I’m happy to report that nematodes work great against plum curculio here near Atlanta, Georgia, USA. I applied some Steinernema riobrave nematodes under my plum trees last year, and this year, I’ve seen a huge reduction in the percentage of fruit with plum curculio damage. I went from almost all of the plums being riddled with curculio, to more than half being perfect. Now the squirrels get to eat perfect plums. Here’s a big plate of plums I processed, without finding one curculio. The varieties are Guthrie (orangish yellow) and NC McKibbon (red.)
Congrats! I tried nematodes twice but didn’t see a big reduction. Maybe I will try them one more time… I used Arbico’s Sc and Sf last time, not Sr. I also applied Dr. Pyes Scanmask which I think is also Sf. So either I didn’t get a good application or Sr is the key.
I emailed them and they told me That they do have riobrave that in stock, but you have to email them or call them to specifically request riobrave. They will then mail you riobrave instead
To me , my questions would be ,…
Did they arrive alive ?
Did they survive the introduction ?
Putting them on live wax worms should tell the tail.
And multiple your initial investment, if successful ?
Don’t know much about this really just an idea
What are the risks with another fruit trees by applying nematodes? For example I heard figs and nematodes don’t go well together! Just wondering about that with other fruit trees
I recall somewhere reading that it is best to apply in the evening before a cloudy rainy spell, to get them into the soil without toasting them first. Also around the time the curcs are entering the soil is the best timing I recall reading from somewhere. That is why I ordered now.
You’re thinking of root knot nematodes. Those are a totally different species, herbivores that live off plant roots. The nematodes I’m talking about are predators that eat insects. Make sure you get the right species, Steinernema riobrave.
I suspect whether they are of any value depends a great deal on your local circumstances and population of wild hosts for curculio. Wild plum is ubiquitous where I am, and wild crabapple not uncommon. Ornamental crab apples also host curculio. The net is that curculio move into my orchard every year from the surrounding woodland edges - I can actually see them arrive in successive trees as they move into the orchard over a period of a couple of days. Killing the ones that breed in my trees obviously wouldn’t hurt, but even if I could totally eliminate their breeding, I’d still have a curculio problem requiring spraying for control.
