Dear Fellow Citrus Growers (or lovers),

Please note that I am a novise Citrus grower. My only experience comes from trying to keep a lemon tree alive inside home in Norway. I succeeded for two years - and then finish, but long enough to enjoy the fascination of harvesting lemon(s) and the fragrance from the flowers.

Today, three years later, I have retired and moved from winterly Norway to tropical Nonthaburi, close to Bangkok, Thailand.

Already surrounded by orchids, I started looking for a lemon tree. When I finally found one, I saw something was wrong, but decided to give it a try. Picture of leave on this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/dagoft/LemontreeNonthaburi?authkey=Gv1sRgCL6tloux-LWndQ&feat=directlink

I soon spotted small ants-like insects invading the tree, and it looked like they put eggs inside the leaves.

I picked a leave and consulted a local dealer that gave me: diethyl (dimethoxyphosphinothioylthio succinate 57% W/V EC, smells bad - or dangerous, but I followed the instructions and sprayed twice, with 10 days in between. Since then I have sprayed the tree thoroughly with tap water every day.

I got rid of the ants, but it did not solve the problem. Leaves are still infected and all signs of fruits disappear shortly after blooming. No visible insects/parasites.

Now I hope the joint wisdom of this forum can help me saving the tree. It might be very difficult to dealers of specific insecticides here in Thailand, mainly because so few speak english, and even fewer, if any, are on Internet. So advise on where to buy the recommended "remedy" would be very useful as well.

One idiot can ask more than ten wise men can answer...

Thank you so much in advance!

Best regards, Dag

Dag, when you say "leaves are still infected" but "no visible insects" do you mean the leaves still have the brown spots on them? Or are new spots appearing?

The new fruits not developing is usually a sign of a tree that has been stressed - not enough fertilizer, or infested by pests. After the recent infestation it seems normal to me.

That is not insect damage. It almost looks like canker. Have you had the tree tested ? Is there canker in your area ? Dr. Manners should be able to identify it for you.

Looks like either Citrus Canker or perhaps Alternaria. In ether case copper based fungicides is recommended by the Compendium. However, if it is canker, as time passes it is going to take repeated applications. Interesting to get a verification. - Millet (1,249-)

It certainly looks right for canker. In much of Asia, it is simply ignored, and you accept the somewhat lower yield from the tree, if you can live with the symptoms. Otherwise, yes, frequent copper sprays are the only practical solution.

Malcolm

Dear Malcolm,
I am overwhelmed by the responds and the knowledge of this forum - and humble.
I sure can live with somewhat lower yield, and probably prefer that to frequent copper sprays.
If better nourishment, a little more generous use of fertiliser can make the tree produce fruit, even not optimal yield, I'll be so happy.
I'll move to Cha-am in the not so far future, with plenty of land and room for more trees.
In the meantime, I'll take a closer look at what's going on in the forum and the information available on the website.
Thank you so much!
Best regards, Dag