How to Control Sooty Mold on Plants

When confronted with a sooty mold problem on fruit trees or plants you want a quick resolution that works. You also might want to fix a sooty mold problem that keeps your oranges or plums free from pesticide residue. Here are the steps to treat a sooty mold problem on plants and get great tasting, pesticide-free fruit from your citrus or plum trees.

Instructions

1. Identify the type of insect and their by products that the mold might be using for food. It is important to know what insect you're dealing with so you know how to control them.

2. Control pests in an earth friendly way by using insecticidal soap on plants infested with aphids, mealy bugs and scale insects. You can also use diazinon or malathion, but these are insecticidal chemicals and may leave a residue on your fruit and may also run into ground water.

3. Apply dormant oil to trees and other woody plants (such as shrubs) to suffocate over-wintering aphids, scales or mealy bugs. Spray these plants during their dormant phase to control the insects that "feed" the sooty mold with their honeydew.

4. Rinse leaves with water to remove excessive growth of the sooty mold. This will help the plant better make it's food because more light is available to the chlorophyll in the leaves. In general, sooty mold is not a huge problem for the plant, but the insect infestation is. Controlling the insect infestation will in turn control the sooty mold growth.

5. Avoid cross contamination by cleaning your outdoor furniture with a mold destruction solution. One such recipe is 1/3 cup of powdered laundry detergent, 4 cups of bleach, 2/3 cup trisodium phosphate and 3 quarts of water. Because of the chemicals in this solution, wear rubber gloves to keep your hands from getting irritated.