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Bt spray....how much?

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workhorse_01

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The active ingredient in Cyonara is Lambda-Cyhalothrin derived from Natural occurring pyrethrins like dried chrysanthemum flowers. That being said it's a poison also, and still not what I want in my lip. They can clone goats why cant we get a pesticide that wont harm us?

 

DonH

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The active ingredient in Cyonara is Lambda-Cyhalothrin derived from Natural occurring pyrethrins like dried chrysanthemum flowers. That being said it's a poison also, and still not what I want in my lip. They can clone goats why cant we get a pesticide that wont harm us?

I'm with you, but the half life of Cyonara is 7 days so there won't be much left if you age the tobacco. The big risk would be breathing it in or getting it on your hands when applying.
 

Chicken

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well who knew,

that me doing my spraying at night, I WAS HELPING THE BEES,????
 

deluxestogie

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Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) and hornworms: some references to correct my earlier misconceptions.

Broderick NA, Raffa KF, Handelsman J: Midgut bacteria required for Bacillus thruingiensis insecticidal activity. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2006 Oct 10; 103(41): 15196-15199.
My Summary: This study documents the following sequence of events whereby Bt kills insect larvae (gypsy moth).
  1. Bt organism forms spores that contain insecticidal crystal proteins (delta-endotoxin).
  2. The sprores are consumed by the larva.
  3. The high alkalinity of the larval mid-gut allows the spores to release delta-endotoxin.
  4. Delta-endotoxin binds to the larval mid-gut wall, and creates pores in the gut cells.
  5. Normal bacterial flora of the larval gut (E. coli and Enterobacter sp.) then invade the larva's circulation, causing fatal sepsis.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1622799/


Stepphun A, et al.: Nicotine's Defensive Function in Nature. PLoS Biol 2(8): e217. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0020217. August 17, 2004.
My Summary: Tobacco hornworms grow faster and eat more leaf on nicotine-reduced tobacco.

http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.0020217


...Manduca sexta...tolerate high doses of nicotine and other alkaloids, which are usually toxic to animals. An inducible [can be ramped up by exposure] degradation mechanism, coupled with a rapid and inducible excretion system, appear to help [them] to tolerate a wide range of toxins and thus to live on host plants rich in otherwise toxic secondary metabolites [like nicotine].

http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/institute/fak14/ipmb/phazb/pubwink/2002/29_2002.pdf


Bob
 

DGBAMA

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If it works it works.
I admit being a little saddened that nicotine is not what actually kills them.
 

deluxestogie

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Apparently, the central nervous system of a tobacco hornworm is 1/100 as sensitive to the effects of nicotine as that of a mammal. So not only do they break down nicotine chemically, then poop it out, they are 100 times more resistant to its effects.

Bob
 

BlazedUp

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Picked 7 very small(1/4 in) horn worms on my plants this afternoon.
Sprayed a mix of BT and Neem oil just now, hope that will take care of any I missed.
I plan to spray once a week to keep these hungry lil bastards in check.
Any of you guys have experience with Neem on tobacco?
I would imagine that Neem would need to be discontinued close to harvest.
Any idea how soon to harvest I can spray Neem without causing off flavors in the tobacco?
 

Jitterbugdude

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You probably just need to spray one more time, maybe a week later. This will take care of any you missed with the first spray. I'd worry about neem oil though. That stuff stinks. I worry that the smell will still be on the leaf when you harvest it.
 

BlazedUp

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Thanks for the advise. No sign of worms or further damage!
Looks like rain is in the forecast for tomorrow, would you recommend that I reapply BT if it rains tomorrow?
The plants are doing very well even tho temps have been at or over 100 since they've been in the ground (28 days).
My garden plants usually really take off once were out of the triple digits, hopefully the tobacco will do the same.
We're having an unusually hot October.
 

Jitterbugdude

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I think BT breaks down (from the sun's UV rays) within about 3 or 4 days. If you sprayed it a day or two ago the worms already ate it so you should be good.
 
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