Crop Pests and Insect Control

Insects and mites cost farmers yield on almost every crop, and the first step is knowing what you are looking at. These articles help growers and agronomists identify common pests, from aphids, mealybugs and black mites to jassids, thrips, bollworms and the castor semi-looper, and match each one with a control that fits the crop.

There are dedicated guides for citrus and lemon trees, eggplant and brinjal, chili, cocoa, papaya, cotton, rice and sugarcane. Readers who prefer to avoid heavy spraying can compare biological, cultural and organic methods such as neem oil, crop rotation and beneficial insects. Others will want the notes on pyrethroid and organophosphate insecticides, copper fungicides and pesticide resistance. A short section covers crop diseases like black rot and septoria leaf spot.