other problem

Mexicali being eaten alive

I just bought a Kona Sharwil last month. I noticed something chewing on mine also and found a caterpillar. Killed it but now this tree will get bi-weekly treatments of BT like the rest of my veggie garden. Might be your case also. No need for something as broad spectrum as Malathion. BT (K variant) will take care of them. Available at almost ANY garden center.

Kevin

Thanks wohooman. I just bought some better spray with Bonide called Captain Jacks. It's the only one I saw with avocado in list .Any thoughts on why my leaves are getting the brown spots? A fungus or maybe got burnt from sun?
They haven't fallen off yet but I am worried. I noticed that on the Zutano the leaves get like a dimple, then the holes happen, that the bugs?. Thank you for help and opinions :o)

If it's a caterpillar, BT is all you need. Not sure about Captain Jack's -- I think it's a pretty broad spectrum pesticide-- which I'm totally against because they usually kill the good bugs also.

I don't know TOO much about avocado trees. But, I do believe the browning is a natural happening. I have browning on the edges of my leaves and i'm pretty darn sure that it's caused by the Santa Anas we just had here in SoCal. Somebody I talked to said I should shade it when the temps are blistering.

Your tree looks much healthier than mine except for the chewing.

A night time inspection might lead you to the culprit.

Kevin

Mine did the same thing, all the leaves got crispy, and fell off duing the SA winds and the 103* we had up here on the hill, I did by a back up Hass that I keep shaded until it gets aclamated (spell?) to the sun and heat, and my Shinseiki pear lost most of the leaves too, Sucks cause they both were beautiful and full when I got them
first run at this So i guess i take some Lumps with it..
Gary.

Young avocado trees need to be "Hardened off" slowly. Direct/intense heat will wipe out young avos. I always provide shadecloth (50%) the first summer for my babies. Do not let the soil dry out. They love water. Unless you find a bug you KNOW is damaging your leaves...spray an insecticide.

Thanks much for your help. Yes I had it in a windy full sun location a day b4 it happened I moved them back on porch and they seem to be perking up a bit. I agree about the pesticide. I haven't used it yet. I'm gonna get a magnifying glass and a flashlight and take a look tonight.

Good luck with yours too.

Regards,

Lynn

Captain Jack's Dead Bug Brew is Spinosad. It's pretty safe for beneficial insects as an insect has to ingest the spinosad for it to work. Just walking on the leaves when the spray has dried won't hurt anything. It's really good for chewing insects and is registered for organic gardening.

BT works great on caterpillars, and only caterpillars. If it's a beetle or katydid or grasshopper doing the chewing, it won't work, but spinosad will.

Best to spray in the evening though, so it's dry by morning when the bees, etc are out and about.

To me, it looks like katydid damage. It's kind of like a green roundish grasshopper, but it is active at night and feeds then.

Hmm I still have not found my culprit. I have more holes too. I know what the Katydid looks like and honestly have never seen one in my yard. I know that doesn't mean there aren't any of course. I do have tons of earwigs(pincherbugs) Could they possibly be the culprit? I just sprayed yesterday so I cant say if it worked or not yet. Temps are suppose to hit 105 or higher Monday so I'm bringing them in the house. I might spot the bugs then I will update and ty all for your kind replies.

Could be earwigs. They sometimes eat young tender leaves. They eat bugs and plants, meat and veggies, like us, ; ) They're usually not a problem unless you have a ton of them, which you said you did.

Katydids eat at night, so you probably wouldn't see them unless you go out with a flashlight at night, like 11 pm. Lots of bugs only eat at night. You may want to check at night. Earwigs mostly eat then too.

Btw, you can use spinosad and BT at the same time, in case you never see the culprit. Get both possibilities.

This post was edited by BarbJP on Mon, Jun 9, 14 at 22:04