This was my Screw Pine or Palm Pandanus tectorius last year at 6 November 2013. I grew it from seed which germinated in 2005.



Since then this healthy palm started to go downhill. It was only last month that it occurred to me that it might have the Pandanus Leafhopper infection (Jamella australiae). This leafhopper is native to North Queensland north of here but has been introduced to Southern Queensland and Northern New South Wales where it is devastating groves of this iconic species. The problem is that it is kept in check in the north by a parasitic wasp which is not present in the south. You can read about the problem here where a local authority is battling to save their Pandanus.

http://www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/Pa...

There is a picture of the leafhopper here. It is about 8mm in length.

http://www.eplantsnoosa.com.au...

Here, I am going to detail my attempt to save my palm over the coming months by cleaning up the foliage and injecting a systematic insecticide into the trunk and branches.

Here is what it looked like yesterday as I began to remove dead leaves compared to it in its glory days. The change in the palm is sad and pathetic. The leaves are rotted where they meet the trunk or branch and sooty fungus is everywhere. I can see the leaf hoppers but they don't wait to be photographed.




Today I got rid of most of the dead leaves. The wind was really bad this afternoon and the top of one of the branches just fell off (second from the right).




This a photo of all the leaves that have been killed and now removed. The branch top that fell off is in the foreground. I think one other branch has had it and will fall off (extreme right branch in previous picture).

Removing the dead leaves supposedly reduces the leafhopper population and impacts on the sooty fungus.



As well, I have drilled holes in the truck and branch and used a syringe to inject a systemic insecticide (Yates "Success" - one part to three parts water). The holes will be plugged with plastic bungs, which supposedly will aid healing of the drill holes.

Glen, that was such a beautiful tree, I sure hope the systematic takes care of those leafhoppers and the tree will return to it's glory! I look forward to hearing of progress.

Good luck with this Glen. You obviously babied it along for years.

Glen, I hope you can save your tree, sad to see what a pest can do in a short period of time.

Rooting for you and the tree Glen!

Oh so sad to see what they have done to such a lovely tree. I'm rooting for you and the tree Gleni, good for you for trying to save it.

Glen, we are all cheering for you to succeed there! Way to go with the systemic, but are you going to have to continue with this regime to keep the leafhoppers at bay?

Just an idea here, to slow down the leafhoppers that are already with you, does soapy water spray kill them off? Most insects die if you can hit them with the soapy spray. My experience with systemics containing imidacloprid has been that, like antibiotics used too often, the insects can develop resistance to it over time.

You might experiment on the dead stuff you removed from the tree, and see if soapy water kills the bugs. A 'mechanical' solution for one tree in a home garden often works long term, after the initial infestation is taken care of with the systemic. Btw, have you bagged up all that dead stuff yet, so the bugs don't spread from it? I wouldn't try to compost it, there may be eggs and larvae present.

It seems you may need to dispose of the waste from the tree in the proper manner or it will harbor the fungus. I don't know about that, but I would spray it down well with a fungicide and later burn it after it dries out? I'd find out for sure what to do.

In the link Glen posted (in another thread) it details how to dispose of the parts you remove so the bugs won't spread from that stuff so I'm sure Glen is following that protocol.
Let me go see if I can find the link. BRB....
Here, I found the post:
http://garden.org/thread/view_...

If I recall correctly, the tree is 8 or 9 years old now. I'm sure Glen is asleep now as it's night time in Oz.

I wonder if the local shire is looking into importing the parasitic wasp? That would seem to me to be the real 'long term solution'.

Many thanks everyone. I hope we win.

Here is a spiel on the wasp.

http://www.discoveryplanet.com...

Here is an article about the wasp being introduced in the south. Our local council, Redland City Council, has not.

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily....

This morning I spent several hours mulching the leaves I removed, which I will compost. This is one recommendation. The fungus infection is much enabled by the leafhoppers sugary secretions.

http://www.environment.nsw.gov...



In the high winds last night, no new branches fell off the palm.

Elaine, the leaves fit so tightly with each other in a screw and I wouldn't be able to get the soapy water between them. As well, it is 10-14 feet high and I am very unsteady on a ladder in my older age. (But I would try it if I could. I will have to think of something because the systemic doesn't last).

This also means I cannot get up high enough to get off all the diseased leaves which is much recommended. So I will have to pray here a bit despite all my good intentions.

The rot really does smell.

How about a pump sprayer for the soapy water, Glen? Mine gets 2m. or so above my head if I keep it pumped up.

It also holds 8 liters which could probably spray your whole tree in one go. With the pressurized spray it might get a little ways into the leaf axils, too.

I'd also spray the dead leaves that you mulched up with the soapy water, to kill off any larvae that might have survived the mulching process. It might help with the smell, too. I have found it helps a bit with removing the sooty mold off the living leaves as well. I leave the soapy water on the plant for a little while, then rinse the whole thing with a sharp spray from the hose.

Pulling for you and the tree, Glen.

Here too Glen.

Lots of rain and wind in the last few days. Another top of a branch came off last night (the topless one on the right). That is two now terminally gone and six left out of eight branches.



You can see the rot at the base of the leaves of the top that fell off.



The top just snaps through because of the fungus.




This is not looking good. But onwards.

Sad, incredibly sad, Glen.

Crying Glen but still holding out hope.

Another two branches have snapped off. It looks like several will soon follow. Just one thunderstorm will do it.

All I need is one branch to live to be successful.

That is just incredibly sad, Glen. Isn't this the first of the Screw Pines that I saw and asked you about? Such an unusual tree and I surely hope you get that one living branch!