Garlic spray is generally an effective, short-term repellent. It is a botanical product that can repel or kill soft-bodied insects. To make garlic spray you can use the following recipe: Ingredients: bullet 100 grams of finely chopped or crushed garlic bullet 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil bullet 30 gram pure soap bullet Water Procedure: bullet … Read more
Marigolds (Tagetes sp.) belong to the family Compositae. These plants are known to control a wide range of nematodes including the Meloidogyne (root-knot nematodes) and Pratylenchus. Marigolds can be used as a cover crop or in a crop rotation. When grown as a mono-culture in high density their nematode suppressing effect is highest. Extracts of … Read more
Fungal spores or bacteria can infect seeds while they are still developing on the plant or after the harvest. These pathogens will then cause diseases in the next crop (seed-borne diseases). To protect against seed-borne diseases several types of seed treatment can be used: Hot water treatment Spores or bacteria that are attached to seeds … Read more
Certain insects can be controlled by dusting the plants with wood ash. It is a method that can be used especially on smaller plots of vegetables, for example in the cultivation of okra, peppers and certain cucurbits. Wood ash is particularly effective in controlling aphids. It is a simple, non-toxic method, which can be used … Read more
Weeding is an important control method practiced in many crops. The removal of weeds is useful because these unwanted plants compete with the crop for space, water and nutrients. Weed control should usually be done in an early crop stage, as this is more practical (the weed plants are smaller) and more effective. Often, the … Read more
Just spraying water, especially in water jet spraying will control a number of insects especially the smaller ones. Aphids, plant hoppers, small caterpillars and other insects will be simply washed of the plants. Of course with water spraying also populations of natural enemies will be affected, especially the smaller ones (e.g. egg parasitoids). See also … Read more
Insects can be infected by certain viruses which can help reducing insect pest populations. For example some caterpillars are very sensitive to Baculoviruses. Virus infested caterpillars can be easily recognized in the field. In the beginning they often change to a whitish color and become less active. Often they migrate to the higher parts of … Read more
In all crops, different varieties exist with specific characteristics. There are for example rice varieties of short duration (100 days) and long duration (150 days) and there are tomato varieties with round fruits and with elongated fruits. For many crops, there are also varieties that are resistant or tolerant for certain insects or diseases. For … Read more
There are different types of traps that can be used to catch insects. Traps are usually used for monitoring insect populations, but some traps can also be used to for controlling pests. The efficiency of traps depends partly on the mobility of the insects. Therefore traps are usually more effective in catching adult insects. When … Read more
(under construction) See also: Tagetes
