How To Ward Off Insects, Pests, And Diseases

Although there are insects that are beneficial to the fruit plants, there are some others that can be your worst enemies along with pests and disease organisms. These pesky creatures not only damage the fruits, they can also completely ruin your entire orchard and put to waste all your efforts, time, and money. And unless you take on insect, pest, and disease control, growing healthy fruit bearing plants would be quite hard.

But how do you exactly control insect and pest infestation and plant diseases? Everything starts with prevention. First, if you purchase a fruit plant, make sure it is healthy and pest- and insect- free. You can also look for plants that are naturally resistant to diseases. Before buying, make sure to thoroughly examine the plant of your choice and ask the nurseryman about it. If you happen to buy a plant that is already infested, it is likely that your other plants may get infested as well. And it will be quite hard by then to prevent the damage from spreading throughout the entire orchard.

Take note also of the environmental conditions to which your plants are exposed since they can potentially contribute to infestation. There are plants that, if incompatible with the location and climate, may be vulnerable to disease, insect, and pest infection. Some, for instance, do not benefit well from damp and rainy locations and conditions. Other plants, on the other hand, may be prone to diseases, insects, and pests during certain seasons. Although it varies from plant to plant, it is important to be aware of these plant tendencies.

Still much of the prevention is directed toward ridding of the possible breeding grounds of pests, insects, and disease organisms. These include fallen fruits and other plant fragments. If you find them anywhere near your plants, immediately throw them away. Over-ripe fruits can also invite insects and diseases; therefore, ripe fruits should not be left on the tree past the harvest time.

When planting, make sure that the plants have proper distance from one another. If they are cramped together and left to stay in an overcrowded location, it is likely that air circulation is compromised, which may promote the growth of fungi and disease organisms.

Improper watering is also a major culprit of plant death and diseases. For instance, nighttime watering can lead to the development of diseases. This is because the water on the plant that is not allowed to dry up and is left overnight can serve as the breeding ground of fungus and disease organisms.

But what if the disease has penetrated a fruit plant? Immediately cut off the damaged part to prevent it from affecting the entire plant. The removed part should then be destroyed and disposed of at once. In case the affected fruit plant is planted in a bed, it should be immediately uprooted so as not to infect the other plants.

Spraying of fungicides and bactericides is also recommended to manage diseases, although some variants of fungicide may cause defoliation of leaf and fruits due to copper content. But you can create homemade disease treatments in place of these chemically formulated solutions. For instance, you can make water and baking soda mixture and spray it to the affected area. Cooking oil, baking soda, and beauty soap mixture can also work to treat fungal diseases and repel insects. With these homemade mixtures, growing healthy fruit bearing plants is possible.