Have you ever noticed a black layer on the palm fronds? You can rub the black layer with your fingers to wipe it off. The black layer is known as sooty mold, which is nothing but fungus. In this article, I will explain the working method for getting rid of sooty mold on palm trees.
Let's make it clear first:
Sooty mold does not harm your plant directly. Due to the black layer, the palm fronds will not get enough sunlight to be absorbed by the green fronds. This will affect the photosynthesis process.
Sooty mold makes the palm fronds look ugly and black.
If you do not treat sooty mold, it will go away automatically ( can't give a specific time, approx 1 or 2 months )
You need to understand how they appear on your palm tree
Your palm tree must have been infected by aphids, mealybugs, or some other kind of bugs (mostly aphids). These pests drain nutrients from your plant or tree and release excrement that contains a high sugar content.
On this highly sugar-contained excrement, a black-colored fungus grows. This is known as sooty mold.
Sooty mold will not suck any nutrients from the palm fronds. It will only extract nutrients from the excrement of the aphids (or some other bugs).
Treatment
You need only these:
- Dishwashing Soap (You can also use liquid dishwashing soap as it dissolves faster)
- Vegetable oil (Like sunflower oil or soybean oil)
- Water
- A good hosepipe for spraying.
Mix 1 tablespoon of liquid dishwashing soap, 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil, and 1 liter of water.
Now spray this solution using the hosepipe on the affected areas.
I love this method as you can make this at your home and less harmful to the pollinators.
If your palm tree is really tall, you can use a powerful hosepipe and make a larger amount of that solution.
Do not forget to spray on the soil as oil to kill the remaining.
Why you should use vegetable oil?
It makes the solution a bit sticky and it sticks to the leaves.
When should you spray this on the palm fronds?
In the evening. A lot of gardeners prefer the morning time, but I won't suggest that, and here's the reason:
Due to this solution, if the leaves get direct sunlight and heat, the leaves might get sunburned. So we need to wash the leaves carefully before the midday heat.
If we consider spraying it in the evening, we will get enough time for the solution to work and the next morning, we can wash it off.
Is there any alternative way to get rid of sooty mold?
You can mix horticulture oil with water and spray on the soil and leaves.
( You should read the package instructions before applying and most of these are harmful to pollinators like bees and butterflies. So try to use these when the blooming season is over or prior to the blooming season)
As I already told you this black-colored fungus grows on the excrement of aphids ( insects ), you should kill those insects before they attract the sooty mold fungus.
Check: How to get rid of mealybugs (Tested methods only) and How to get rid of whiteflies (Home remedy)
