OK...here is my Root Aphid situation:
1. Perpetual indoor grow with two separate environments for veg & flower.
2. Soil (I make my own mix) and about 95% Organic (using bleach & this routine disqualifies me).
3. Shutting down and starting over is/was not an option.
4. I clone from my own and will only accept new clones as cuttings that I can put in my clone machine.
5. Although past "organic attempts" did kill/knock out certain RA populations--the surviving population probably have developed resistance to Imidacloprid's single mode of action and a rotation of additional insecticides is required.
Some of the things I tried to knock down--but never 100% kill rate:
1. Imidacloprid (Bayer Advanced Fruit, Citrus & Vegetable Insect Control--not OMRI)...1.5 ml per sqft.
2. Potassium Salts of Fatty Acids (Safer Insect Killing Soap Concentrate)...both soil dunks and drenches at 2%.
3. Essential Oils (Dr. Earth Home & Garden Insect Spray-RTS)...if you use the sprayer the dilution rate is 33% but that is WAY TOO MUCH, rates at 2-10% will kill most soil critters within seconds.
4. Beauveria bassiana (BotaniGard--not OMRI)...2% dunks with each 3 gallon container consuming 0.75-1.5 gallons
Things I tried but would not recommend to battle RAs:
1. Pyretherin (Monterey Take Down Garden Spray)...very very short half life, like 10 minutes and the canola oil coated the roots (not good) with drenches and dunks (2%)--but effective as a foilar and contact spray.
2. Azadirachtin (AzaMax)...root drenches were not effective--same reason as above, coating the soil and roots with oil had negative impact on the plant's health...but works great as a foilar spray.
3. Petroleum Oil (Monterey Saf-T-Side)...same as above, not good for the general health of the soil and plant...but great for foilar spray.
My plants are healthy--but suffering and harvest yield is down 50%....causing me to match every hour of garden work with one hour of RA Pest Management. The concern of pathogens and mold is in my head--even though my plants don't show any signs...this RA game has got to stop! So these two routines have worked for me thus far, with nearly 100% success and no ill effects--
A. Rotation of Essential Oil Drench & Dunk/Insecticidal Soap Dunk/BotaniGard Soak/BotainGard Soak/Healthy Cocktail ($$$$$$$)
1. Day 1--Drench plant with 24-48 oz of Essential Oil (5%), wait until you see some runoff (causing RAs to scamper out the drain holes) and then dunk plant in 10% Essential Oil (I use 3 gallon bucket, place the plant inside--container and all, fill it to the brim and soak for a minimum of 2 minutes then let it drain in the sink).
2. Day 3--Drench/Dunk plant in Insecticidal Soap (2% and use the same technique as above drench the soil, wait for runoff then dunk for 2 minutes, and drain in sink).
3. Day 5--First Drench/Dunk plant in BotaniGard (2% and use the same technique as above).
4. Day 8--Second Drench/Dunk plant in BotaniGard (2% and use the same technique as above).
5. Days 4, 7 & 10--Apply Healthy Cocktail
6. Apply BotaniGard dunks once every 10 days--or as needed.
Rationale for the above--to prevent insecticidal resistance different modes of action are required to battle RAs--but nothing kills the eggs; so routines exactly 2-3 days a part is key to interrupt RA reproduction cycle. Botanigard (hard to get and very very very expensive--1 quart is nearly $100 and only makes 50 gallons) works great as the fungus actually breaks down the carcass of RAs by converting it to food for the soil. Insecticidal Soap does two things--suffocates RAs and helps clean pathogens and mold; which is all over the soil and covering the roots, source? RA's vomit, shit and piss; as evidenced by the waxy gooey stuff in the runoff.
B. Rotation of Insecticidal Soap/Darkside Cocktail/Healthy Cocktail ($)
1. Day 1--Drench plant with 24-48 oz of Insecticidal Soap 2% use the same technique as above drench the soil, wait for runoff then dunk for 2 minutes, and drain in sink.
2. Day 2--Drench soil surface with Darkside Cocktail....wait one hour and drench soil with Healthy Cocktail (if soil is dry--then pre-wet with Healthy Cocktail first)
3. Day 4, 6 & 8--Apply Healthy Cocktail
Darkside Cocktail--mixed together in 24-32 oz of water and applied ONE TIME as a soil drench to NON-DROUGHT STRESSED PLANT
1. Bayer Adv Fruit, Citrus & Vegetable Insect Control--Systemic (remains in the plant), Imidacloprid 0.8, 1.33, 2.22 ml per sq/ft.
2. Ortho Bug B Gon Max Lawn & Garden Insect Killer--Contact (pest must come in contact) Bifenthrin 0.5, 0.69, 1.04 ml per sq/ft.
3. Seven Concentrate Bug Killer--Contact (pest must come in contact) Carbaryl 0.14, 0.28, 0.69 ml per sq/ft.
Rationale for Darkside Cocktail (besides cost)...to be applied to plants greater than 28 days from harvest
1. The ranges (low, medium, high) are annual maximum rates for crop applications converted from pounds per acre to ml per sq ft.
2. Combining all three chemicals: Imidacloprid (Nicotinic ACH Receptor Disruptor), Bifenthrin (Sodium Channel Blockers) & Carbaryl (AChE Inhibitors) in one cocktail you are activating three different "modes of actions".
3. The above insecticide doses are at the upper annual limits and repeated applications are not necessary.
4. Most restrictions on safe pesticides are based on the chemical's ill effects on the environment (fish, shellfish, birds, bees, etc)--not on the insecticidal residue of harvested plants.
5. The half-life of these pesticides in healthy aerobic soil are as follows:
Imidacloprid 997 days
Bifenthrin 65-125 days
Carbaryl 4-27 days
6. To help breakdown the insecticides (gaining shorter half life) the Darkside Cocktail is followed with Healthy Cocktail.
Healthy Cocktail--24-48 oz to be applied every other day
1. Epsom Salts 5 ml/gal
2. Canna Rhizotonic 8ml/gal
3. Hygrozyme 8ml/gal
4. Hormex 5ml/gal
5. Seaweed Extract/Liquid Kelp 15ml/gal
6. Great White Mycorrhizae (1/2 scoop)
7. Use Compost Tea instead of water for extra bacteria
Following is my current RA Management routine--in lieu of Darkside Cocktail
1. Imid all plants as soon as possible, usually 2-3 days after being transplanted from the clone machine (1ml per plant in 8 oz of water).
2. Use Bifenthrin as a "soil insecticide" at the rate of 7 PPM (3.1-25 PPM are what many greenhouses use).
My equivalent--
1 gallon of my soil mix weighs 2000 grams,
1ml of Ortho Bug B Gon Max Lawn & Garden Insect Killer contains 0.003001 grams of Bifenthrin
15 gallons of soil (my normal mix quantity) requires 0.213 grams of Bif...which is equal to 71 ml of Ortho. So to the soil mix I add 1 gallon of water I with 1/2 scoop of Great White, 5 ml Hormex, and 71 ml of Ortho.
3. Use Essential Oils as my contact spray.
4. Aza-Max and Compost Tea foliar spray once a week (1 ml of AzaMax to 40 oz of Compost Tea).
Before the accusation flames regarding carcinogens and mallard poisoning--take a moment and read the attached reports from California Department of Pesticide Regulation:
http://www.cdpr.ca.g...ubs/envfate.htm
Hope this helps...all my plants are robust with white roots poking out of all drain holes and I have zero RAs...even my fussy pussy, LSD-69!
Cheers!
1. Perpetual indoor grow with two separate environments for veg & flower.
2. Soil (I make my own mix) and about 95% Organic (using bleach & this routine disqualifies me).
3. Shutting down and starting over is/was not an option.
4. I clone from my own and will only accept new clones as cuttings that I can put in my clone machine.
5. Although past "organic attempts" did kill/knock out certain RA populations--the surviving population probably have developed resistance to Imidacloprid's single mode of action and a rotation of additional insecticides is required.
Some of the things I tried to knock down--but never 100% kill rate:
1. Imidacloprid (Bayer Advanced Fruit, Citrus & Vegetable Insect Control--not OMRI)...1.5 ml per sqft.
2. Potassium Salts of Fatty Acids (Safer Insect Killing Soap Concentrate)...both soil dunks and drenches at 2%.
3. Essential Oils (Dr. Earth Home & Garden Insect Spray-RTS)...if you use the sprayer the dilution rate is 33% but that is WAY TOO MUCH, rates at 2-10% will kill most soil critters within seconds.
4. Beauveria bassiana (BotaniGard--not OMRI)...2% dunks with each 3 gallon container consuming 0.75-1.5 gallons
Things I tried but would not recommend to battle RAs:
1. Pyretherin (Monterey Take Down Garden Spray)...very very short half life, like 10 minutes and the canola oil coated the roots (not good) with drenches and dunks (2%)--but effective as a foilar and contact spray.
2. Azadirachtin (AzaMax)...root drenches were not effective--same reason as above, coating the soil and roots with oil had negative impact on the plant's health...but works great as a foilar spray.
3. Petroleum Oil (Monterey Saf-T-Side)...same as above, not good for the general health of the soil and plant...but great for foilar spray.
My plants are healthy--but suffering and harvest yield is down 50%....causing me to match every hour of garden work with one hour of RA Pest Management. The concern of pathogens and mold is in my head--even though my plants don't show any signs...this RA game has got to stop! So these two routines have worked for me thus far, with nearly 100% success and no ill effects--
A. Rotation of Essential Oil Drench & Dunk/Insecticidal Soap Dunk/BotaniGard Soak/BotainGard Soak/Healthy Cocktail ($$$$$$$)
1. Day 1--Drench plant with 24-48 oz of Essential Oil (5%), wait until you see some runoff (causing RAs to scamper out the drain holes) and then dunk plant in 10% Essential Oil (I use 3 gallon bucket, place the plant inside--container and all, fill it to the brim and soak for a minimum of 2 minutes then let it drain in the sink).
2. Day 3--Drench/Dunk plant in Insecticidal Soap (2% and use the same technique as above drench the soil, wait for runoff then dunk for 2 minutes, and drain in sink).
3. Day 5--First Drench/Dunk plant in BotaniGard (2% and use the same technique as above).
4. Day 8--Second Drench/Dunk plant in BotaniGard (2% and use the same technique as above).
5. Days 4, 7 & 10--Apply Healthy Cocktail
6. Apply BotaniGard dunks once every 10 days--or as needed.
Rationale for the above--to prevent insecticidal resistance different modes of action are required to battle RAs--but nothing kills the eggs; so routines exactly 2-3 days a part is key to interrupt RA reproduction cycle. Botanigard (hard to get and very very very expensive--1 quart is nearly $100 and only makes 50 gallons) works great as the fungus actually breaks down the carcass of RAs by converting it to food for the soil. Insecticidal Soap does two things--suffocates RAs and helps clean pathogens and mold; which is all over the soil and covering the roots, source? RA's vomit, shit and piss; as evidenced by the waxy gooey stuff in the runoff.
B. Rotation of Insecticidal Soap/Darkside Cocktail/Healthy Cocktail ($)
1. Day 1--Drench plant with 24-48 oz of Insecticidal Soap 2% use the same technique as above drench the soil, wait for runoff then dunk for 2 minutes, and drain in sink.
2. Day 2--Drench soil surface with Darkside Cocktail....wait one hour and drench soil with Healthy Cocktail (if soil is dry--then pre-wet with Healthy Cocktail first)
3. Day 4, 6 & 8--Apply Healthy Cocktail
Darkside Cocktail--mixed together in 24-32 oz of water and applied ONE TIME as a soil drench to NON-DROUGHT STRESSED PLANT
1. Bayer Adv Fruit, Citrus & Vegetable Insect Control--Systemic (remains in the plant), Imidacloprid 0.8, 1.33, 2.22 ml per sq/ft.
2. Ortho Bug B Gon Max Lawn & Garden Insect Killer--Contact (pest must come in contact) Bifenthrin 0.5, 0.69, 1.04 ml per sq/ft.
3. Seven Concentrate Bug Killer--Contact (pest must come in contact) Carbaryl 0.14, 0.28, 0.69 ml per sq/ft.
Rationale for Darkside Cocktail (besides cost)...to be applied to plants greater than 28 days from harvest
1. The ranges (low, medium, high) are annual maximum rates for crop applications converted from pounds per acre to ml per sq ft.
2. Combining all three chemicals: Imidacloprid (Nicotinic ACH Receptor Disruptor), Bifenthrin (Sodium Channel Blockers) & Carbaryl (AChE Inhibitors) in one cocktail you are activating three different "modes of actions".
3. The above insecticide doses are at the upper annual limits and repeated applications are not necessary.
4. Most restrictions on safe pesticides are based on the chemical's ill effects on the environment (fish, shellfish, birds, bees, etc)--not on the insecticidal residue of harvested plants.
5. The half-life of these pesticides in healthy aerobic soil are as follows:
Imidacloprid 997 days
Bifenthrin 65-125 days
Carbaryl 4-27 days
6. To help breakdown the insecticides (gaining shorter half life) the Darkside Cocktail is followed with Healthy Cocktail.
Healthy Cocktail--24-48 oz to be applied every other day
1. Epsom Salts 5 ml/gal
2. Canna Rhizotonic 8ml/gal
3. Hygrozyme 8ml/gal
4. Hormex 5ml/gal
5. Seaweed Extract/Liquid Kelp 15ml/gal
6. Great White Mycorrhizae (1/2 scoop)
7. Use Compost Tea instead of water for extra bacteria
Following is my current RA Management routine--in lieu of Darkside Cocktail
1. Imid all plants as soon as possible, usually 2-3 days after being transplanted from the clone machine (1ml per plant in 8 oz of water).
2. Use Bifenthrin as a "soil insecticide" at the rate of 7 PPM (3.1-25 PPM are what many greenhouses use).
My equivalent--
1 gallon of my soil mix weighs 2000 grams,
1ml of Ortho Bug B Gon Max Lawn & Garden Insect Killer contains 0.003001 grams of Bifenthrin
15 gallons of soil (my normal mix quantity) requires 0.213 grams of Bif...which is equal to 71 ml of Ortho. So to the soil mix I add 1 gallon of water I with 1/2 scoop of Great White, 5 ml Hormex, and 71 ml of Ortho.
3. Use Essential Oils as my contact spray.
4. Aza-Max and Compost Tea foliar spray once a week (1 ml of AzaMax to 40 oz of Compost Tea).
Before the accusation flames regarding carcinogens and mallard poisoning--take a moment and read the attached reports from California Department of Pesticide Regulation:
http://www.cdpr.ca.g...ubs/envfate.htm
Hope this helps...all my plants are robust with white roots poking out of all drain holes and I have zero RAs...even my fussy pussy, LSD-69!
Cheers!
