Texas A&M University citrus scientists who developed a successful planting method to combat diaprepes root weevil found that the method also offers numerous other benefits.
In 2013, researchers Mamoudou Setamou and Olufemi Alabi were looking for an effective non-chemical method to physically block the circular foliage-to-underground lifecycle of diaprepes. The pest was attacking citrus roots and killing trees.
Their solution was to cover tree root zones with a black plastic mesh. The trees had been planted over raised earthen beds. A new video describing the planting method declares it to be “highly successful. Damage from the diaprepes root weevil was virtually eliminated.”
Other benefits the researchers discovered from the planting method included:
- Vastly improved tree growth and root health
- Earlier fruit set
- Higher quality fruit
- Substantial water savings
- Superior tree health to help manage greening disease, phytophthora and other pests and diseases
- Weed and vine control
“The use of the new planting method will likely become the only profitable way to plant future citrus orchards,” the video narrator says.
The video opens with a view from a drone passing over two orchards divided by a dirt road. The orchards were planted at the same time (three years ago) and received the same inputs. The narrator describes the orchard on one side of the road as “obviously healthier and more lush” than the other. The only difference between the orchards is the manner in which they were planted. The better-looking orchard used the Setamou and Alabi planting method.
In the video, grower and Texas Citrus Mutual President Dale Murden says he has been in Florida where implementation of the Texas A&M planting method was viewed “with great excitement … Some of these new planting designs I think are going to help them (Florida growers).”
The video also includes testimonials about the planting method from other Texas growers and orchard care managers.
Murden recommends Florida citrus producers contact Texas A&M scientists in Weslaco for the latest information on how to incorporate this new raised-bed planting method.”
Learn more about the Texas A&M University-Kingsville Citrus Center at Weslaco.
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