The Latest Pollution-Free Control Methods for Vegetable Pests and Diseases
In vegetable production, when using pesticides to control vegetable pests and diseases, caution must be exercised; a slight oversight can cause environmental pollution and even endanger the lives of humans, livestock and poultry. Eight pollution-free pest and disease control methods are introduced below for vegetable growers everywhere to choose from when carrying out control.
1. Control with botanical or low-toxicity agents
1. Peach leaves against aphids: use 5 kg of peach leaves, 50 g of quicklime and 75 kg of water, soak for 24 hours, filter and spray evenly. This method can not only control vegetable aphids but also treat bedbugs, fleas and the like in livestock sheds.
2. Chili liquid against aphids and leaf rollers: mash 0.5 kg of chili, add 30 kg of water, soak for 24 hours, filter and spray evenly.
3. Wild mugwort liquid against aphids and red spider mites: add 0.5 kg of wild mugwort to 10 kg of water, soak for 10 minutes, filter and spray evenly.
4. Laundry powder against aphids and red spider mites: spray with a 1% neutral laundry powder solution.
5. Tobacco powder against cabbage aphids and yellow flea beetles: grind tobacco into a fine powder, add a small amount of lime powder and broadcast it.
6. Fresh cow urine against aphids: use 30 kg of fresh cow urine per mu, add 30 kg of water, and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. spray the urine evenly on the undersides of the plant leaves; after 24 hours, the aphid-killing effect reaches more than 90%.
2. Protection and use of natural enemies
Spiders, ladybugs, mantises, dragonflies, cabbage caterpillars, ground beetles, frogs, bats, swallows, geckos and parasitic wasps are all "nemeses" of many pests and should be protected and used.
3. Plant intercropping repellent method
The secretions of some plants have a repellent effect on certain pests or pathogens. The purpose of controlling pests and diseases at the edges can be achieved through mixed planting or intercropping. For example, intercropping cruciferous vegetables such as Chinese cabbage with lettuce or mint can repel cabbage caterpillars; intercropping garlic with rapeseed can repel cabbage aphids; intercropping garlic with cotton can repel cotton aphids; intercropping tomatoes with cabbage can repel cabbage pests; intercropping onions with peas can prevent pea black spot; intercropping chives with Chinese cabbage can prevent Chinese cabbage soft rot.
4. Repelling and killing method
Some pests are phototactic, while some pests are chemotactic and like sugar, vinegar, wine and weeds and fallen leaves; the habits of pests can be used to trap and kill them. For example, installing black light lamps, high-pressure mercury lamps and vibrating-frequency insect-killing lamps over fish ponds can turn large numbers of pests into fish feed; using weed piles to trap and kill crickets; using sugar, vinegar and wine to trap and kill cutworms; planting several castor plants in a peanut field can cause scarab beetles to die from poisoning after feeding on castor stems and leaves.