Save our Citrus!
Kaye Roberts-Palmer is co-founder of Save Our Citrus
The good old backyard lemon tree’s survival is currently under threat from a tiny pest that has reached plague proportions right across Melbourne.
Known as the native citrus gall wasp (Bruchophagus fellis) this pest has multiplied quickly, making its home in citrus trees causing the tree’s branches to swell into tumours that eventually starve the tree until it dies.
The Save Our Citrus Melbourne campaign was set up to help provide much needed pruning information and safe disposal advice so that people across Melbourne can actively prune in a timely and coordinated way.
Founder of Save Our Citrus Melbourne and Garden Consultant Kaye Roberts-Palmer said, “it’s so important that the whole gardening community come together to prune and dispose of the material now in the winter months and especially before spring as one surviving adult wasp can lay up to 100 eggs and start the whole process again.”
The Save our Citrus Melbourne Facebook page offers information and tips helping people from all over Melbourne reduce citrus gall wasp and become part of the gardening community.
“There is no native predator in Melbourne so we are the first line of defence. That’s why it’s so important to do this together because if you’ve pruned your tree but your neighbour hasn’t, you’re just going to get the problem again next season.”
Below is a great video that the group has put together on how to identify and remove gall wasp from your trees:
To find out more about the campaign, visit Facebook: Save our Citrus Melbourne.
If you would like Kaye to give an educational talk on stopping gall wasp to your harvest swap or gardening group, please get in touch with her via the Save Our Citrus Melbourne Facebook page.
