It is very important to control plane diseases to maintain healthy crops and gardens. Understanding the causes of plant diseases and identifying the symptoms of plant diseases helps prevent the diseases. Doing it makes the process more effective and reduces crop loss.
If it becomes too difficult for you to keep up with the procedure to control the plant diseases, you can hire professional help. Hiring pest control service providers like Bryan pest control can do the task using their smart strategies.
Implementing methods like properly integrated pest management and some preventive practices can help minimize the usage of harmful pesticides.
What are the ways to identify and control plant diseases caused by pests?
The following are a few ways to identify and control plant diseases caused by pests:
1. Identifying the symptoms
Any kind of plant disease usually has visible signs that show a problem with the plant. These symptoms can include discoloration of the leaves, stunted growth, and unusual spots or markings on leaves and stems.
These signs are considered fungal diseases and appear white, have black spots, or might have powdery coatings. On the other hand, bacterial infections appear soft and cause loss of rigidity in the plants.
2. Determining the cause
Factors beyond pests can cause plant diseases. These factors include environmental stress, the condition of the soil, and inadequate care. Some of these causes are selecting the wrong spot for planting, where there is too much or too little sunlight or even wind. Plus, some nutrient imbalances in the soil and lack of enough water in the plant also affect the plant equally.
3. Using the IPM Strategy (Integrated pest management)
Another sustainable approach to preventing plant diseases is using Integrated Pest Management (IPM). This approach combines different strategies to help you control pests and prevent disease with less environmental impact.
IPM starts with selecting varieties in disease-resistant plants by using crop rotation processes and planting in smart ways. These intelligent ways help improve air circulation and reduce humidity.
Another approach that can be used in the IPm strategy is introducing helpful insects that eat other pests and using cultural control strategies like removing the diseases part from the plant.
4. Using the DDIS strategy (Distance Diagnostic and Identification System)
The DDIS strategy, aka the Distance Diagnostic and Identification System, is a valuable tool that helps identify pests, diseases, and weeds in plants. This system allows you to submit photos and descriptions of the affected plant to the official experts in agriculture and botany.
Then, the experts provide feedback showing the diagnoses and recommended treatment. The DDIS can help experienced and beginner gardeners identify, understand, and treat problems without having to guess what to do.
5. Report notifiable plant pests
Some plant diseases are considered as notifiable. This means that the disease must be reported to any local agriculture or industry departments. These notifiable diseases are usually those that bring severe risks to bigger crops, ecosystems, and even food security.
Detecting the problem early and reporting it to prevent the consequences, like the spreading of the disease to other crops, is the ultimate solution planters or farmers should pursue. Plus, by cooperating with agricultural authorities, gardeners and farmers both contribute to a broader scope of plant health.
6. Using pesticides
After trying all the solutions, if you fail to solve the problem, you can move to the last resort of using pesticides. Even though pesticides are not recommended in the first attempt, they need to be used as the ultimate solution to the problem.
However, it should be noted that it is necessary to choose less toxic pesticides so that the plants are not harmed in the process of removing the diseases from the plant.
Get help from a pest control service provider today!
It is crucial to hire a professional pest control expert who is experienced in all case scenarios for a successful pest control procedure.
