Mr. Thanh shared that mealybugs are pests that damage all parts of durian trees in symbiosis with ants.
During the dry season, ants will carry mealybugs to the ground to shelter and suck and damage the roots of durian trees. When it rains, ants carry mealybugs and mealybug larvae onto the trunk.
The time when mealybugs - this type of insect - thrives is when durian begins to bloom and produce young fruit, lasting until harvest.
If durian growers are not observant and do not prevent effectively, in just a short time, mealybugs will multiply rapidly, covering young durian fruit, leaves and tree tops in white.
Mr. Bui Than, a durian farmer in Ea Yong commune, Krong Pac district, Dak Lak province, shares how to use medical elastic bandages to prevent mealybugs from damaging durian trees.
Not only sucking nutrients causing durian leaves to curl and young fruit to fall, mealybugs also create a favorable environment for sooty mold to develop.
When sooty mold (black mold) grows on durian trees, it will reduce the quality and yield of durian fruit, reduce the resistance of durian trees and seriously affect the aesthetics of durian fruit.
This is also one of the pests that affect specialty fruit products when officially exported.
Having cultivated durian using ecological and safe methods for many years, Mr. Thanh has always been concerned about finding effective ways to prevent mealybugs without having to use pesticides.
Through observing the symbiotic behavior of mealybugs and the movement of ants, Mr. Thanh thought of a way to create a protective barrier right on the tree trunk.
Accordingly, he used medical elastic bandages soaked in mosquito net impregnation and wrapped them a few times around the durian tree trunk.
The location of the medical tape on the durian tree trunk is about 30 - 80 cm above the ground. After wrapping medical tape on all the plants in the garden, Mr. Thanh also controls the canopy, preventing ants from moving from trees outside the garden or other intermediate paths.
Every 3 months, he uses a small spray bottle to add diluted mosquito net impregnation according to the manufacturer's ratio to the elastic bandage positions.
This method has been effectively applied by Mr. Thanh on his family's durian garden for the past 3 years, with the cost of preventing mealybugs for a durian tree being only about 4,000 - 5,000 VND/year.
After each harvest, he removes all the elastic bands, washes the moss and reuses them for the next crop.
In addition to the effectiveness in preventing mealybugs from damaging durian trees, since implementing the solution of wrapping with medical elastic bands and controlling canopy, Mr. Thanh has also noticed that the amount of fruit being gouged and gnawed by squirrels and rats has also decreased significantly.
According to Mr. Thanh, this is a cheap, easy-to-implement and environmentally friendly solution that gardeners can refer to to protect their production results.
In addition to applying on durian trees, the solution of using medical tape to prevent mealybugs can also be applied to other fruit trees and perennial plants.
This creative solution by Mr. Thanh aims to proactively prevent mealybugs from causing damage, especially in the current increasingly erratic weather and climate conditions.
Source: https://danviet.vn/thu-phuc-con-dong-vat-quai-ac-hai-cay-tien-ty-cay-sau-rieng-o-dak-lak-bang-mot-thu-re-tien-20240818232318879.htm
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