Last year I had two varieties of peppers, Jalapeno and little, 1-1/2 cmlong
ones from seedlings that the nursery didn't have a name for; several of each
in containers. Both developed leaf miners. Through most of the season, I was
able to control them, more or less, by removing affected leaves; toward the
end of the season (in early December) I just gave up.

The little variety has grown back nicely in its containers, for the third
year. Yesterday I spotted a few leaves with tunnels, and removed them. The
Jalapenos were dead by year end, but this would have been their third year
too, so this was not unexpected. They, as well as Poblanos and a large chili
called on the envelope only "Thai", have been planted from fresh seedm in
fresh soil.

What to do about the leaf miners that would a) relieve me of the necessity
of destroying foliage, and b) not, if systemic, leave a poisonous compound
in the fruit?

--
Stan Goodman
Qiryat Tiv'on
Israel

To send me email, please replace the CAPITAL_LETTERS with "sig". Please do
not send me HTML-formatted messages.Please do not send me attachments
without telling me beforehand.

Stan Goodman said:

Last year I had two varieties of peppers, Jalapeno and little, 1-1/2 cmlong
ones from seedlings that the nursery didn't have a name for; several of each
in containers. Both developed leaf miners. Through most of the season, I was
able to control them, more or less, by removing affected leaves; toward the
end of the season (in early December) I just gave up.

What to do about the leaf miners that would a) relieve me of the necessity
of destroying foliage, and b) not, if systemic, leave a poisonous compound
in the fruit?

I don't have to deal with leafminers in peppers, but have occasional problems
with other plants.

Suggestioned controls for leafminers (compatible with 'organic' methods)

-a barrier (light weight fabric) covering the plants -- will interfere with pollination

-repellant -- orange oil

-control by eliminating reservoir of pest in weedy areas, or by planting and
destroying trap crops

-use Neem extracts on plants (will kill larvae before they pupate; don't remove
infested leaves)

The University of California Integrated Pest Management Program has a fact
sheet on leafminers in peppers:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r604300911.html

--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)

On Mon, 17 May 2004 09:52:39 UTC, (Pat Kiewicz)
opined:
Stan Goodman said:

Last year I had two varieties of peppers, Jalapeno and little, 1-1/2 cmlong
ones from seedlings that the nursery didn't have a name for; several of each
in containers. Both developed leaf miners. Through most of the season, I was
able to control them, more or less, by removing affected leaves; toward the
end of the season (in early December) I just gave up.

What to do about the leaf miners that would a) relieve me of the necessity
of destroying foliage, and b) not, if systemic, leave a poisonous compound
in the fruit?

I don't have to deal with leafminers in peppers, but have occasional problems
with other plants.

Suggestioned controls for leafminers (compatible with 'organic' methods)

-a barrier (light weight fabric) covering the plants -- will interfere with pollination

-repellant -- orange oil

-control by eliminating reservoir of pest in weedy areas, or by planting and
destroying trap crops

-use Neem extracts on plants (will kill larvae before they pupate; don't remove
infested leaves)

What may this be? Sounds like a trade name. Not everything is marketted
everywhere.

The University of California Integrated Pest Management Program has a fact
sheet on leafminers in peppers:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r604300911.html

I will definitely check this out. Many thanks!!

--
Stan Goodman
Qiryat Tiv'on
Israel

Saddam is gone. Ceterum, censeo Arafat esse delendum.

To send me email, please replace the CAPITAL_LETTERS with "sig". Please do
not send me HTML-formatted messages.Please do not send me attachments
without telling me beforehand.

Stan Goodman said:

On Mon, 17 May 2004 09:52:39 UTC, (Pat Kiewicz)
opined:


-use Neem extracts on plants (will kill larvae before they pupate; don't remove
infested leaves)

What may this be? Sounds like a trade name. Not everything is marketted
everywhere.

The Neem tree (Azadirachta indica) is native to India. It is marketed under
various names, but generally the active ingredient will be described as
'Neem oil' or as 'Azadirachtin.'

/begin quoted material/

"What's in a Neem?"

Finally, a nature program on TV that has featured a good old, sedentary,
not-fuzzy-and-cute, cold-blooded plant, the neem tree (Azadirachta indica).
CBC's The Nature of Things devoted a full hour to discussing the current and
possible uses of this tropical tree. This native of India is a very good plant for
growing in hot dry areas on poor soils, and it has been spread by humans to
various areas in Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean. In India almost every
village has its neem tree and the villagers call it their "village pharmacy". There
is a use for all parts of the tree [to repel insects, to treat skin infections, to kill
internal parasites, to treat fevers, to clean teeth, as a contraceptive, etc.].
Neem tree seeds can be processed to produce neem oil and neem cake [solid
residue]. Neem cake is used as a fertilizer (it is said to improve nutrient uptake
by plants and to repel insects in the soil) and can be fed to livestock (it combats
intestinal parasites). A major use of neem oil in India is in the manufacture of
soaps, toothpaste and other toiletries [such products are now being sold in
Germany and other countries]. The effect of neem oil and of aqueous extracts of
neem cake on insects has attracted the attention of large chemical companies.
Concerted efforts are under way to synthesize the main active ingredient,
azadirachtin, which can act [with remarkable specificity to insects] in several
ways. It is an antifeedant, causing insects to stop feeding on whatever the
compound is sprayed on. It can also act as a hormonal substance, interfering
with the normal development of the insect [there are problems with molting to
produce the adult reproductive stage]. Both effects would enable third world
grain producers to combat the massive losses of stored grain that currently
occur. A small amount of neem oil sprayed on the stored grain is effective in
deterring feeding by bruchid beetles [major destroyers of stored grain].
Aflatoxins, potent carcinogens causing liver cancer in humans eating certain
seeds infected with two species of Penicillium, could be controlled by the neem
extract. Experiments with cotton show that the neem extract prevents the
seed-infecting fungi from producing the aflatoxins. There is one problem with
the neem extract, however. It is unstable with respect to heat and light. For
those of you who did not view this program, a research team from U.B.C. which
was featured on the program has published an excellent review of neem tree usage
in the Canadian Journal of Botany [86(1): 1-11, 1990].

The Nature of Things, CBC-TV, December 1, 1993

--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)

I used to have leafminers in my columbines. We kept it under control
by simply cleaning up all the dead leaves and yard debris in our yard
in early winter instead of spring. Putting everything in the
composter probably got rid of all the over-wintering leafminers. All
the kitchen scraps we put in our composter over winter probably cooked
any survivors.

On Tue, 18 May 2004 17:07:39 UTC, (Pen) opined:
I used to have leafminers in my columbines. We kept it under control
by simply cleaning up all the dead leaves and yard debris in our yard
in early winter instead of spring. Putting everything in the
composter probably got rid of all the over-wintering leafminers. All
the kitchen scraps we put in our composter over winter probably cooked
any survivors.

Hard to interpret the timing: winter here is the natural growing season.

The way I run my compost pile, there is never a time when it is so hot as to
wipe out life.

--
Stan Goodman
Qiryat Tiv'on
Israel

Saddam is gone. Ceterum, censeo Arafat esse delendum.

To send me email, please replace the CAPITAL_LETTERS with "sig". Please do
not send me HTML-formatted messages.Please do not send me attachments
without telling me beforehand.