Question
Poor Leaf
Hi Kathy. Would you please identify this pest and how to deal with it? I have a kalamansi(acid orange) tree here in Florida and it seems to be infested. The leaves have a gooey white residue with a tiny worm burrowing through a layer of the leaves, forming a distinct curvy zigzag carving. This seems to be causing the leaves to curl up and wilt. So far I've been applying a home-made pesticide to deal with them but it looks ineffective and the worms persist. What is this pest and how should it be dealt? An image of one of the infested leaves is attached. The worm is visible near the top side of the leaf.
AnswerHi Anthony, That is a leaf minor that comes out here in FL when the weather gets hot and stays around till fall. I do not worry about it on my trees in the field. At my nursery, the new leaves can be trimmed off till the bug goes back to sleep, and now I am trying Atomic Grow to see if it will keep the pest away. Atomic Grow is organic and will wash the plant clean, then start healing it, as the plant heals and grows, insects go elsewhere to the sickly plants. As the minor lays her eggs every seven days it is almost impossible to stop, as most people do not have that much time to fuss with a plant. So very soon I will let everyone know how it has worked for me. On my other plants they have never looked so beautiful. kathy
