mattypacks
Well-Known Member
Eastern MA backyard grower. Recently during a tie down session on my OG#18, I noticed one of the branches was pretty soft at one spot. Took a closer look and noticed a tiny hole 3/4 of the way up on one of the main branches. Fuck. Immediately I slit an inch in each direction from the hole, couldn't find the borer inside. Poked holes up and down that branch at intervals with a needle then patched the wound up with grafting tape.
Looked up and down the main stalk and noticed 3-4 more holes either just below or on top where the branches intersect to the stalk. Also found a hole right in between the two mains where I topped. Fuck. Needle aint gonna help me with these ones.
I was noticing cats hanging out in webs between the leaves of various new tops across most of the plants, so I decided to spray BT earlier this season. I know budworms are an issue for me, so not a problem, was gonna start the sprays early this year anyways. The holes were identified about 4 days after my first application of BT, and appeared to be somewhere between 24-72 hours old. About 50-75% of the holes appeared to be "active" with new frass appearing daily. I doubt the BT had much effect since this is the case.
I had probed all the holes I could with thick fishing line and the tunnels run deep. More than likely from the base of the plant all the way up to the top of the main branches. I would assume with all the info I have, that 3-5 stem borers are active inside.
Only two holes appeared in the top 33% of the plant, which could be exit holes. From the research ive done, the first generation will eat up and down, then either pupate inside or exit and drop down to pupate, hatch and breed and do it all over again.
It makes it all the more difficult that I cant identify which type of borer im dealing with. European corn borer, Eurasian hemp borer, or any of the beetle borers are the suspects. I've had a passion for insects my whole life and have a keen eye for them. Theres no shortage of insects here (I live across the street from 250 acres of woods), but moths stand out in particular since budworms plague my outdoor garden every year, so those are the main guys ill be scouting for.
Not identified as any sort of borer, still dont want any type of moth anywhere near my plants. Last night during a checkup I noticed what appeared to be a click beetle hanging out on top of the hole between the two main branches. I brushed it away not even thinking to capture it to get a second look due to having my mindset totally on moths. Click beetles are everywhere around here, I found another one on my shed after going back to look at the plant a few more times throughout the night that was almost identical to the one I saw on the plant. Unless it was some sort of flathead borer, click beetles cant be the suspect.
With moths being in mind (hemp borer + corn borer) I went ahead and ordered yellow sticky traps, wing traps, and pheramone lures for the NY strain of European corn borer. I will be calling one of MA's departments of agriculture tomorrow to see if they have info on the specific types of borers identified in the area which I should have done in advance but I was in a panic trying to stop the hemorrhaging. BT sprays every 3 days. Got parasitic wasp eggs coming in early next week. Diatomaceous earth came in and Ill be applying it to the stalks every night. I also ordered a 1/2 acre dynatrap for general assistance.
Every single day, morning to night, Im out there checking all the plants. So far just the OG is affected and im trying to keep it that way. Culling the plant is NOT an option for me, ill fight this until the end the best I can. Other than the obvious physical and structural damage thats been caused (cankers and splitting of the stalk), there is no wilting, no rot of any kind, and the plant seems generally healthy (so far...). Ill give a good squeeze and bend at damaged points and it still seems solid. I am expecting significantly lower yeilds if she can make it to harvest.
Dealing with the devil here. If anyone has any experience with these guys or have been able to manage them please share your thoughts/knowledge. The damage is already done, and I need to do the best I can to keep it from getting worse.
Looked up and down the main stalk and noticed 3-4 more holes either just below or on top where the branches intersect to the stalk. Also found a hole right in between the two mains where I topped. Fuck. Needle aint gonna help me with these ones.
I was noticing cats hanging out in webs between the leaves of various new tops across most of the plants, so I decided to spray BT earlier this season. I know budworms are an issue for me, so not a problem, was gonna start the sprays early this year anyways. The holes were identified about 4 days after my first application of BT, and appeared to be somewhere between 24-72 hours old. About 50-75% of the holes appeared to be "active" with new frass appearing daily. I doubt the BT had much effect since this is the case.
I had probed all the holes I could with thick fishing line and the tunnels run deep. More than likely from the base of the plant all the way up to the top of the main branches. I would assume with all the info I have, that 3-5 stem borers are active inside.
Only two holes appeared in the top 33% of the plant, which could be exit holes. From the research ive done, the first generation will eat up and down, then either pupate inside or exit and drop down to pupate, hatch and breed and do it all over again.
It makes it all the more difficult that I cant identify which type of borer im dealing with. European corn borer, Eurasian hemp borer, or any of the beetle borers are the suspects. I've had a passion for insects my whole life and have a keen eye for them. Theres no shortage of insects here (I live across the street from 250 acres of woods), but moths stand out in particular since budworms plague my outdoor garden every year, so those are the main guys ill be scouting for.
Not identified as any sort of borer, still dont want any type of moth anywhere near my plants. Last night during a checkup I noticed what appeared to be a click beetle hanging out on top of the hole between the two main branches. I brushed it away not even thinking to capture it to get a second look due to having my mindset totally on moths. Click beetles are everywhere around here, I found another one on my shed after going back to look at the plant a few more times throughout the night that was almost identical to the one I saw on the plant. Unless it was some sort of flathead borer, click beetles cant be the suspect.
With moths being in mind (hemp borer + corn borer) I went ahead and ordered yellow sticky traps, wing traps, and pheramone lures for the NY strain of European corn borer. I will be calling one of MA's departments of agriculture tomorrow to see if they have info on the specific types of borers identified in the area which I should have done in advance but I was in a panic trying to stop the hemorrhaging. BT sprays every 3 days. Got parasitic wasp eggs coming in early next week. Diatomaceous earth came in and Ill be applying it to the stalks every night. I also ordered a 1/2 acre dynatrap for general assistance.
Every single day, morning to night, Im out there checking all the plants. So far just the OG is affected and im trying to keep it that way. Culling the plant is NOT an option for me, ill fight this until the end the best I can. Other than the obvious physical and structural damage thats been caused (cankers and splitting of the stalk), there is no wilting, no rot of any kind, and the plant seems generally healthy (so far...). Ill give a good squeeze and bend at damaged points and it still seems solid. I am expecting significantly lower yeilds if she can make it to harvest.
Dealing with the devil here. If anyone has any experience with these guys or have been able to manage them please share your thoughts/knowledge. The damage is already done, and I need to do the best I can to keep it from getting worse.
. It seems like the holes are becoming less active, so maybe this generation is getting close to being done.. Either way, my thought process is if their gonna be chewing out of the plant and the stalks are treated with BT it should still have an effect? I know there is a delay between ingestion and mortality, im just not sure how it would go if they eat the BT on their way out, cease feeding, and then pupate. Maybe the adult moth will die off?
