Stickfast Fleas occur mainly in backyard chickens during the warmer months. Commercial poultry sheds use concrete flooring, so they have mostly eradicated the problem. They are small insects (about 1mm in size) that feed on the blood of poultry and stick to their skin, mainly the comb, wattles and above the eyes. They can also…
Fungus in Lawns mostly occur when humidity is high. Generally they are not common in residential lawns. Fine leafed lawns which are mown low and have high nutrition demands to combat the low mowing, such as bowling greens, are the most susceptible. Occasionally, however, they will show up in domestic situations if the conditions are…
DISEASES OF ROOT AND TRUNK Armillaria Root Rot Citrus trees with root rot show a slow decline with leaf yellowing and leaf drop. It appears under the bark as white, fan shaped mycelia mats with a strong mushroom odour. Long thin black strands spread the infection from root to root and among plants as they…
Citrus Pests control should involve a combination of methods including cultural and biological and when needed, the targeted use of selective pesticides. They fall mainly into two categories, chewing insects and sap sucking insects. Chewing Insects Citrus Leafminer Citrus Leafminer originally comes from southeast Asia and is now common in Perth. The larvae gets into…
There are two main reasons we prune our roses. The first is to rejuvenate your plant. This involves discarding as many old stems as possible and leaving young stems. The young stems will generate lush new growth, which in turn will produce plentiful quality blooms. Secondly, pruning ventilates the bush, allowing more light and air…
Chickens, like all birds, hide their illness from casual observation. This is a preservation technique designed to hide their weakened condition from predators. Unfortunately their illness is also hidden from us and we don’t realise how thin our birds have become until they are handled, or they are about to fall of the perch. To…
Garlic is great for the backyard veggie grower because it goes with anything and you can pretty much plant and forget about it. As a general rule you plant it on the shortest day and harvest it on the longest. Garlic prefers a temperate climate and grows well in Western Australia from Geraldton to the…