Gardener’s greatest concern is always the safety and security of their crops, or any living being or living thing. Insects are nature’s way of controlling pests; however, in spite of all of their cooperation and sharing of tasty bits of food with other insects, some insects still pose a danger to agriculture across the globe. Some insects are a very big problem for agriculture, others are a very small problem while others are a combination of a small and big problem.
The news is that the humankind is now coming to terms with the menace of the insect, as the population density is increasing, the food supply is decreasing, the amount of land on earth also is limited, and climate change is increasing all the time. Small outbreaks of insect are something that we all have to put up with every time we grow produce. But the concise summation of all of this is that insects cause damage that would otherwise be fatal to the crops, and it is up to us to find ways to control the risks associated with these insects.
The risks associated with specific insects are as follows:
*The Bacillus t. bacteria present in Bt corn will kill the beneficial tsetai horticultural ( gameteine) bacteria in the soil, this can be deadly to tsetai horticulture if the bacteria are not killed.
*The trade name “Bacillus thuringiensis” (BT), is a bacteria that is spread by humans and not insects. It is sold all over the world as a “natural” or organic pesticide.
*The tsetai aphid is a green oval caterpillar with multiple greenish green oval leaflets. They are relatively large, about 1.5cm wide, and they hibernate in the soil for a long period during the winter.
* moderately toxic to caterpillars
* extremely toxic to fish and birds
*ificature of the spadix is very small, measuring 7-10cm across. This extremely small spadix when mowed will not harm the birds but will attract moths into the crop.
*If the crop is mown very short, new shoots will be produced in the late spring or early summer. These will look very similar to the parent and we therefore recommend that they be sprayed with a stomach poison insecticide.
*The melon aphid is also extremely small. They only measure 7.5cm and are greenish-yellow in colour. During the day they transform from green to yellow, then at night they turn red.
*The earwigs range of pests is from 1cm to 7cm long and are mostly green to brown in colour. They have a bad taste and a grating sound when the noise of wheels wheels approaching the crops.
*The caterpillars of heap fly are also extremely small. They are usually about 1.5cm long and greenish-yellow in colour while the adult moth is a black hollow structure with orange markings.
*The cockchafers, chickens and sparrows pests are medium sized insects of 6.5cm long and some 12.5cm long depending on the type of bird.
*The sawfly is a black fly that flies at a speed of 35km/h and is common in temperate areas.
*The tray / tubeworm is a well known and very varied sap sucking insect, especially the kind that climbs up the stems of potatoes and apples. They secrete sap sap that can harm the crop and they are found in sympods on the tips of the shoots.
*Tuberous caterpillars of either kind that live below ground level throughout the winter. The larvae and adults feed on the foliage of young fruit trees and plants.
*The whitefly parasite arrives on the crops in the late summer and fall. It works in the crop to enable the developing squash leaves to pass Water andNutrient absorption to the tuber.
*The mealytoxins emit by the mature A crops plants in the autumn.
*The trigger hairs of Celery, Cucumber, Jerusalem Cherry, Pistachio and Shade Tree can be triggered to spray when they senses any danger to the plant.
*The leafhopper is a small caterpillar that is brown coloured with yellow markings. They eat the young leaves and can do damage to the fruit.
*There is also the flea beetle that will eat the leaves of ash trees.
Remember to use a combination of pest control methods to keep your crops pest free.
