Black sooty mould (forum)

Anne starts with ...
I have a hedge of lilly pilly & all of them have developed that pimple texture all over the leaves. I believe that this is only a "cosmetic" thing & wont hurt the plants, however I have also notice all this black stuff all over the plants too. One of the plants have now died & the others are looking sick. I also have a 30 yr old avocado tree that has black on the fruit, i think is the "black sooty mould". What should i use to get rid of this. SHould i spray the avocado tree too (its a massive tree) thanks

Time: 18th January 2013 12:57pm

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Diana says...
See Annette McFarlane's advice page

Botanical oil if the answer to both on lilly pilly. You could start with that on the avocado, but it might need more (e.g. copper spray?).

http://www.annettemcfarlane.com/pestID.htm
http://www.annettemcfarlane.com/diseaseID

It sounds as though the lilly pillys especially might be stressed by something else too makinh them extra susceptible- low water / waterlogging, nutrition etc.

Pimple Psyllids on Lillypilly
Most gardeners will be familiar with the twisted, puckered growth these sucking insects cause on lillypilly plants. The insect attacks the new foliage and in taking up residence on the leaf, create a pimple-like bump under which they can hide. If you look closely you can often see the insect, however even when the insect departs, the lump remains. Very few lillypilly trees are immune to this pest (but Syzygium 'Cascade' is one of them). Select lillypilly varieties carefully. Prune foliage from affected plants, then spray the new growth with a botanical oil (Eco-Oil or Eco-Neem) and repeat this spraying whenever plants make significant new growth.

Time: 22nd January 2013 8:08pm

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Original Post was last edited: 22nd January 2013 8:10pm

About the Author Diana
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Anne says...
Thanks for that Diana.
When I had a good look at the trees, i notices a hell of a lot of ants all over the trees, could they be causing a problem??


Time: 23rd January 2013 12:43pm

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About the Author Anne17
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Diana says...
Hi Anne,

Ants are the cause of the mould. Scale insects secrete honeydew that mould grows on. Scale insects are farmed by ants because ants like to eat honeydew- ants carry scale into the tree.

See https://www.daleysfruit.com.au/forum/scale-on-citrus/ for solutions

Diana.

Time: 24th January 2013 11:49am

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About the Author Diana
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