White Sapote -How I rescued the tree from an infestation of black scales and ants
White sapote (Casimiroa edulis) is an uncommon fruit in California. I have not seen the fruit in general or oriental supermarkets. The first time I saw white sapote was in a San Marcos nursery. The nursery had a special event for drought resistant flowering plant. My wife and I enjoyed the colorfully blooming butterfly bushes, penstemon and alstromeria and strolled around the nursery ground. We noticed a big trees with bright green leaves and numerous green round fruit on the tree. The fruit looked like green apple or guava, but the leaves definitely are different from apple or guava. A worker nearly told us that it was call white sapote and offered a couple of soft fruit to us. The skin of the fruit was soft and thin, the meat a light yellow. The texture of the fruit was very soft and creamy with slight sweetness. I was hooked.
I subsequently bought a 5-gallon white sapote (Vernon) in a nursery. The plant grew quiet well in the ground and reached 5-feet in a year. I was surprised how soft the branches were. Left on their own, the soft and long branches drooped to the ground. I had to tie them up. I was even more surprised when the tree started to flower the second year and produced 2 fruit. Wow, that was precocious. The fruit was medium size and very creamy and delicious. The next year, I got 2 fruits. It was a little disappointing, but the tree is still young. The third year, the tree just exploded with flowers. Virtually every leaf node has a flower cluster. I started to dream a tree full of beautiful fruit.
Then I noticed some black scale insect on some leaves. No worry, I removed the scale from the leaves manually. I got a satisfying sensation that I got rid a pest handily. Then next day, more scaly insects appeared, and more and more every day. After a week virtually every leaf was covered with black scales. I also noticed that the tree is full of ants. The ants collect sweet secretion from the scale and probably protect them from natural predators. I sprayed the tree with neem oil. The infestation got lighter, but the scale and ants came back in a few days. The leaves started to turn black from the scale and fungus and then yellow and dropped to the ground. I searched the web and was informed that the scale insects would not be a problem if the ants were eliminated. Fortunately, there was a product called tanglefoot that was basically a glue which would trap any ants. I bought a container of tanglefoot, wrapped the tree trunk with a tape and applied to product on the tape. I watched ants struggled with the sticky glue with satisfaction. In 2 days the ants were gone. Some bee-like insects and ladybugs started to feast on the scales. Eventually, most of the scales were killed, but most of the leaves were too damaged and fell to the ground. I was left with a tree with bare, leafless branches. I panicked a little, but decided to give the tree a boost. I watered more frequently and added some fertilizer. In 2 weeks, red leaf buds appeared everywhere. In a week or 2, the tree was full of young healthy leaves. Interestingly, the fruit, although also attached by the scale and fungus, hung on to the tree. Now I have about 15 small fruit hanging on the branches and growing bigger.
I am happy the tree recovered so quickly and wholy. I just have to be vigilant about the ants. I claim a great success in the fight against the infestation of black scales and ants. Sometimes we do win in the race against the pests.
The white sapote just planted
I subsequently bought a 5-gallon white sapote (Vernon) in a nursery. The plant grew quiet well in the ground and reached 5-feet in a year. I was surprised how soft the branches were. Left on their own, the soft and long branches drooped to the ground. I had to tie them up. I was even more surprised when the tree started to flower the second year and produced 2 fruit. Wow, that was precocious. The fruit was medium size and very creamy and delicious. The next year, I got 2 fruits. It was a little disappointing, but the tree is still young. The third year, the tree just exploded with flowers. Virtually every leaf node has a flower cluster. I started to dream a tree full of beautiful fruit.
Then I noticed some black scale insect on some leaves. No worry, I removed the scale from the leaves manually. I got a satisfying sensation that I got rid a pest handily. Then next day, more scaly insects appeared, and more and more every day. After a week virtually every leaf was covered with black scales. I also noticed that the tree is full of ants. The ants collect sweet secretion from the scale and probably protect them from natural predators. I sprayed the tree with neem oil. The infestation got lighter, but the scale and ants came back in a few days. The leaves started to turn black from the scale and fungus and then yellow and dropped to the ground. I searched the web and was informed that the scale insects would not be a problem if the ants were eliminated. Fortunately, there was a product called tanglefoot that was basically a glue which would trap any ants. I bought a container of tanglefoot, wrapped the tree trunk with a tape and applied to product on the tape. I watched ants struggled with the sticky glue with satisfaction. In 2 days the ants were gone. Some bee-like insects and ladybugs started to feast on the scales. Eventually, most of the scales were killed, but most of the leaves were too damaged and fell to the ground. I was left with a tree with bare, leafless branches. I panicked a little, but decided to give the tree a boost. I watered more frequently and added some fertilizer. In 2 weeks, red leaf buds appeared everywhere. In a week or 2, the tree was full of young healthy leaves. Interestingly, the fruit, although also attached by the scale and fungus, hung on to the tree. Now I have about 15 small fruit hanging on the branches and growing bigger.
A fruit just formed
Recovering sapote with fresh new leaves and fruit still stained with fungus
I am happy the tree recovered so quickly and wholy. I just have to be vigilant about the ants. I claim a great success in the fight against the infestation of black scales and ants. Sometimes we do win in the race against the pests.
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