topic and your question: This time, March & April is best to plant a tree. In any case before the hot season starts.
I know from the neighbors/Mexicans that i.e. ficus offshoots can only be successful now at this time. No chance in summer.
So planting a tree: Hurry up, I would suggest.

JC43 - 4-19-2021 at 04:55 PM

I ordered 1 Kg of sulfur and 2Kg `carbonato de calcio`from mercadolibre.
It was offered as treatment against fungus on leaves. So it might help the soil as well.
Asking the company VELSIMEX (which has the monopoly on Benoma T 50 in Mexico) they don`t answer. Website directed to dealers. But I do not have the calm and perseverance to ask every dealer if or not they can supply Benoma. Sorry for that pacificobob! Thanks for the suggestion anyway!

Skipjack Joe - 4-19-2021 at 07:11 PM

Maggots in the roots sounds like insect infestation. I would treat the plant with a pesticide. Agaves in my garden are very hardy. It’s the Aloes that often get infected. Could those ‘maggots’ be ant eggs or larvae? I find that ants like to house within the roots but usually when that happens the plant is infested with other bugs and the ants forage on them. Figuring out these problems can be challenging.

JC43 - 4-19-2021 at 08:03 PM

[rquote]

Maggots in the roots sounds like insect infestation. I would treat the plant with a pesticide. Agaves in my garden are very hardy. It’s the Aloes that often get infected. Could those ‘maggots’ be ant eggs or larvae? I find that ants like to house within the roots but usually when that happens the plant is infested with other bugs and the ants forage on them. Figuring out these problems can be challenging.

No, no ant eggs! They moved a lot. When the agave was pulled out they were just in the hole. I put lime on them and they doubled up badly when I put lime (carbonato de calcio) on them. Seems to me they were eating up those rotten roots.

JC43 - 4-19-2021 at 08:36 PM

Just for info an answer about Benoma T from the producing company.

El precio es de $280 neto por kg
La caja tiene 12 kg, precio total $3,360 neto más envío
Se deposita a nuestra cuenta bancaria, se puede facturar si lo desea

My original mail and question:

De: justin.cox43@aol.com
Enviado el: sábado, 17 de abril de 2021 08:56 p. m.
Para: contacto@fumigatu.com
Asunto: BONOMA T 50

Hola Buenas Dias!

¡A quien le interese!
Necesito BONOMA T 50 1 Kg.
¿Cómo ordenar?
¿Como pagar?
Saludos
J.C.

mtgoat666 - 4-19-2021 at 09:19 PM

To the untrained eyes, lots of insect larvae (ant, termite, etc.) look like maggots.

Do you have the invasive Argentine ants like we got in so cal? They are farmer ants and tend scale on roots, can kill plants quickly.

Here is treatment resource I have used: https://www.cnpssd.org/gardening-and-landscaping-with-califo... and go to the link on ants.

Hook - 4-19-2021 at 09:25 PM

Describe the fungus. How does it manifest itself on the leaves? Here are a couple of sites that describe tomato problems.

http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/DiagnosticKeys/To...

https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/vegetable/problem-solver...

Arent you in Asuncion? Do you get a lot of dew each evening, from the ocean and the overcast? Does it stay on the leaves, well into the morning? Damp leaves for hours at a time are not good for tomatoes. Very prone to diseases. You dont water from above, do you? Don't!

I get powdery mildew on just about any squash or cucumber plant I grow in San Carlos. But I have never had it on my tomatoes. I am about 3/4 of a mile from the ocean, so my air is pretty dry. Any dew from a south wind is usually gone in the first hour of direct sunshine.

I have had bouts of "early blight", at times. I observe my plants CLOSELY each and every day, and at the first sign of any leaf problems, I REMOVE THOSE LEAVES IMMEDIATELY and dispose of them well away from the garden.

AND NOT IN THE COMPOST BIN! I have been taught to never put tomato leaves, even healthy ones, in the compost bin. Just too prone to disease carrying. Some diseases will survive composting.

Obviously, there is a limit to the number of leaves you can remove without harming the plant. But one thing's for sure. REMOVE ALL LEAVES AND SUCKERS BELOW THE FIRST SET OF FLOWERS. The plant will eventually discard those leaves anyway and they are prone to disease, due to proximity to the soil and being in the shade so much. So, remove them and re-direct the plant's energy to areas that will produce fruit.

If plants are old enough and well-established, a neem oil spray can also work on many topical funguses. But it WILL harm young leaves. Neem oil mixtures work really well on many diseases and insects, but it can be too much for fragile leaves.

surabi - 4-19-2021 at 09:28 PM

Same with the agave. Several! Strong and tall. 5 feet as well. Then crippling by the day. When we pulled them out with a car we found lots of white maggots at the roots. Maybe normal as those praying on everything which is rotten.

Not maggots. Likely larvae of agave snout weevil, the most common agave pest. Google it. Burrow up through the center of the plant, the crown turns yellow and eventually falls off- you have to use a pesticide in the soil to get rid of them.

And I've given up trying to grow squash and cukes. The grey powdery mildew is a killer and even the copper spray I've used doesn't work.

And never smoke near tomato plants and wash ypur hands before touching the plants if you're a cigarette smoker. It can give the plants tobacco mosaic.

[Edited on 4-20-2021 by surabi]

[Edited on 4-20-2021 by surabi]

[Edited on 4-20-2021 by surabi]

JC43 - 4-20-2021 at 11:09 AM

Quote: Originally posted by surabi

Yes, that`s it! I was asking the old Lady Google - as you recommended. Those pics looking 100% same like I had underneath the agave. But a real one, an adult beetle? I never have seen one. Maybe when getting rid of the infested agave I put lime onto the soil and the larva and that kills all from the beginning of a pest. Now, for the future I will put lime around all agave. And maybe a little sulfur can`t hurt the plant.
Thanks for the hint!

Skipjack Joe - 4-20-2021 at 11:18 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Hook

Thank you for your detailed response. I’m pretty sure the fungus involved is Verticillium Wilt. It doesn’t kill the plant outright. It wilts down to a disgusting brown mess without affecting the existing fruits. Eventually a new young shoot will grow out and produce small fruits and slowly succumb as well.

I first encountered this by planting early girls directly into the Asuncion soil and watering using drip system. They died quickly. The next year I bought earthbox containers. This system has the plant sucking moisture from below the 1 foot deep soil. There’s a reservoir of water. You never water the surface. I bought varieties that were resistant to this fungus and pruned the bottoms. The results were better than previously but with the same ending. The third year the earthbox plants were 7 feet tall and produced tomatoes the size of a tortilla. Delicious. But when the wilt came it was devastating.

Unlike San Quintin there is virtually no fog here. There is a dew but it’s gone in half an hour. Maybe they get wet at night. One thing about earthboxes is that they achieve their sucking power with a soil that’s heavy with peat moss. It acts like a sponge. But the entire surface is covered with a plastic girdle that acts like a mulch and prevents the leaves from making contact. Below the plastic the soil is very wet. So the stem of the plant is in touch with moisture. That could be the problem.

Both resistant and no resistant plants wilted.

PS. I’ve concluded that you need daily 70+ weather for the tomatoes to taste better than Subway sandwich tomatoes. Growing them in the winter here is a waste of time.

Hook - 4-20-2021 at 11:56 AM

I am in San Carlos, Sonora, not San Quintin. Much drier than SQ. But there are large tomato growing ops in the SQ area, arent there? Probably well back from the shore and in hot houses.

I never grow any tomatoes that have been hybridized to minimize VW or FW or N. Only heirlooms. Pretty partial to Brandywines, Cherokee Purps and San Marzanos. Every third year I might grow some Striped Germans or Oxhearts or Costoluto Genoveses. But always Brandys and Purps.

Funny, I figured Early Girls were probably VFN toms. But I dont know.

Where I live, I have planted any time from late Oct to early December. Doesnt seem to matter; I never get ripe tomatoes until March, at the earliest. I start from seed in small containers and move to the in-ground garden when they are about six inches tall. I have concluded that they dont do much until they realize the days are getting longer, in terms of producing flowers that will become fruit. Dec-Jan seem like our coldest months, but it's a rare day that doesnt reach 70 in ANY month. An 80 degree day or two is also possible in ANY month from Dec-Feb.

Doesnt really sound like your issues are with surface/topical moisture, unless dew sets on the leaves early in the evening and stays until the sun burns it off. Could you set up a fan that keeps them dry, overnight? Barring that, I would experiment with neem oil, since it appears the wilt is coming when the plants are well established.

[Edited on 4-20-2021 by Hook]

surabi - 4-20-2021 at 04:30 PM

I hope the lime and sulphur work for you. I like to stick to organic stuff for pretty much everything, but I actually used Imidacloripid in the soil on mine, which was the recommended poison. I don't have any food crops near them, so I went the serious poison route. That was several years ago, one application worked into the soil, and I haven't had a weevil problem since.

It took me a long time to actually see one of the adult weevils- I found it when I cut open the plant that had died to look for one.

pacificobob - 4-22-2021 at 01:20 PM

Imidacloprid is a systemic broad spectrum insecticide. sold under a variety of brand names. my rancho is all organic....
......except, i have been using this to combat the south american palm weevil.

surabi - 4-22-2021 at 08:46 PM