Honeysuckle Pest and Disease Control Methods and Key Technical Points

Diseases

Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) has relatively few diseases. In some areas, honeysuckle brown spot disease, southern blight, and powdery mildew have been found.

Brown spot disease (Pseudocercospora leaf spot):It mainly damages leaves, occurs commonly, and is severe. It is severe in the rainy season from July to August. Control methods: Combine with winter pruning, remove diseased branches and fallen leaves, burn them in a centralized manner or bury them deeply to reduce sources of the pathogen; starting in late June, spray with Bordeaux mixture at 1:1.5:300 or 50% Tuzet wettable powder at 600-800 times dilution, once every 15-20 days, for 2-3 consecutive applications.

Southern blight:It mainly damages the root and stem base. It occurs easily under high temperature and rainy conditions. The incidence is low in young flower clumps and high in old flower clumps. Control methods: In spring and autumn, dig the soil and air the roots, scrape and treat the roots, irrigate with Bordeaux mixture, and mix sodium pentachlorophenate with soil to apply to the root area; dig a 30 cm deep trench around diseased plants to prevent spread.

Anthracnose:A fungal disease. Leaves show various types of lesion symptoms, with lesions nearly circular. When humid, orange-red dotted sticky substances appear on the leaves, which are large aggregations of conidia. The disease is severe in mature gardens, especially those with winter cultivation and extensive management, poor plant growth, and low-lying terrain. There are two epidemic peaks each year: March-April and September-October. Control methods: Agricultural measures: remove residual plants and diseased leaves; burn them in a centralized manner; chemical control: Before transplanting, use the Fuerdai series special agents for powdery mildew, anthracnose, and black spot, diluted with water, and soak the planting material for 5-10 minutes; during the disease period, use the Daidaifu series product Yaocai Junliting produced by Beijing Tianzhu Yinong Company, each bag diluted in 15-30 kg of water for uniform foliar spraying for control, or use the Fuerdai series special agents for powdery mildew, anthracnose, and black spot, each group diluted in 30-45 kg of water for uniform foliar spraying for control. Spray once every 7-10 days, and 2-3 consecutive sprays can eradicate it.

Anthracnose

Powdery mildew: It mainly damages new shoots and tender branches. Control methods: Apply organic fertilizer to improve disease resistance; strengthen pruning to improve ventilation and light conditions; combine with winter pruning to remove as many diseased buds as possible, the overwintering source of the pathogen; in early spring when scales crack and leaves have not yet unfolded, spray with 0.1-0.2 degrees Baume lime sulfur mixture.

Pests

The main pests include aphids, inchworms, coffee longhorn beetles, carpenter moths, and others.

Aphids (carrot willow aphid, Cavariella aegopodii):They generally reproduce rapidly in cloudy and foggy weather in April and May, mainly damaging leaves, tender branches, and flower buds, causing leaves and buds to curl, growth to stop, and yield reduction. Control methods: Use 40% dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate at 200 times dilution, spray once every 7 days, and 2 consecutive applications can basically eliminate them. When spraying, pay attention to spraying the underside of leaves.

Honeysuckle inchworm:It damages leaves. In severe cases, it eats all the leaves. If it occurs for 3 consecutive years, it causes the entire plant to die. Control methods: Remove basal branches and dead leaves by pruning, and clean up overwintering sites for pupae. When it occurs, use 1500-2000 times dichlorvos solution or 500-1000 times solid trichlorfon solution, spray once every 5-10 days, for 2 consecutive applications. Stop using pesticides 8-10 days before flower picking.

In recent years, sex attractants have been tested for killing. Cut off the abdomen of unmated female moths, place them in 95% alcohol and soak them sealed for 20 hours, pour them into a mortar and grind them fine, add solvent to restore the original volume to obtain a crude sex attractant extract. The best sex attractant dose is soaking 5 female moths per milliliter of alcohol (5FE). Cut filter paper into long strips, roll them on a 20 cm long thin iron wire, and drip the crude sex attractant extract onto the paper roll to make a lure core. Place the lure core horizontally on a bowl with a diameter of 15-20 cm, put a small amount of water in the bowl, add a little laundry detergent to the water, and keep the distance between the water surface and the lure core at 1 cm. This is a simple trap. Place it around 18:00 each afternoon at about 30 cm from the plant spacing and ground, with 2-3 m between traps. Male moths are then attracted and fall into the bowl. The next morning, retrieve the traps, place the lure cores in test tubes or glass bottles for storage, and kill the captured male moths. The sex attractant effect of the lure core generally lasts 8-12 days, with the best effect within 5 days.

Coffee tiger longhorn beetle and Chinese sawtooth longhorn beetle:They are stem-boring pests. The coffee tiger longhorn beetle causes severe damage. According to surveys, the damage rate of flower clumps over 10 years old in Zhengcheng Township, Pingyi County reached 95%. The Chinese sawtooth longhorn beetle only causes damage in local areas. They overwinter as larvae and adults. After larvae damage dry branches, feces are discharged into the bore holes, blocking the bore holes and becoming especially hard. Pesticide control is generally ineffective. In recent years, field release of longhorn beetle legless wasps, which parasitize the larvae and pupae of the coffee tiger longhorn beetle, has achieved good results. The most suitable air temperature for releasing parasitic wasps in the field is 25-30°C, and sunny days with light wind are preferable. Releasing wasps in July-August can reach a parasitism rate of 70%, reduce the pest population by more than 75 in one release, and the overwintering survival rate of legless wasps is about 80%.

Chinese sawtooth longhorn beetle

Willow carpenter moth and leopard moth: The larvae bore into and feed on the root and stem base and stems. After damage, plant growth declines and flower buds fail to form. If damaged for several consecutive years, the entire plant dies. The damage rate of flower clumps over 10 years old can reach 35-60%. Control methods: Combine with pruning to remove dead old branches and overly dense branches; from late July to late August, spray with 40% omethoate emulsifiable concentrate at 1500 times plus 0.3% kerosene.

Leopard moth

Red spider mite: It occurs from early spring to early summer. It has a high reproduction rate, occurs quickly, and is highly destructive. In mild cases, yield is reduced; in severe cases, there is no harvest. Control methods: In early spring, spray with 0.1-0.2 degrees Baume lime sulfur mixture and 40% dimethoate at 2000 times dilution, once every 7 days, for 2 consecutive applications. Spray pesticides promptly, continuously, and thoroughly, without missing clumps or branches.

Honeysuckle sawfly:It belongs to Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae. It is distributed where honeysuckle sawfly larvae damage leaves. Newly hatched larvae like to crawl onto tender leaves to feed. The 1st and 2nd generations cause severe damage throughout the year, but they do not damage honeysuckle varieties with thick leaves and long, hard hairs. Control methods: Manual control. When the occurrence number is large, dig cocoons under the trees in winter and spring to reduce overwintering sources; chemical control. During the larval occurrence period, spray 90% trichlorfon at 1000 times dilution, or 25% fenvalerate at 1000 times dilution.