• Crop Monitoring and Scouting

  Understanding crop monitoring and scouting In the world of agriculture and horticulture, the phrase "knowledge is power" couldn't be truer. Crop monitoring and scouting are crucial practices that can

• Beneficial microorganisms

  harnessed for pest control through applications like biopesticides, where they are introduced to target pests, providing an eco-friendly alternative to [...] pesticides, beneficial microorganisms pose minimal risk to the environment. They break down naturally, leaving no harmful residues. Precision pest control

• Sciarid flies

  antennae. They have relatively long legs, and the wings show very clear venation. The fly has a small head equipped with sucking mouth parts, but they hardly [...] smaller than the females. They are not fast fliers, and prefer damp areas in dark places, with a lot of organic material. They occur the whole year round [...] colour. They are laid on the ground surface close to plant roots. The larvae can grow to 5 to 12 mm in length and 0.5 to 1.5 mm in diameter. They are legless

• California red scale

  and very small, so they are spread easily by the wind and birds, as well as by humans and their tools. In the hours after birth, they disperse over the [...] attracted by the light (positive phototaxis), they tend to target young shoots and apical leaves and fruits, where they prefer to settle in small hidden spaces [...] mouthparts to start feeding, they produce a white, waxy, and cottony cover, forming the typical appearance of the shield after they first moult. A few days

• Cyclamen mite

  folded leaves, where the humidity is highest and they are protected from direct sunlight. In such spots, they are difficult to observe. Damage occurs in localized [...] are about half the size of the adult mite. They are oval in form, smooth, transparent and twice as long as they are wide. Both ends are equally rounded. [...] plant growth is arrested and the flower buds are so badly affected that they shrivel and die. Damaged strawberry leaves are wrinkled and irregularly folded

• Tomato leafminer

  whitish to yellowish after emerging. They mine inside the leaf, stem or fruit. In the second to fourth instars they become greenish with a black band behind [...] or on the surface of a leaf, in a curled leaf or in a mine. If they leave the mines they build silk cocoons on the leaflets or in the soil. When pupation [...] blotch-shaped mines in the leaves. Caterpillars prefer leaves and stems, but they may also occur underneath the crown of the fruit and even inside the fruit

• Citrus mealybug

  breadth. Seen dorsally, they have an oval form; they are soft and covered with a fine waxy material. They move very little. They can be distinguished from [...] filaments’ . The tail filaments are always shorter than 20% of body length. They produce little wax, so that the light yellow to pink body is visible through [...] running over the body. The adult males are short lived and can be hard to spot. They are smaller than the females, have two pairs of wings and two long tail filaments

• Orius laevigatus

  initially, turning darker (orange to brown) as they mature. They have piercing-sucking mouthparts with which they feed on thrips and other small insects. Adult [...] average). Adult females can kill up to 20 nymphs or six to seven adults per day. They are also cannibalistic. In pollen producing plants, younger Orius nymphs [...] usually laid singly within plant tissues such as leaves, stems, or flowers. They are typically white or translucent and are difficult to see without close

• Tobacco aphid

  the leaves is reduced, affecting production. They are usually found in closely packed colonies, although they are also capable of dispersing through the [...] nymphs. They immediately start to feed on plant sap and grow rapidly. Aphids moult four times before reaching adulthood. With each moult they shed white [...] tobacco aphids ( Myzus persicae subsp. nicotianae ) are always pink or red. They appear matt, never glossy. Winged individuals have a brown-black head and

• Two-spotted spider mite

  damage to the host plant by feeding on plant sap. They mainly occur on the underside of leaves where they pierce the cells and suck out the contents. The [...] ) is a pest of many crops throughout the world. Despite their small size, they are capable of very rapidly doing severe damage, due to their great reproductive [...] can be distinguished. Eggs are usually found on the underside of leaves. They have an oval body that is rounded at the rear end. Their colour can vary