What to Do When Jasmine Has Pests? The Latest Control Methods Are Here

Jasmine is one of the flowers we see often in our daily life. Because jasmine is extremely fragrant, many people buy some jasmine from the market to grow in water at home, and the scent of just a few flowers can fill an entire room, which is very pleasant. For people who love growing flowers, jasmine is also a top choice for cultivation, but many times we find that jasmine leaves are often bitten to pieces by insects, and the flowers also have insect holes, which is very distressing. In fact, jasmine encounters many pests during its growth process, so what should we do when we encounter pests on jasmine while growing it? Below, Qinnong Net introduces several common jasmine pests and diseases and their control methods, hoping to be of some help to everyone.

The common pests of jasmine include the double-striped palpita moth, which mainly damages flowers, the jasmine leaf webworm, the tobacco cutworm and the citrus gray weevil, which damage leaves, and the infamous red spider mite, among others. Below, Qinnong Net introduces them in detail:

1. Double-striped palpita moth

The double-striped palpita moth belongs to the family Pyralidae, subfamily Palpitinae. It is known to occur in low mountains and flatlands in Japan in May to June and August to September, damaging the flowers and fruits of Chinese sumac. In China it has been found damaging jasmine, commonly known as the jasmine bud borer. The public calls it the flower heart borer.

1. Life habits

The larvae of the double-striped palpita moth overwinter on the tender branches and residual flowers of jasmine. At the end of February and the beginning of March, as the weather warms, they pupate and emerge, and the adults lay eggs on flower buds or tender shoots and leaves. After hatching, the larvae bore into the flowers and feed on the blossoms; when there are no flowers, they damage the leaves between the leaves and can transfer to cause damage. The larvae can also damage tender branches, and there are more than ten generations per year. According to observations, this pest causes damage throughout the entire flowering period of jasmine, with overlapping generations, and June to September is the peak period of damage.

2. Control methods for the double-striped palpita moth on jasmine

Because this pest mainly damages flowers, and jasmine is the raw material for scenting jasmine tea, the safety requirements are especially high. In control, first of all, attention must be paid not to use highly toxic, high-residue pesticides during the flowering period. Medication should be avoided as much as possible during the flowering period, and the pest population density should be controlled through control before and after the flowering period. Specific methods:

a. Clean the field in winter, thoroughly prune dead branches, insect-damaged branches and infested branches, and burn them in a concentrated manner. Sweep up fallen leaves and either burn or bury them. For fields with many overwintering pests, pesticide application can be combined to reduce the base number of overwintering sources.

b. During the flowering period, inspections should be strengthened, and any damaged flower buds, flowers and branches should be removed promptly.

c. At dusk, fumigating the flower field can prevent adults from laying eggs.

d. Chemical control. You can choose 24.5% Duochongmanding 2000-fold solution or 1.8% Chongmanke 2000-fold diluted solution, or Sanle insecticide 800-1000-fold solution, or other abamectin-type pesticides, such as 0.9% Aifuding 2000-3000-fold solution, 1% Chongmanguang 2500-3500-fold solution, 0.6% Qimansu 2000-fold solution, or 24.5% Chachanqing 2500-3000-fold solution, or 0.5% Nonghaha 2000-fold solution, or spray with 4.5% beta-cypermethrin 3000-fold solution.

2. Jasmine leaf webworm

The jasmine leaf webworm belongs to the order Lepidoptera, family Pyralidae. It mainly feeds on jasmine leaves as larvae, and sometimes also damages flower buds and tender branches. Newly hatched larvae gather on the back of leaves, feed on the leaf mesophyll, and leave a translucent layer of epidermis. After growing larger, they eat the leaves into holes or bite them into notches. They can also gnaw the cortex of small branches, causing leaves to turn yellow and fall off, and the whole branch to die.

1. Life habits

In the south, 10 generations occur per year, overwintering as larvae. Adults appear from March to April, rest quietly during the day, are active at night, and mate and lay eggs. Eggs are mostly laid on the leaf surface, and some are laid on the back of leaves and on small branches. Eggs are laid in masses, arranged in a fish-scale pattern, and each female can lay 50-200 eggs. The larvae gather at first, disperse after the third instar, and often join branches and leaves together, hiding within them while feeding and causing damage. Damage is more severe in autumn.

2. Control methods for the jasmine leaf webworm:

a. Clean the garden in early spring, sweep up dead branches and fallen leaves, and burn them to eliminate overwintering sources.

b. Biological control. This includes protecting natural enemies, releasing egg parasitoid wasps, and using biological pesticides such as Bacillus thuringiensis.

c. Chemical control. When natural enemies cannot control the damage, you can choose 90% trichlorfon 600-800-fold diluted solution, or 50% fenitrothion emulsifiable concentrate 1000-fold diluted solution, or 2.5% deltamethrin 1500-2000-fold diluted solution, or 20% fenvalerate 2000-3000-fold diluted solution, or spray with 24.5% Duochongmanding 2000-fold solution or 1.8% Chongmanke 2000-fold diluted solution. Note that spraying should be done after flower picking, and with pyrethroid pesticides, generally more than 5 days after application is required before picking.

3. Tobacco cutworm

The picture above shows the larva of this pest. The tobacco cutworm belongs to the order Lepidoptera, family Noctuidae, also known as the lotus-striped cutworm and the striped night thief moth. The tobacco cutworm is a worldwide pest, mainly distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, the Mediterranean region of Europe, and Africa. It is distributed throughout China. This insect is an omnivorous, voracious leaf-feeding pest and often breaks out intermittently in large numbers. It is known to damage more than 200 species in 99 families of plants, and it has at least 99 favorite plants. Among cultivated crops, it mainly damages jasmine and cotton, mainly feeding on leaves as larvae, and also feeding on flowers, fruits and tender branches. This insect occurs more in the warm regions south of the Huai River in China, with relatively large populations in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and South China, while it occurs only occasionally in the north.

The occurrence and damage of the tobacco cutworm are affected by many factors, including temperature, humidity, soil, rainfall, host plants, natural enemies and human measures. The optimum temperature for growth and development is 25-30°C, and the optimum relative humidity is 75%-80%. Fields with good water and fertilizer conditions and lush growth generally have relatively high pest densities. A soil moisture content of 20% helps larvae enter the soil to pupate and adults to emerge. If newly hatched larvae encounter heavy rain washing, they will die in large numbers, and long-term water accumulation in the field is also unfavorable to pupal survival. In Guangxi, the temperature and humidity conditions are both most suitable for the growth and development of the tobacco cutworm, and if there is no continuous heavy rain in June, it is favorable for a major outbreak. The control methods for the tobacco cutworm are as follows:

1. Trap and kill adults: taking advantage of the phototaxis and chemotaxis of adults, use black light lamps and poplar branches or sugar and vinegar solutions to trap and kill adults.

2. Manual capture: based on the characteristics of adults tending to lay eggs on the back of leaves in the middle part of the plant and young larvae gathering to feed and cause damage, promptly remove egg masses during the peak egg-laying period and before the larvae disperse to cause damage, and capture and kill adults.

3. Chemical control: during the peak outbreak period of young larvae, use 10% Chujin suspension concentrate 1500-fold solution, 5% fipronil suspension concentrate 2500-fold solution, 5.7% Baishude emulsifiable concentrate 4000-fold solution, 4.5% high-efficiency cis-cypermethrin emulsifiable concentrate 3000-fold solution, 52.25% Nongdile emulsifiable concentrate 1500-fold solution, 90% trichlorfon 800-fold solution, 80% dichlorvos 1000-fold solution, 35% Saidan emulsifiable concentrate 1000-fold solution, 2.5% decis 3000-4000-fold solution and other pesticides for spraying.

4. Citrus gray weevil

The citrus gray weevil belongs to the order Coleoptera, family Curculionidae. It damages jasmine from March to May each year, with adults biting tender buds, new shoots and tender leaves, and also feeding on old leaves. Tender and old leaves are eaten into notches, and in severe cases are completely eaten up, greatly affecting the first batch of flowers at the end of April and the beginning of May. According to a preliminary survey, in the sandy loam jasmine fields along the river in Hengxian, the pest population in some fields exceeds 20,000 per mu. The citrus gray weevil is known to damage: citrus, tea, jasmine and others.

1. Control methods for the citrus gray weevil

a. Manual capture: this insect has no hind wings, cannot fly, moves slowly, and has a strong death-feigning habit, so manual capture followed by killing can be adopted.

⟦NL>b. Chemical control: spraying is suitable during the peak adult period. The following pesticides can be chosen: 30% Haichongjing 1000-fold, 4.5% beta-cypermethrin 1000-2000-fold, or 2.5% kung fu 1000-2000-fold solution, and an appropriate amount of dichlorvos can be added for spraying. Highly toxic pesticides such as methamidophos and 1605 should not be used because of their high toxicity and long residual period.

5. Flower thrips

Flower thrips belong to the order Thysanoptera, family Thripidae. This insect damages the corolla and stamens inside the flower, and is most numerous around the ovary, damaging the reproductive organs. After the corolla is damaged, horizontal stripes or dot-like markings appear, and in the most severe cases the corolla can become deformed, wilt and even dry up, greatly affecting ornamental value. After the leaves are damaged, silvery-gray streaks often appear on the tender stems and new leaves, or the leaf base is entirely silvery-gray, causing leaf drop and affecting growth.

1. Life habits

11-14 generations occur per year, with overlapping generations. It overwinters as adults. Adults have strong phototaxis. In stamens with a slight fragrance and relatively large corollas, there can be dozens to hundreds of adults and nymphs. Eggs are mostly laid in petals, filaments and tender leaves, and the egg-laying site is slightly swollen or somewhat raised, which can be checked against light. Each female lays 77-248 eggs, and the egg-laying period lasts as long as 20-50 days.

2. Control methods for flower thrips

Use chemical control. Spray 2.5% derris extract emulsifiable concentrate 500-800-fold solution, or 3% pyrethrin emulsifiable concentrate 800-1000-fold solution, or 50% fenitrothion emulsifiable concentrate 1000-fold solution, or 20% fenvalerate emulsifiable concentrate 1000-2000-fold solution, or 25% quinalphos 1000-1500-fold solution, or 10% imidacloprid ultra-micro wettable powder 3000-5000-fold solution.

6. Cotton red spider mite

The cotton red spider mite is also called the two-spotted spider mite or cotton leaf mite. It belongs to the order Trombidiformes, family Tetranychidae, and is an important pest mite. The cotton red spider mite has omnivorous feeding habits, strong reproductive capacity, and spreads quickly. It can damage dozens of plants, including corn, melons, beans, vegetables, trees and weeds. Jasmine is one of the plants it commonly damages. This pest uses adult mites, larvae and nymphs to pierce and suck host sap on the back of jasmine leaves or on flower buds, causing the damaged leaves to lose green color, with leaf color clearly turning white, and in severe cases turning yellow, or even showing rust-like spots. Damaged flower buds become smaller and shrunken, or fail to open, greatly affecting flower yield and quality.

The cotton red spider mite can move with water flow, spread by wind, and also disperse by crawling short distances. Generally speaking, dry climate and high temperature favor its reproduction and damage. The optimum temperature for its occurrence is 29-31°C, and the relative humidity is 35%-55%. If the air humidity exceeds 70%, its reproduction will be inhibited. There are many natural enemies of the cotton red spider mite, such as green lacewings, predatory mites, predatory thrips, ladybugs and others, all of which play a good role in controlling the cotton red spider mite.

Control methods for the cotton red spider mite

1. Agricultural control (1) Remove weeds in the field and along the edges, combine with pruning, remove diseased leaves, clear fallen leaves, burn or dispose of them, which can eliminate overwintering sources and reduce occurrence and damage. (2) Strengthen water and fertilizer management to enhance the plant's insect resistance. Maintain humidity to worsen the living environment of the cotton red spider mite.

2. Chemical control You can choose 24.5% Duochongmanding or 1.8% Chongmanke 2000-fold diluted solution, or 50% cyhexatin wettable powder 1500-fold diluted solution, or 75% propargite emulsifiable concentrate 1000-fold diluted solution, or 35% Saidan emulsifiable concentrate 3000-fold diluted solution, or 50% Apollo 4000-fold diluted solution for spraying, and spray once more after 7 days.

7. Snails

Snails belong to mollusks, not insects. Taxonomically they belong to the class Gastropoda, order Stylommatophora, family Bradybaenidae. They are commonly called water buffalo, sky snail, and hard-shelled insect. The common ones in farmland include the similar bradybaena snail and the gray bradybaena snail, with the similar bradybaena snail being dominant. Snails have very omnivorous feeding habits. Besides jasmine, they damage vegetables, beans, hemp, tobacco, tea, cotton, green manure, bananas, fruit trees, weeds and others. On jasmine, from the newly sprouted bud tips to the grown branches, tender leaves, old leaves, and even branch stems, all are damaged. They often gather to feed, eating young buds completely or biting off the cortex of branches and causing the whole branch to wither, or biting leaves into notches, holes and tatters, seriously affecting yield.

Control methods for snails: agricultural and manual control

1. Frequently clean the garden, sweep up and burn the dead branches and fallen leaves on the crop ground. In particular, the branches and leaves pruned before winter are one of the places that provide overwintering sites for snails and must not be left in the garden over winter.

2. April to May and September to October are the egg-laying seasons for snails. Combined with intertillage and weeding, plow and sun-expose the topsoil around the crop roots to kill the eggs.

3. During the peak activity period of snails, in the morning and evening or on cloudy days, take advantage of their large numbers being exposed to feed and carry out manual capture.

Pesticide control: you can choose 30% Chuwote, using 100-500 grams per mu, with 2-3 kg of bait (corn flour, bran, peanut cake, etc.), add water and stir into small granules for application, which can be applied in strips or holes, with very good control effect. You can also use Wokexing 300-500 grams per mu, 6% Mida 350 grams per mu, 10% snail enemy 1000 grams per mu, mix with dry fine soil or fine sand and evenly broadcast on the crops and ground where snails are active in the evening, or dissolve with warm water and splash it on, or apply it with a water jet. Spray with 70% Bailuosha wettable powder 1000-fold diluted solution. If it rains after application, apply once more. Or broadcast lime powder, 3-5 kg per mu.

The above are several relatively common jasmine pests introduced by Qinnong Net. The parts they damage are also different, so when observing, note that you should not only look at the leaves or flowers; branches and stems are also targets of some pests. It is best to achieve prevention first and treatment second. If the jasmine at home is suffering from pests, you may wish to refer to this article prepared by Qinnong Net, and perhaps it can help you solve the problem you are facing.