Topic: Pests And Diseases of Crops
“Learn effective strategies for preventing and controlling crop pests and diseases. Explore sustainable practices, integrated pest management, and tips to protect your crops and boost yield.”
Table Of Contents
- What is pest?
- Types of pests
- Types of disease
- Classification of insects pests
- Effects or Economic Importance of insect pests in crop production.
- Effects of disease on crop production.
- Prevention and control of pests and diseases of crops.
- Causes of Crop disease.
What is Pest: A pest can be described as any organism capable of causing damage to crop plants.
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- Crop production cultural practices in agriculture
- Classification of plants, characteristics and importance
- Viral diseases, symptoms, causes and control
TYPES OF PESTS AND DISEASES OF CROPS
- Insects
- Birds
- rodents
- monkeys.
- Man
- Nematodes.
CLASSIFICATION OF INSECT PESTS
These can be classified into various groups based on their mode of feeding. These groups of insect pests include:
- Piercing and sucking insects.
- Boring insects.
- Biting and chewing insects
Piercing and sucking insects pests: This insect pest possess strong mouthparts called proboscis which enable them to pierce through plants and suck liquid materials from plants tissues. examples are: Aphids, cotton stainers, mealybugs, scale insects capsids or mirids and white flies.
Boring Insects: This including their larvae are capable of boring into plants parts and destroy the tissues of the plant fruits or seeds. Examples are: bean Beatles, stem borers, maize weevils and rice weevils.
Biting and chewing insects pests: This insect pest possess strong mandible and maxillae (mouthparts) which enable them to bite and chew plant parts. examples are: termites, grasshoppers, leaf worms, army worms, Montid, locus and beetles.
EFFECTS OR ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF INSECTS PESTS IN CROP PRODUCTION
- Insect pest destroy crops in the field through thier biting, chewing, boring, sucking and defoliation activities.
- They cause reduction in the viability of stored produce.
- Site of injuries by Insects may predispose crops to disease attack
- They increase the cost of production during the course of controlling them.
- They render vegetables and fruits unattractive and unmarketable .
- Some are carriers or vectors of diseases.
- The profit of farmers are reduced.
- They reduced the quality of produce whether in the store or in the field.
- They generally reduce the yield of crops
- They can also cause total death of crops Plants.
PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF PESTS AND DISEASES OF CROPS
Prevention is better than cure when it comes to managing crop pests and diseases. Here are some key practices
Pests of crops can be prevent or control through the following methods:
- Physical control
- Cultural control.
- Biological control.
- Chemical control
PHYSICAL CONTROL: This involves the physical removal of pests by:
- Hand-picking of incense and larvae
- Setting traps to catch rodents
- Shooting rodents with guns.
- Fencing around the farm with wire nets
CULTURAL CONTROL: This method involves the use of farm practices to prevent or control pests especially on the field. Examples of cultural controls are:
- Bush fallowing.
- Crop rotation.
- Change in the time of plantain.
- Use of resistant varieties.
- Regular weeding.
- Bush burning.
- Proper time of harvesting.
- Proper timing of planting.
BIOLOGICAL CONTROL: Biological control involves the introduction of the natural enemies of pests to control or keep the pest population under control. Such enemies eat up or feed on this pests thereby reducing the population of the pests.
CHEMICAL CONTROL: Chemical control involves the use of chemicals called pesticide to control pests of crop plants. These chemicals which are in form of powder, liquid, granules and tablets are used on the insects by various methods like spraying or Dustin seeds or plants to check pests. Examples of such chemicals are:
- Pesticides- chemicals to control pests.
- Insecticides – chemicals to control insects
- Rodenticides – chemicals to control rodents.
- Avicides – chemicals to control Birds.
- Nematicides – chemicals to control nematodes.
DISEASES OF CROPS
A plant disease may be defined as a departure or deviation of the plant from the normal state of health presenting Marked symptoms or outward visible signs.
CAUSES OF CROP DISEASES
Diseases of crops are caused by the following agents:
- Viruses
- Bacterias
- Fungi
- Nematodes.
- Nutrient deficiency.
General effects of diseases on crop production
- Diseases generally reduce the yield of productivity of crops.
- They also reduced the quality of crops.
- They cause the malformation of plants.
- They can kill or cause the death of plants.
- They increase the cost of production in the course of controlling them.
- They cost reduction in the income of the farmer.
- Their activities cause poor growth in crop plants.
- They render vegetables and fruits unattractive and un-marketable.
SUMMARY OF GENERAL CONTROL MEASURES OF DISEASES OF CROPS
- Regular weeding of the farm to prevent disease pathogens from being harboured by Weeds.
- Practice crop rotation.
- Planting disease resistant varieties of crops.
- Removal and burning of infected plants.
- Practice seed dressing with plant protection chemicals such as fernsan D. Before planting.
- using healthy seeds or stem for propagation.
- Early planting to avoid the period of disease occurrence.
- Spraying plant protection chemicals such as fungicide and nematicide.
- Destruction of crop residue after harvesting to prevent the buildup of disease pathogens or practice Good farm sanitation or hygiene.
- Sterilization of soil to control soil Borne diseases.
- Spraying insecticides to control the insect vectors.
- Quarantine of imported seeds and plant before their introduction into the country.
- Timely harvesting to reduce the period of explosion.
- Avoid close planting to reduce the rate of spread of diseases.
Conclusion on Pests and Diseases of Crops
Effective management of crop pests and diseases is critical to ensuring food security and sustainable agriculture. Prevention should always be the first line of defense, but when issues arise, a mix of cultural, mechanical, biological, and chemical controls can help mitigate damage. By adopting sustainable practices, farmers can protect their crops, increase productivity, and contribute to global food supply chains.
What strategies do you use to manage pests and diseases in your crops? Share your experiences and insights in the comments below!
Revision Questions
- What is pest?
- What is diseases of crops?
- List the types of pests and diseases of crops.
- List and Explain the classification of pests based on thier mode of feeding.
- What are the effects or Economic Importance of insect pests in crop production?
- What are the causes of diseases of Crops?
- List the methods of prevention and Control of pests and diseases of crops