• California red scale

  offspring. Each female can produce 100-150 young over a period of six to eight weeks, at a rate of one to three a day. The crawlers are mobile and very small, so [...] tools. In the hours after birth, they disperse over the tree in search of a source of food. When attracted by the light (positive phototaxis), they tend 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 later, the sexes

• Grow your own vegetable garden

  needs to enable them to lead a healthy and active life.” According to a 2017 study, nearly 20% of SA households, a total of 6,8 million individuals, experience [...] discuss the challenges, of starting a home vegetable garden. Using their Summer Home Garden Starter pack and guiding you in the use of biological control, [...] The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations defines food security as “ a condition within which all people have access to adequate and

• Crop Monitoring and Scouting

  the systematic observation of crops throughout their growth cycle. This involves a close inspection of plants for signs of stress, pests, diseases. This [...] detect the presence of pests and respond accordingly. Benefits of crop monitoring and scouting One of the most critical aspects of crop scouting is pest [...] determine the success or failure of a harvest. These essential techniques provide growers with insights into the health and growth of their crops, enabling them

• Phytoseiulus persimilis

  other prey. Feeding behaviour of Phytoseiulus persimilis Phytoseiulus persimilis feeds on all stages of spider mites , but has a preference for eggs. The predatory [...] per day. Because the development rate of the predatory mite is roughly twice that of the spider mite, the number of predatory mites increases rapidly, and [...] usually deposited close to, or in a spider mite colony. They are approximately twice the size of spider mite eggs and a transparent light pink when freshly

• Tobacco aphid

  Life cycle and appearance of Tobacco aphid Aphids have a complex life cycle, with both winged and wingless forms of adults and a great variety in colour [...] matt, never glossy. Winged individuals have a brown-black head and thorax and a reddish abdomen. There is a dark brown spot on the abdomen and several [...] probably evolved from the peach potato aphid in the Far East and is a key pest of tobacco crops in both the United States and South America. The tobacco

• Green peach aphid

  malformations of the growing tips. Life cycle and appearance of green peach aphid Aphids have a complex life cycle, with both winged and wingless forms of adults [...] native, however it is now a pest with a world-wide distribution. The green peach aphid ( Myzus persicae subsp. persicae ) is a particularly polyphagous [...] glossy. Winged individuals have a brown-black head and thorax and a yellow-green to green or even reddish abdomen. They have a dark brown spot on the abdomen

• Oleander scale

  cycle and appearance of Oleander scale Adult oleander scales are a greyish, dirty white or yellowy colour, round in shape, with a scale whose apex is [...] off-centred. This scale resembles a miniature fried egg with a diameter of 2 mm. The newly hatched crawlers are roughly 0.3 mm long. They quickly attach [...] symptoms Scale infestation can be seen by the appearance of the scale armour on stems, leaves and fruits of hosts. Infestations on the leaves and stems may cause

• Cottony cushion scale

  hair-like, transparent rods of wax from the body. On reaching maturity, the ‘female’ produces a white, fluted, wax ovisac with a series of uniform ridges running [...] regions, but is not generally a pest in these situations. Damage symptoms Cottony cushion scale is a particular pest of citrus, Acacia spp ., Casuarina [...] developed antennae and one pair of dusky wings, The adult ‘females’ produce 500 to 2000 bright-red, oblong eggs over a period of 2 to 3 months. After leaving

• Nutari

  Transeius montdorensis ) in the beginning of the season and at low prey densities. Mode of action When density of the target pest is low and there is no [...] for predatory mites . This will ensure a standing army of predatory mites in the crop, keeping the target pest on a low level. Pack size 30 gram (2 million); [...] Large heaps of carrier material may cause leaf damage, so make sure the material is distributed as a thin, even layer Dosage The dosage of Nutari depends

• False codling moth

  Appearance and life cycle of False codling moth Eggs are laid singly on the surface of the fruit and resemble a saucer-shaped dome. After a few days the eggs hatch [...] top layer of the soil. The moths emerge after a couple of weeks. The life cycle varies between 5 weeks to 3 months depending on the time of year and t [...] hatch and the neonate larvae finds a suitable place to penetrate the fruit. All five instars of larval development take place inside the fruit. Once the