How to protect mandarin from catepillars?

[balaji27]

Hello Team,

I noticed this bug on my Mandarin plant, there were 3 and I removed them. What are they and how to protect my plant? I sprayed EcoOil, not sure this will help. Please advise.

Thanks 

Balaji.

 

 

[Jason · Accepted solution]

Definitely a caterpillar @balaji27. Have you noticed that they are eating the leaves of your plant? Hopefully manual removal does the trick. 

Let me tag the ever-helpful @Noelle to see what she might use to keep them at bay.

The guide How to plan, grow and care for a mandarin tree should also be a helpful resource for you.

Jason

[Noelle]

Hi @balaji27 

Not sure what the caterpillar may turn into after it matures into an adult, but it is obviously causing damage to your mandarin tree!

My suggestion would be a pyrethrum-based insecticidal spray. Pyrethrum is a natural product that is not systemic and not harmful to humans or pets when used as directed. To be effective, it must be applied directly to the pest itself (as a 'contact' poison) or to the leaves of the plant it is eating where it will ingest the insecticide.

There are several brands of pyrethrum available

[MitchellMc]

Hi @balaji27,

Looks like you've already received some excellent advice.

I just wanted to point out that those are some exceptionally large thorns for what I presume is a grafted mandarin. The growth you're showing in your images could be a sucker that has grown from beneath the graft line at the base of your plant. Suckers need to be pruned off as they are from the grafted root stock and not the plant you should be growing. If you can take a picture of the whole plant and then a closer-up image of just the trunk section, I can provide further advice on whether this is a sucker.

Mitchell

[balaji27]

Thanks @Jason @Noelle @MitchellMc for the prompt response.

@MitchellMc - Please find the close-up pictures from different sides for your reference. Please advise me the next steps and also how to prune the plant. Your guidance is highly appreciated.

Thanks,

Balaji.

[Noelle]

Hi again @balaji27 

Any shoot or branch that has the long thorns on it should be cut off completely as that is the rootstock your mandarin has been grafted on to.

The rootstock is very vigorous - if you don't cut off those thorny shoots they will take over and you will lose the mandarin you want to grow.. 

With sharp secateurs, cut them off flush with the trunk or, if they arise from the soil, gently scrape the soil back and cut them off the roots from which they are growing. Keep an eye our for any further rootstock shoots and cut them out as soon as you notice them.

[balaji27]

Thanks @Noelle for the prompt advice.

I want to be sure before I cut the wrong ones off the plant correctly, so would you please refer to the pics and let me know which I should be cutting it off? I marked them as 1 to 4.

Also there are 4 stems plus the one that has the label and black support stick tied to it and this one doesn't have any growth - no leaves or branches. The stems that have grown all have thorns (marks 1-4), so a bit confused.

Thanks

Balaji.

[Noelle]

Hi again @balaji27 

Stems 1, 3 and 4 (the green thicker stems) all look like rootstock to me. The only stem you should retain is 2 (the central brown stem tied to the stake) which is the grafted mandarin.  The three rootstock shoots are all arising from the roots by the look of it, so you should gently scrape back the soil to expose where they appear from the roots, and cut them off completely and cleanly. If you don't they will take all the vigour from the roots and eventually the mandarin. Rootstocks generally do not produce edible fruits.

[balaji27]

Hello @Noelle - thanks again for the advice, much appreciated.

I had removed the rootstock shoots from the root, actually there were only 3 stems not 4 as I mentioned in my previous message.

Please refer to the pics before and after removing the rootstocks. I left the middle stem from the grafted section. Hope I did the right thing.

Thanks a lot,

Balaji.

Scraped - Before cuttingScraped - Before cuttingAfter cutting the rootstockAfter cutting the rootstock

[Noelle]

The big thick green stem (behind the brown one with the green tape on it) also needs to be cut off - it is also rootstock.  In all you should have removed all three green stems.