Transcript Plant Disorders - Mid

Plant Disorders
Insects and Pest
Snails/Slugs
Slug baits although messy, are probably the most effective tool for
management. Baits containing metaldehyde (Deadline M-Ps, Deadline
Bullets) work by stimulating water loss in slugs through excessive mucus
secretion and through partial paralysis.
Treatment: Insecticide
Aphids
Aphids are small pear-shaped, soft-bodied insects with long, slender
mouth parts that they use to pierce stems, leaves, and other tender
plant parts and suck out plant fluids.
Treatment: Insecticidal soap, neem oil, and narrow-range oil
Whiteflies
Whiteflies are tiny, sap-sucking insects that are frequently abundant in
vegetable and ornamental plantings.
Whiteflies usually occur in groups on the undersides of leaves.
Treatment: Insecticides have only a limited effect on whiteflies. Most kill only
those whiteflies that come in direct contact with them. For particularly
troublesome situations, try insecticidal soap or an insecticidal oil such as
neem oil or narrow-range oil.
Spider mites
To the naked eye, spider mites look like tiny, moving dots.
If a treatment for mites is necessary, use selective materials,
preferably insecticidal soap or insecticidal oil.
Fungas gnat
Fungus gnats are flies. Adult fungus gnats are dark, delicate-looking
insects, similar in appearance to mosquitoes. Adult fungus gnats have
slender legs with segmented antennae that are longer than their head.
Treatment: Spray with insecticide.
Scale
Scales are unusual looking and many people do not at first recognize them
as insects. Adult female scales and most immatures (nymphs) are
immobile, wingless, and lack a separate head or other recognizable body
parts.
Treatment: Horticultural oil (where plants can be sprayed) and certain
systemic insecticides are preferred chemicals for most situations when scales
are numerous enough to cause damage.
Mealybug
Mealybugs and have wings and are rarely seen. Mealybugs are tiny and
delicate; the body is commonly yellow or red with two long whitish tail
filaments.
Treatment: Spray with Insecticide
Thrips
First Sign: Leaf surfaces finely speckled with yellow spots. Later, a silvery
metallic looking sheen may cover leaf surfaces.
Not all Thrips create this sheen. With or without the sheen, you'll also see
black specks (Thrip fecal material). Only on close inspection is the pest itself
found. About 1/16" long,
.
Chemical Control of Thrips Using Least-toxic Treatments:
Thrips have been shown to develop resistance to most insecticides used on a regular
basis,yet least-toxic options like insecticidal soaps and horticultural oils can aid the
gardener with thrip control until beneficial insect populations are thriving or
supplemented.