Since Cris has gone back to the US are there any experts on palm tree illnesses / treatments on the island?

I see a lot of what I think is leathal yellow on the south end and it looks like Island Academy is going to lose all their palms. I'm concerned that my transplanted palms may be in the early stages of leathal yellow disease but hoping they have something easier to treat.

Not sure when I'll be back for a visit so I need someone reliable to arrange treating my palms before it's too late.

Thanks

http://www.sanpedroscoop.com/2012/02/coconut-trees-who-knew.html ---> I wrote this a little while ago...and I know that he is off the island during the summer. I'll let you know if I know of anyone else!

There is a guy in Florida, who used to live here. We bought the injection kit and tetracycline from him. Let me see if I can find his email. I'll post here.

Brian
treesave@bellsouth.net

you can get everything you need at Prosser in Belize City.

Prosser Fertilizer and Agrotec
8 miles western Hwy 223-5384
71 Nrorth Front st. 223-5599

The first symptom of Lethal Yellowing is that all the blooms turn black and all the nuts large and small fall off. After that its already too late. The top growth sprout turns yellow and can be seen from a distance. Whole tree does not necessarily look yellow, just the top. After that the top breaks off and you are left with a toothpick.
More common is the palm beetle ., The bottom leaves droop and start to turn yellow before it dies. Lethal Yellowing is very distinctive in its symptoms and easy to diagnose. First look at the blooms, if they are black and it drops all the fruit its L.Y. if not black and still has fruit its the beetles.

Fruit is there. Tops not yellow. Bottom frons turning yellow with spots similar to what human fungus looks like.

Some look healthier than others making me think that some have a problem.

I need someone to go make the correct diagnosis and provide the treatment for me as I'm state side and won't be back for a while.

Most if not all the Island Academy palms are orange coconut which is a decease resistant tree.

On the south end most of the issues are Lethal Yellowing or beetle related. By the time they are discovered it is generally easier to cut them down and start growing a new one. If it is not done quickly they will infect other trees. They need to be cut and then burned.

http://ambergriscaye.com/cocopalms/
There are a number of photos and descriptions on this page that could help.

Indeed the palms at the Island Academy are Malay Dwarf Palms which are a hybrid tree designed to be resistant to the lethal yellowing.

There are worms, beetles, the lethal yellowing and other blights to contend with - if you are seeing ill effects on your trees you need to cut them down and burn them or the disease or bug will spread even when the tree is dead. Burn it and haul it to the dump.

While we are talking about trees, if you have a bunch of coconuts that are opened up for their milk and the rest of the nut is discarded the debris will attract the coconut beetle to the area. So you should use the nut as well as the milk or again you need to haul the nuts off to the dump or you will bring the beetles into your area. Pheromone traps for the beetle are interesting but again can have some undesirable effects so please be sure to investigate your solutions thoroughly before employing them.

I had a tree infected with the beetle once. I realised there was a problem when the top half of the tree just fell off one day. It was up there with the worst smells I have ever encountered, made even less pleasant when the nearby bees nest blamed me for the demise of their food source and attacked en masse. Amanda's husband kindly lent me a man and a chainsaw to cut what was left down and set it on fire. That was fun.