Are passionfruit leaves that delicious?? (forum)

au0rey starts with ...
Hi everyone,

Sigh...my passionfruit panama gold has been constantly attacked by what...I have no clue!!! Does it actually self-destroy? Sounds so alien!

I tried netting, wrapping & tying plastic around it at night, tree shield, spraying pesticide...but all did not work. It seems like the vine is eating itself up!

Maybe i should try eating the leaves...could be really delicious...hah!

Has anyone got any other idea I can use to stop this destruction? Looks like the new growth cannot catch up with the eating...mainly new leaves are eaten.

Thanks!

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Time: 26th November 2009 3:21pm

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Araich says...
I have had the same thing and also could not work out the culprit. Recently I watched ants eating my sunflower leaves and making a similar pattern of damage.

Could it be ants?

A garlic and pyrethrin spray seemed to help. The garlic mostly I suspect.

Time: 26th November 2009 9:07pm

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About the Author Araich
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au0rey says...
Yeah ants especially like sunflowers..i dont know why...but i havent found any on my passionfruit...oh well..perhaps i shd try the garlic spray...Thanks!

Time: 27th November 2009 11:14am

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peter says...
hi audrey,
my passi seedlings which i have in pots
have leaves that look just like yours
but much worse.
the main culprits that eat leaves are
snails and slugs
millipedes
slaters
earwigs
try leaving a plate of cat or dog food
next to your passis and see what is
atracted to it.
my guess would be slugs.

Time: 27th November 2009 5:35pm

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Julie says...
au0rey, if it turns out to be millipedes, snails or slugs (probably slaters too), you can stop them from climbing the stem by mixing some copper sulphate with vaseline and smearing it on the stem.

I can't give you a recipe - I just crushed up cs with vaseline and put it around the rims of all my pots this winter. It worked well. Or you could try copper tape, but you will have to buy several metres of it. Available fairly cheaply on eBay. Good luck!


Time: 27th November 2009 8:34pm

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au0rey says...
Hey thanks everybody for your help! I cant seem to see any slug/snail trails or millipedes around though there are earwigs. I have tried wrapping with freezer bag and pegging it tight to the stem but this cant go on forever...Vaseline seems a good idea..Thanks!!!

Time: 28th November 2009 4:10pm

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Jannette says...
I planted a passionfruit vine last year and it was completely eaten by earwigs within two days - looked just like the damage to your leaves. Planted a new one, and sprinkled tomato dust on all new leaves until the vine was big enough to survive, and also once our infestation of earwigs was controlled. Organic solution for earwigs: Jars at the base of trees and shrubs, half filled with water, and a dash of tuna oil (found in the fishing aisle of department stores). Earwigs are attracted to the smell, fall in and drown in droves! Only empty jars when getting too full, as the smell of rotting earwigs seems to attract more of them.

Time: 28th December 2009 3:02pm

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au0rey says...
It could be earwigs but i also found a new bug that feeds on leaves...called the vine weevil...see if you find this in your garden...i found a few and squashed them..esp out in the night with a torch.


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Time: 28th December 2009 10:28pm

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Charles says...
It looks like Wevil damage to me, head out at night with a torch. ITs very hard to poison etc these guys you will just need to gather or barrier your plant.

Prune all the plant touching the ground and vasaline the stem.

Also try the Iron Chelate snail killer, unlike the old stuff it brakes down into iron minerals for your soil as apposed to poison. That stuff knocks my slaters/pill bugs for six. They are causing most of my nibbling problems.

Basically nibbling at the plant tops/tips wevils, nibbling at the bottem stem/leaves slaters. Well thats in my garden anyway.

Time: 29th December 2009 12:07pm

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About the Author Charlesstillcantspell1
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Paul says...
Hi...

I am having a similar problem with something eating my passionfruit leaves. It doesn't look like a bug of some sort because the leaves are not half eaten, they are slowly dissappearing and I am finding some full leaves at the base of the tree. The leaves from the tree look like they have been broken off so I think it seems like a possom. I did go out there with a torch one night and saw a rat/possum. Not sure what it is but my tree is dissapearing quick and i am very sad, it has been growing for 1 year and was hoping to see fruit this summer. Will the tree still survive with a solid vine but no leaves?
What is eating my tree?

Time: 2nd June 2010 9:57am

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About the Author Paul29
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Adam says...
Yes you could eat the leaves. Here in the Maldives we do. I'm surprised to see one guy who've posted on the web claiming that the leaves are posionous.

We eat raw, in salads or cooked. Just try it yourself.

Cheers,

Adam

Time: 16th January 2011 9:18am

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About the Author Adam6
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hayden says...
i have the exact same problem as you au0rey.sumthing is eating the leaves and they look exactly like yours. cant find any bugs and its not slugs ( tried the beer in a container trick), ive sprayed with bug kill stuff but that didnt work.ive been out at night with a torch! it seems that the bug is invisable! i dont think it will stop my vines as i have only had them about two or three months and they are going crazy. if anyone has any ideas please post.


Time: 16th January 2011 5:39pm

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Paul says...
I have confirmed it IS a possum. I have caught them out there once or twice. So annoying, my passion fruit tree was growing excellent along a trellis and then over a 3 week period it quickly dissapeared. Tried putting steel sheets around the fence to stop them climbing into the backyard but that didn't help. Eventually gave up. It eats faster than the tree can grow back.

Time: 18th January 2011 12:55pm

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Julie says...
Interesting article on possum repellents.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:eUXNcSnV1JYJ www.dse.vic.gov.au/dse/nrenpa.nsf/FID/-BA8F66E2207E9E1ACA256D9000082EC0%3FOpenDocument+possum+repellent&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au

Time: 18th January 2011 6:41pm

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Joe Vic says...
The most likely culprits are earwigs. A simple trap to make is a margarine container with slits about 1 cms from bottom and olive oil to about 5 ml.

Time: 2nd February 2011 1:34pm

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Peter says...
I do not have any problems with something eating yhe leaves of my passionfruit plant. However, something is eating the flowers of the passionfruit vine during the night. I suspect it is a lizard, but have been unable to identify the culprit. I have never had this problem in the past. Can somebody help to give me some clues on this?

Time: 5th February 2012 7:25am

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Jason says...
I have an Avocado tree that mysteriously gets all the young leaves eaten too, It's right up hard against a gum tree so I expect the culprit to have something to do with that but I've never seen any grub or bug on it

Time: 7th February 2012 8:20pm

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About the Author Jason
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fisho says...
Err... I've heard about people eating passion fruit leaves but how do i eat it? and if i eat it in salad, how do i do so?

Time: 24th February 2012 9:22pm

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About the Author fisho
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Nick says...
It is most definitely slaters eating the fresh leaf tips and some parts of the stem of my 6month-old 'Nellie Kellie' passionfruit here in South Australia. They are now starting to have a devastating effect.. Several nights in a row - torch after midnight was the key to finding the culprits.. as to how best deter them, I'd love some suggestions..??

Time: 1st March 2012 1:56pm

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amanda says...
Use a barrier Nick - get a plastic pot - chop off the bottom and make a slit up the side...(stanley knife the go here) Slip it around the trunk of your vine as a physical barrier.

Make sure you get rid of any slater inside first.

If they crawl up the trellis that the vine is attached to...then I am not sure there...

It seems a bit odd tho'...I have 1000's of slaters (being in a semi arid zone..) and they have never attacked my passionfruit vines...I keep the mulch a few cms away from the trunl but that's about it.

The other things to try are slater traps...a friend uses beer traps (like for slugs etc) and orange cups. Google for some good ideas too...



Time: 1st March 2012 11:55pm

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About the Author amanda19
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Julie says...
Multicrop make a snail bait that also works well on slaters. It is either iron or copper based, can't remember which, but non-poisonous.

Edit: sorry, meant Multiguard snail bait.

Time: 2nd March 2012 9:02pm

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About the Author Julie25
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Nick says...
thanks Amanda & Julie, I'll try those ideas and see how they go.. but it is most definitely slaters - the little buggers!! They've also gotten into a few of our tomatoes as well - eating the fruit still on the vine.. we're in the Adelaide Hills, so is reasonably damp - even the past couple of months has had periodic rain ad I keep the water up to the passionfruit too, trying to establish it.. thanks for the advice :)

Time: 3rd March 2012 6:23pm

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Stevie says...
Am trying a mixture of Paprika,garlic,seasoned steak salt,tabasco mixed with Peanut butter. Anything HOT! Smear along the fence line. Hopefully when the possom licks it off the fur/paws, it won't be nice. Would need to be applied regulary along fence line.

Time: 7th March 2012 9:26pm

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Julie says...
The sound of that mixture makes me feel hungry! How could they resist?

Time: 9th March 2012 1:50am

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Stevie says...
Well my mixture of Peanut Butter and all things hot and spicey from the kitchen cupboard seem to be working. Vine has not been eaten in the last 3 nights.

Time: 10th March 2012 10:19pm

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About the Author Stevie1
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