Rabbit Damage to Hops Reduced with Plantskydd
Hop damage of 25-30% reduced to 2-3% with Plantskydd Rabbit Repellent
Crop: Hops Animal Damage: Rabbits
As of 6/19/13, approximately 30% of plants had suffered minor to moderate feeding damage and 5% of plants suffered major feeding damage.
Plantskydd Rabbit & Deer Repellent was applied to all hop plants on 6/19/13, at a rate of 1 package per 8 gallons. Spray was applied using a 4 gallon agitating back pack sprayer. No adjuvant was used. District water, which is relatively hard and alkaline (water report attached), was used to mix the spray.
By Mid-July, some of our lower alpha varieties were beginning to experience moderate feeding damage, so we sprayed again at the same dilution rate. This is the critical period because the hops are almost to the tops of the trellises and, if a bine gets chomped at the bottom, we lose the whole bine.
Major Damage – Bine Bites (pictures taken 6/13 – 6/19)
Minor to moderate damage – feeding on leaves and small bines. Major damage, chewing/biting through strung bines. Rabbits bit through bines that are up the trellis and sometimes even the twine.
Minor – Moderate Damage: Leaf nibbles and small bine damage
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We only spray the bottom 1.5 – 2 ft of the bine. RESULTS — Last year we experienced almost a 25% loss due to rabbit and rodent feeding. — This year, with the application of Plantskydd, it was 2–3%. Lyle Kafader |
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