Mikawa pines dying

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I bought 4 Mikawa pines form Mr. Murinaka in Nipomo last June and one is almost dead and one other is now getting the same thing the almost dead one has. I never have problems with overwatering and use proper soils and decanning the really bad one their is no sign of root rot. I am getting the most peculiar almost bleach white/yellow mottled white/yellow/lime green tone to new and old needles alike. You can see good in the pic of the really bad one below. No sign of aphids or scale, almost like a chemical burn. No burned tips butt these things are going fast so I am hoping someone knows what is going on. I have never been at a loss over this before and none of my other black pine varieties are having this problem. On the second tree this is starting on the shady side and quickly spreading over the whole tree. I do spray with Daconil in Aug 1st on all my pines as I have major problems with needle cast (this is not needle cast but may be some sort of fungus). Also could the Daconil do this? It almost looks like a chemical burn. This came on over quite some time.

Thanks
 

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looks like a sap sucker of some kind rather than a fungus.

The insects just bleed them pale. Possibly mites so spray with appropriate chemicals.

Grant
 

Stan Kengai

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I have never seen them on pines, but when mites (as Grant suggested) infest juniper, they get a grayish pall, much like your pine has. The interior needles tend to turn gray first, which is what looks like has happened on your tree, since the interior is now yellowing. Put a piece of paper under the plant, tap the plant a couple times, and look for almost microscopic moving dots. These are mites, use malathion or neem oil every 2 weeks until winter, and spray your other plants too (with the appropriate miticide). Spray again in the spring at least monthly until June, in case there are eggs in the bark or soil. If this is mites, the good news is that you pines will probably survive. The bad news is that the color will not return to the needles until they are replaced in a year or 2.
 
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I have never seen them on pines, but when mites (as Grant suggested) infest juniper, they get a grayish pall, much like your pine has. The interior needles tend to turn gray first, which is what looks like has happened on your tree, since the interior is now yellowing. Put a piece of paper under the plant, tap the plant a couple times, and look for almost microscopic moving dots. These are mites, use malathion or neem oil every 2 weeks until winter, and spray your other plants too (with the appropriate miticide). Spray again in the spring at least monthly until June, in case there are eggs in the bark or soil. If this is mites, the good news is that you pines will probably survive. The bad news is that the color will not return to the needles until they are replaced in a year or 2.

Correct. Unfortunately I have seen this too commonly in Aus; mainly in the more tropical regions but also into the more temperate regions.

One grower also used lime sulphur to control. I spray preventatively with Confidor, Pest Oil and Mavrik.

Regular attention now will clear it up eventually and the new growth will be the normal color.

Grant
 
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Oh man, I do not know why I did not think of doing this, I had my brain stuck on fungus due to my climate. I just did the paper test and the paper became covered with many tiny spider mites. I will treat with neem oil. I find neem works very good on scale and aphids but spider mites as well? I would call this a severe infestation.

Thank you for pulling my head out of the rut on this!
 

mcpesq817

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Oh man, I do not know why I did not think of doing this, I had my brain stuck on fungus due to my climate. I just did the paper test and the paper became covered with many tiny spider mites. I will treat with neem oil. I find neem works very good on scale and aphids but spider mites as well? I would call this a severe infestation.

Thank you for pulling my head out of the rut on this!

You might want to ask around about using Neem Oil on pines. My limited understanding is that oils can clog the pores in pine needles, causing problems. Not sure if this is the case with Neem Oil.
 

jquast

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You might want to ask around about using Neem Oil on pines. My limited understanding is that oils can clog the pores in pine needles, causing problems. Not sure if this is the case with Neem Oil.

I would second this advice. A friend sprayed his Red Pine with Neem oil for the same reason and it severely burned all of his needles and he almost lost the tree.
 
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FourMile,

I have bought many Mikawa from Muranaka and I had the exact same problem and it was spider mites. With spider mites you need to use different miticides because they do develop immunities to the pesticides. So I use Beyer 3-in-one miticide, Neem oil and another miticide I get from the hydroponic store. If you can put the sick trees in the ground, they will have a better chance of survival. Good Luck.

JC
 
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I have used Neem before on pines to control aphids with no ill effects. In fact the 2 other Mikawa's that did not get mites were treated several times with neem over the summer because they had aphids and I am thinking this is why they did not get the mites and the other ones did. I guess to determine weather it is working I could do the paper test again and see if they are running around or laying there dead. These things were scurrying around all over on the paper this morning, they were also reddish in color, red spider mites. I have heard these are the ones that like pines.

Thanks again, I really appreciate it.
 
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Oils are good as a preventitive for a lot of things. You just don't want to use "Winter Oils". They must be a lighter, summer weight oil spray.

Do not spray too frequently (less than 15 days apart) as you can clog pores with even the lighter oils.

Also be carefull during times of extreme heat.

Grant
 

Klytus

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If left too long they all rush to the end of a leaf and form a ball before descending on a web and flying off as a bolus of joy.

Warm and breezy days seem to be the trigger as well as a critical mass of mites.
 

kytombonsai

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I have always had good luck with Kelthane if you can still fine it, my bottle is about 10 years old and looks like molassas now but it still works. I never had problems with spider mites on pines until a few years ago and Ted Matson caught it at a workshop we were doing. As well as the paper test you can also slide the needles through your fingers and they will feel rough instead of smooth, one shot of Kelthane and they cleared up and haven't been back since.
Tom
 

Vance Wood

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I have a used a concoction I make my self using Palmolive Green Soap, Denatured Alcohol and either Olive Oil or Cooking Oil. It works really well on a host of pests, its cheap and will kill stuff other chemical poisons will no longer touch. Take a gallon of water add 1/4 cup green soap, 1/4 cup olive oil, and 1/2 cup alcohol.

The alcohol will kill a lot of things by itself, the green soap and olive oil will suffocate the rest. This is a physical attack and not a poison remedy that insects can develop an immunity to. Put in a spray bottle and go for it.
 
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