My wife and I started gardening in Fukuoka (Japan) in 2003. There was nothing but muddy clayey sloping land. At the beginning we made several structure such as steps and paths, and planted turf, fruit trees, roses, herbs etc.
In 2010, we visited several famous English gardens, including Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Mottisfont Abbey Garden and Hidcote Manor Garden. We were shocked by the glory of those gardens. Since then, we have been trying to make small but glorious gardens by ourselves.
My second crop of edamame has grown quite a bit. It’s been just over three weeks since I sowed the seeds. I’ve put up a pest-proof net. However, upon closer inspection, I noticed that the leaves have been eaten away quite a bit. I wonder what sort of pest is eating the leaves.
When I looked for the pest, I found just one caterpillar on a leaf. It appears to be a cutworm; when I moved some soil aside to have a look, I found two more. I wonder if adult moths managed to get through the gaps in the netting to lay their eggs?
I don’t usually observe the edamame at this time of year, so I’d never seen them before, but I noticed that small flowers were blooming. There are pink ones and white ones. As I sowed two different varieties, I suppose that’s why two different colours of flowers are blooming. It looks as though they’ll be ready for harvesting around the middle of next month.
Every year at this time of year, when new rose shoots are growing and beginning to form buds, a pest Syrista similis appears. On fine mornings, they fly in from who knows where and land on the new shoots bearing rose buds to lay their eggs; in doing so, they cut into the pith inside the shoot’s bark, causing the shoot to wilt and die almost immediately. Every year, around 100 to 200 new shoots died, which was a real shock.
So, last year I switched to covering the rose branches with fine-mesh netting. Although I couldn’t cover them completely and there was still some damage, it proved highly effective, so I’ve done the same this year. As the damage virtually disappears once May arrives, I expect I’ll be able to remove the netting in about three weeks.
The worst pest of roses, Syrista similis, plagues roses every year around mid-April. They lay their eggs by cutting into the stem at the bottom of the flower bud. This causes the flowers to wilt above the incision in no time at all, and the flowers never bloom. It really is the worst pest of all.
If you leave wilted shoots with eggs laid on them, the larvae will move down the stem and emerge as adults, so be sure to prune any wilted shoots you find and dispose of them as rubbish.
On a high day, about 50 buds will be ruined. It is hard to see that. But I'm having trouble finding a reliable way to prevent the damage. I have tried everything, but prevention is difficult.
In response to the above situation, I tried a new method of defence against the attack of the Syrista similis. This method is to cover the rosebush with a whole net. I had thought about this method for a while, but thought it was impractical. However, it occurred to me that I could use the large insect repellent nets that I have been using recently in my potager. I immediately put it to the test on my climbing and shrub roses. This may help to reduce pest damage.
Some of the asparagus branches are dying and when I look at the ground edge of the branches, something is wrong. There is something like fine wood chips between two branches. When I removed it, I found large holes in both stems. Suspecting a longhorn beetle larva, I checked above and below the hole and found that there was a longhorn beetle larva at the bottom of the hole, near the ground. This is the first time this pest has been seen on asparagus in our potager.
Damaged branches were cut and many berries were collected.
A new trial against the rose pest, the Syrista similis, was described in a previous article, and now, more than three weeks later, we summarise its effectiveness and shortcomings in this issue.
The total number of shoots affected by the pest during this period was 94, of which 83 were not treated and 11 were treated.
The total number of shoots not treated was not counted, so the percentage of damage is not known, but it was thought to be quite high.
In contrast, 3.9% of the new shoots where measures were taken were damaged. The damage was 3.0% on vinyl and 5.6% on newspaper, with slightly more damage on shoots covered with newspaper. Many of the damaged shoots had the top edge of the cover wide open.
Disadvantages of covering shoots included deformation of some leaves, but there were no major problems.
For more information, please watch the video below.
Syrista similis is the most detestable and worst rose pest in our gardens. In spring, when the new shoots of roses are growing and budding, the adult flies in and lays its eggs on the shoots. Not only do they lay eggs, but they also cut the pith of the shoots with their knife-like tail. Naturally, the shoots soon wither and die. Soon after hatching from the eggs, the larvae feed on the inside of the stem and move down the stem. The wilted shoots do not flower. Our garden has been affected by this every April, and in some years up to 120 shoots have been destroyed. It is very shocking.
The pest is small, less than two centimetres in length, plain and inconspicuous in colour, and difficult to catch as it flies about quickly. Insecticides do not help. We have been struggling for a long time to find a solution.
This season, we have decided to try a new strategy. This is a method of preventing the adult insects from getting close to the shoots. Cut a piece of newspaper about 15 cm wide and 25 cm long, wrap it around the shoots and staple it in three or four places. This is easy to do and reuses the newspaper. However, newspaper can cause problems if it gets wet and becomes weak and heavy. So I cut a plastic bag to the same size and used that. This might be better as it also lets light through. I attached both to many shoots in the garden. The damage will be almost finished by the end of April, so if there are no problems until then, I will keep them attached and test their effectiveness and problems.
First damaged rose shoots of the year 今年最初の被害のバラの新梢
Peeling of wilted shoots reveals the cut pith. Usually in the shape of a gull in flight, but this time it has been cut in a spiral shape. 萎れた新梢の皮を剥くと切られた髄が良く見える. 通常はカモメが飛ぶ形だが、今回はらせん状に切られている.
When cut in the middle, there were tiny larvae that had hatched inside. 真ん中で切ると、中に孵化した小さな幼虫がいた
