Leaf Eating Pests on my Guava Tree :(

[anshuman]

Hi,
I am Anshuman from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India (23º N, 72º E).
I have a 3 and 4 year old medium sized guava tree in my garden that has just started flowering. However, I have been observing that some insects are eating away its leaves. I haven't been able to identify the insects but there aren't any eggs on the backside of the leaves. The picture of the eaten leaves is attached. I think these leaves are eaten by some black coloured flies. I tried using Methyl Parathion 2% but am not sure if it is working. What should I do?

[img]https://i50.tinypic.com/2ealzkh.jpg[/img]

TIA

[rainbowgardener]

I don't have an answer for your tree, but I have to say I was really struck by the discrepancy between your signature line Go Green! and your use of methyl parathion. If you mean go green in the ecological/ environmental sense (not for example a soccer team you are rooting for), the use of methyl parathion is the antithesis of environmentally aware/ green.

For example:

"Since methyl parathion causes the formation of a toxic medium for human beings, birds, fresh water fish, other hydrophilous organisms as well as sea organisms by mixing to air, soil and water, it is well known that the usage of methyl parathion as an insecticide is a threatening
factor for the ecosystem. The usage of methyl parathion has been forbidden in EU (European Union) countries since 2003"
https://www.academicjournals.org/ajar/pdf/pdf%202010/18%20Apr/Kalipci%20et%20al.pdf

google Methyl Parathion environmental issues and you will find tons more about neurotoxic effects, bioaccumulation, etc etc

[anshuman]

Thanks a lot rainbowgardener for your reply.
Actually, I had consulted a local nursery here for the problem and they had suggested using methyl parathion.
But, I did read about the harmful effects of methyl parathion especially on honeybees (which help with pollination) and am not using it now.
Thanks again for drawing my attention to the issue!

[rainbowgardener]

What a constructive response! Thanks for having an open mind and being willing to learn and change behavior.

My computer is having some glitches and won't open your picture to full size, so I can't see much detail. I did a little looking for info on common pests of guavas and really didn't find much about leaf eaters. I'm sure that's not because there aren't any, but because they are not of as much concern to commercial growers as all the things that tunnel into and damage the fruits.

If your leaf eaters are not a major infestation, you can just ignore it. Your tree can easily lose 10% of its leaf surface without being damaged/ slowed down. It would be unusual for the flies to be the leaf eaters. Fly larvae well might, but fly adults are rarely leaf eaters, usually don't eat solids.

Typical leaf eaters would be various larvae, caterpillar or wormy type things, or beetles. So you might want to keep observing see if you can figure out who is really the culprit, because organic treatments would be different depending on whether it is a caterpillar/ worm or a beetle.

[anshuman]

Ohh right! I'll try clicking a pic of the leaf eating bug and will also wait for the fruits to mature to see if it is affecting them...

Thanks!