All garden plants are prone to infestation by pests and diseases. The key is early detection and immediate action. Infestation can be controlled by using harmful insecticides and pesticides. However, spraying chemicals should be avoided as much as possible, and preventive measures should be used to get rid of pests and diseases.
Prevention is better than cure:
Take resort to healthy gardening and horticultural practices. Propagate new plants with disease-free plants only. Prune, burn or destroy the diseased parts of the plants. Keep in mind that adaptive plants are less susceptible to diseases. Prevent soil-borne fungal, bacterial or viral diseases by exposing soil to solar rays in summer - soil sterilization. This is an excellent way of killing the weeds too. For vegetable and flower crops, buy disease-resistant varieties and hybrid seeds from Ugaoo.com.
Cultural control measures of pests and diseases:
Destroy the hiding places of pests, by removing weeds and wild plants which may act as hosts for a pest or illness.
To keep the pest population low, ensure crop rotation.
Using farmyard manure and compost in well-decomposed form; otherwise, these components would attract white ants, black ants, and other insect pests.
Check on drainage; waterlogging encourages fungal diseases. Grow the seedlings in a raised seedbed with good drainage; avoid water stagnation and prevent ‘damping off’ disease of seedlings. Read about how to fix the garden drainage easily.
Thinning out overcrowded plants eliminates the chance of growth pest infestation.
Remove egg clusters of bugs by rubbing them off with a toothbrush dipped in methylated spirit.
Remove affected branches or shoots, leaves or flowers, as needed.
Remove affected plants to prevent spreading of diseases from one plant to another.
Use of traps for pest control:
Sticky traps: Place bright yellow sticky paper traps in the garden to attract small flying insects like thrips, whitefly, aphids, etc.
Pheromone traps: It is a type of insect trap that uses pheromones to lure insects. Sex pheromones and aggregating pheromones are the most common types used.
Light traps: It is a device used at night in the field to collect moths and other flying insect pests.
Apart from these control measures, it is advisable to use natural homemade pesticides and insecticides, before opting for lethal chemicals.
