Japanese beetle devastation

[wxtrendsguy]

Japanese Beetles can be easily controlled by Sevin XLR Plus...2 quarts/acre is the dosage for good control per the label. If you are going to maintain a vineyard of 3 acres you should be buying most of your chemicals from an agricultural supply company not Home Desperate. Sevin will run you about $50 a gallon. The good news is you only need to usually treat 2 or maybe 3 times for the year. So at most you are looking at a couple hundred dollars.

The vines will bounce back and likely sprout new leaves but you are losing time waiting for the new leaves which in turn means the vine is not growing or producing carbohydrates...this in turn can weaken the vine as you go into winter which is never a good thing. If you are in the East your new leaves this time of year are particularly susceptible to Downy mildew infection unless you are still using Manzate in a non producing vineyard only or growing disease resistant hybrids. Do not fertilize its too late in the year for that.

Final note if you are located in the east and growing anything other than highly disease resistant hybrids please forget about trying to be organic...you are just going to end up with dead vines, disappointment and a lot less money.

 

[sremick]

My property is 3 acres but I'm not growing 3 acres of vines. 2 rows, 42 vines. Resistant hybrids also grown in this area (Marquette and Petite Pearl).

If I lose some after this winter, I'm just going to have to accept that and replant. At least the majority of my vines will survive. Some are close to the top wire. At most I'm only worried about 7 vines or so.

 

[Dennis Griffith]

Give it a try. If nothing else you'll get your cardio in for the day....

 

[Dennis Griffith]

Japanese Beetles can be easily controlled by Sevin XLR Plus...2 quarts/acre is the dosage for good control per the label. If you are going to maintain a vineyard of 3 acres you should be buying most of your chemicals from an agricultural supply company not Home Desperate. Sevin will run you about $50 a gallon. The good news is you only need to usually treat 2 or maybe 3 times for the year. So at most you are looking at a couple hundred dollars.

The vines will bounce back and likely sprout new leaves but you are losing time waiting for the new leaves which in turn means the vine is not growing or producing carbohydrates...this in turn can weaken the vine as you go into winter which is never a good thing. If you are in the East your new leaves this time of year are particularly susceptible to Downy mildew infection unless you are still using Manzate in a non producing vineyard only or growing disease resistant hybrids. Do not fertilize its too late in the year for that.

Final note if you are located in the east and growing anything other than highly disease resistant hybrids please forget about trying to be organic...you are just going to end up with dead vines, disappointment and a lot less money.

I've switched from using the Carbaryl based products as they seem to have lost their effectiveness on JBs here. Last year, 4 days after a spray and they were munching away. I tried the new version of Sevin that is Zeta-Cypermethrin based and it was deadly to the little buggers. You can get the Garden Tech Sevin (not Carbaryl) for about $60 a gallon on line. I still use a product that has Carbaryl in the spring, just not during JB season.

 

[sremick]

I tried the new version of Sevin that is Zeta-Cypermethrin based and it was deadly to the little buggers.

Apparently zeta-cypermethrin is also highly-toxic to bees, cats (I'm a cat owner), beneficial insects, fish, and has a long list of negative human reactions. Not the sort of thing I want to put on anything I'm going to consume, let alone let into the house.

If I can't produce grapes without them being poison transport vehicles, then I have no interest in making wine.

 

[Masbustelo]

I don't know if it has been mentioned in this thread, but neem oil and spinosad are worth looking at as alternatives.

 

[Stressbaby]

I tried the organic route and struggled with fungus and JBs when I had like 20 vines. I live in the Ohio Valley region and have heavy disease and JB pressure. I started with a small amount too figure out what was needed to keep the vines healthy and produce grapes successfully. So now, I test for proper nutrient balance and have a spray program for my 100+ vines. The largest issue I face now is crown gall, which I think I have at bay. It's just a pain to have to deal with it. Everything likes grapes, I just like them more!

Not to threadjack, but at some point I'm going to need to pick your brain on crown gall. I have this on about 1/2 of my Nortons, going to need some advice on handling this, short term and long term.

 

[bshef]

Keep us posted on how Surround works on the beetles.

 

[sremick]

I don't know if it has been mentioned in this thread, but neem oil and spinosad are worth looking at as alternatives.

Yep, I was using neem early on, but not frequently enough. Ended up picking up a bottle of concentrate and a sprayer. I now mix a cocktail in which spinosad and pythrethrins are components along with neem.

There were no beetles on the vines this morning... not sure if it's because of my new regimen or that we're approaching the end of their season.

 

[BigH]

I now mix a cocktail in which spinosad and pythrethrins are components along with neem.

Those pythrethrins, which are quite similar in molecular structure to synthetic zeta-cypermethrin, are also highly toxic to cats. You are essentially using nature's Sevin, and should take nearly identical precautions with respect to bee activity, cats, fish and PPE.

H

 

[Kantuckid]

In our main garden my wife has a zinnia flower cutting area with several rows ~ 25' long in all colors-they seem to mostly eat the petals on the white ones. Her rose garden at the house they like red,pink,yellow roses and sevin dust is what works best there but ugly.

 

[Dennis Griffith]

Not to threadjack, but at some point I'm going to need to pick your brain on crown gall. I have this on about 1/2 of my Nortons, going to need some advice on handling this, short term and long term.

Currently I use a razor knife to remove any galls, then I seal with pruning sealer. It seems to be working in the short term, but I would like to acquire Gallex, an antibacterial paint designed to cure crown gall. Something else to consider is improving sanitation, clean hands and clean tools. I keep diluted bleach water handy in a plastic gallon jug so that I can rinse off my hands and tools. The bacteria that causes crown gall will spread to your other vines if it gets into an open wound. So pruning and pinching off buds is a prime way to spread it, if your hands or tools are contaminated. So, if you grub out a weed and then rub off a bud with that same hand, then you may be spreading it. Another technique to consider is allowing other shoots to start on infected vines and once established, cut out the old vine thus saving your established root system. I throw all stuff known to be infected into the trash, or you can burn them. Either way, don't keep them on the property. We can start another thread if you like, or you can email me direct. [email protected]..