[compost_tea] Re: aphids and tent caterpillars

From: dloring3 <dloring3_at_cox.net>
Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 22:07:46 -0000

--- In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com, "Susan Cruver" <scruver_at_m...>
wrote:
> I'm with Jeff. Once you've knocked the aphids off, they may not
return. Any liquid will do that. If they've laid eggs, more aphids
might appear. Perhaps ACT coating the eggs is detrimental to
hatching and you've prevented their return by spraying, or maybe it's
just good luck if they don't return. Jeff's greenhouse is a better
test; greenhouses are spas for nasty bugs.
>
> When Bob first raved about ACT stopping tent caterpillars, I brewed
up a big batch and sprayed everything I could reach. Seattle, where
Bob has his warehouse, had a few tent caterpillars. Kitsap County,
where I live, was the center of the infestation. I can't say it
didn't help--maybe things would have been worse without it. ACT
certainly didn't arrest activity of all the tents I sprayed. They
didn't like getting wet but resumed activity within a few hours.
However, I was able to reach only a small fraction of the tents as I
have 5+ acres of forest, with many alders (the caterpillars' favorite
food).
>

Suzanne - It's not overreaching to talk about compost tea having
organisms in it that eat insects for lunch. Such organisms live in
both soils and on plant surfaces. Bt is a common bacterial one that
is now sold commercially and there are many fungi that basically do
the same thing, which is to live by eating insects. You can read all
about it at
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/cee/biocontrol/pathogens/typesofpathogens/ent
omophthorales.html

We should all be happy to know that potentially there are many
species of fungi and bacteria in the soil that are wanting to help us
indirectly just by living. That doesn't mean you or I have them in
OUR particular extract on a given day but that is part of what making
compost ectracts is all about if you're seriously working at it . . .
if not you might be getting the benefit anyway which is great!
Dave L.


> All my alders were 50-100% defoliated. I sprayed Bt on my fruit
trees, which did kill caterpillars. The trouble is, the caterpillars
have to eat a bit of the foliage in order for their digestive systems
to seize up. This infestation was of biblical proportions, so
everything they liked was defoliated, Bt or no, as another
caterpillar started munching as the previous one was dying. Then
they started on the stuff they didn't especially like, broadleaf
evergreens of the Heath family like native rhododendrons, salal and
evergreen huckleberries.
>
> This is more than anyone wants to know, I'm sure, but experiencing
an insect infestation of this magnitude is amazing.
>
> In conclusion, I hope we will be careful about not overselling
ACT. Healthy plants definitely resist pests and my personal
experience attests to that (excepting the epic infestation). But ACT
can sound like snake oil easily enough if you're just describing its
positive affect on plant growth and how it can outcompete
pathenogenic organisms when applied to foliage. I share the
enthusiasm for ACT but hope we don't overreacing.
Suzanne Cruver

Suzanne - It's not overreaching to talk about compost tea having
organisms in it that eat insects for lunch. Such organisms live in
both soils and on plant surfaces. Bt is a common bacterial one that
is now sold commercially and there are many fungi that basically do
the same thing, which is to live by eating insects. You can read all
about it at
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/cee/biocontrol/pathogens/typesofpathogens/ent
omophthorales.html

We should all be happy to know that potentially there are many
species of fungi and bacteria in the soil that are wanting to help us
indirectly just by living. That doesn't mean you or I have them in
OUR particular extract on a given day but that is part of what making
compost ectracts is all about if you're seriously working at it . . .
if not you might be getting the benefit anyway which is great!
Dave L




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Received on Sat Aug 23 2003 - 01:03:27 EDT

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