As I said, I’ve never had a homegrown fig before. I think the more figs you eat and gain experience with, the more able you are to describe it with exactness. It is exactly the same with wine. "The wine had notes of coffee and lotus with a velvet texture on the tongue.
The second, riper fig had no tart, granny smith apple tang to it, and it didn’t dissolve the skin on my tongue like a walnut or some other figs do.
That said, everyone has different tastes. Some like a sweeter fig, some like a fig with more acid. Different strokes.
If you know of a readily available miticide that is labeled for eriophyid mites, and not $100+ please do share. Because as you can probably gather, there are people who that information would help.
This is very disturbing that you are in zone 6, not the hot southern zone that mites are more common. Wonder how the virus spreads.
I see your plants are in pots. Close distance is one. Then rosy winter storage. And maybe same garden tools.
For my FMV infected plants, I may want to keep them outside. One year I kept several one-gallon fig plants under mulch outdoors. All of them make it through the winter. Then I do not think mites would get a chance to survive.
Not sure how cold is your zone 6 NJ. Where I am it can be cold. Ikept some potted in my attached garage, the rest went into the basement. My two Ronde de Bordeaux in the garage had all branches died back to almost a soil level. Chicago Hardy, no problem.
They all contracted fig bud mites because when I brought all pots (20 +) out on the driveway, I put them near one another. By the time I knew what went on, they spread everywhere.
All the local varieties I have been dealing with are not covered. They have various degree of winter die back. Then come back the next year. Never virus of any kind.
Ok-so would a simple diluted bleach soak kill any mites, similar to what @Jose-Albacete suggests to prepare his cuttings? It seems like a simple solution if you don’t think you already have an infestation.
I treat my fig cuttings with diluted bleach and spray my trees with neem oil before bringing them in for the winter. Have not seen any evidence of mites. I know that this is anecdotal but think that bleach will kill anything. And think that neem oil will smother the mites even in the buds.
One problem is that the symptoms of fig bud mites are poorly understood, and continuously confused with other things. Because they are microscopic, and spend most of their time sheltered in a microscopic forest of fig trichomes, they are very difficult to effectively identify and other causes take the blame.
FMV can hide mite symptoms, and mite symptoms can be confused for FMV. Some people believe that each and every fig tree has the virus, and stress or other mysterious reasons make it appear. That is not the case in my collection, except for when there was a fig bud mite infestation. Mind you, those people do not see any signs of mites.
Some people think mite symptoms, and or FMV are caused by nutrient deficiency. It doesn’t matter which one though, I guess, because nobody has bothered with a tissue analysis. They don’t see any signs of mites either.
Before that, mite symptoms were identified as rust. I spent most of a year spraying fungicides. Then when I solved the problem with avid and forbid, the same person who was so sure it was rust comes along to question my fertilizing. Even after the symptoms went away (with the mites), he didn’t see any signs of mites.
It’s a pity that the small bottles of Forbid and Avid are no longer for sale on Ebay. There must have been some sort of crackdown. Perhaps folks who are having trouble with fig mites—or just desire an ounce of prevention—could go in together on a bottle of Forbid 4f, as people do with other chemicals sometimes? A little goes a long way, after all. As for Avid, generic abamectin can be had for under $100 a bottle—though still not cheap.
Something else people might consider as more economical control measure—though I don’t think I’d use it on plants that were fruiting: this Japanese study found that the systemic fungicide thiophanate-methyl (widely available in the US in liquid form as Clearys 3336F and in wettable powder as Thiomyl—the Japanese study, btw, utilized a WP) produced high mortality in fig bud mites. In a thread about fig bud mites over on the Ourfigs forum, a member from central Europe reported using Thiomyl with some initial success, though I don’t think she ever followed up.
@mamuang I am so sorry about your trouble. I understand your hesitancy to spray harsh chemicals during fruiting. You might, however, knock them back safely by several high-rate applications of spinosad. (I used Captain Jack’s Deadbug at double strength and the more concentrated Conserve SC at the label rate for spider mites [it is not labeled, of course, for eriophyid mites] or a little above and included a surfactant for better distribution and translaminar penetration.) I found that this killed a high number of them—enough to cause a cessation of feeding symptoms on leaves— though it may not eradicate. It should, however, give you fewer to deal with if you decide to use stronger chemicals after fruiting is finished. I’ve heard of other growers using spinosad against fig mites with at least some measure of success.
Sulfur is also helpful—and can be used in rotation with or, in wettable powder form, probably even as a mix with spinosad—, though if the weather is very hot that will prohibit using it. From what I can gather from the literature I reviewed regarding various types of bud mite, the best time to begin application is right at bud break. This is when fig bud mites and other types of bud mites leave the bud scales and enter deeper into bud tissues to begin reproduction for the season. Even though I’m pretty sure I’m rid of fig bud mites, I still make a habit of spraying sulfur two or more times early in the season----just for paranoia’s sake!
Thanks, Jeremiah,
I do have Conserve SC. I need to find out its PHI before I use it. Some of my figs start to ripen now. I definitely won’t mind killing those mites but do not want unintentionally hurting my health in the process
These days, I laugh when I see people say growing figs (in pots) is easy.
The cost for enough Forbid 4f to mix a gallon is under $2. With what some sellers are asking for cuttings, it would be a very reasonable expense to include as a free gift.
Unfortunately, doing that would make waves with the other sellers.
I think for folks like me with lust a couple of the plants with FMV, we can just quarantine them and let them grow out of the FMV. As discussed, we can take suckers or off branches with no or less FMV. Then can just discard the mother plants all together. I think this is the very reason that local varieties do not have FMV at all.
I may also try oil and sulfur etc. Not sure if worth the efforts with the chemicals. I get only one plant (a CA seedling) that I can’t replace now.
Just keep in mind, it won’t be possible to create healthier plants if fig bud mites are around. Also, when you quarantine, be very careful to not spread them, if you handle or even brush up against a plant with fig bud mites and then another in a different location they could be transferred.
I guessed I am lucky so far with my 150 potted figs. I had them for at least 7 years now and have not spray them at all. I usually give them the Urea nitrogen in early spring around late April and every 2 weeks until the main crops formed and that is it. They are loaded every year. The only draw back is that most of my top tier figs never ripen before fall set in around the first week of October and all the leaves turned yellow and dropped. I have to dump around 15 pounds of green figs every year. So it is a waste of time to grow BM, Preto, MIB, Ben’s golden Riverside, and CLBC in Z5 Omaha.
Good job Tony. I too don’t have any major problems. Some do though. Ambrosia beetle etc. . I really enjoy the figs all winter. I can’t possibly eat them all fresh. So my dehydrator is constantly on. It’s a good problem to have. Rust sometimes happens but is not really a problem. Mites will quickly defoliate new leaves and stunt twig growth according to UC Davis. Never ever seen that. Never seen a mite for that matter. Although it’s like looking for a zebra in a Michigan corn field. Not going to happen here.
