What are the control methods for the small green leafhopper in organic tea gardens?

     The false-eye small green leafhopper, commonly known as fuchenzi, is one of the main pests on tea plants. Damage from it causes buds and leaves to be damaged and yields to drop in mild cases, and in severe cases the buds and leaves are destroyed, resulting in total crop failure.
I. Morphological characteristics
The false-eye small green leafhopper belongs to the order Homoptera, family Cicadellidae. Its life cycle passes through three stages: egg → nymph → adult.
1. The egg is crescent-shaped, about 0.8 mm long and about 0.15 mm wide. It is initially milky white and gradually turns pale green; before hatching, a pair of red eye spots can be seen through the front end.
2. The nymph has 5 instars in total. It is initially milky white, and as the instar increases it gradually turns pale yellow and then green. At the 3rd instar the wing buds begin to appear, and at the 5th instar the wing buds extend to the fifth abdominal segment.
3. The adult measures 3.1 -3.8  mm from head to wing tip and is pale green to pale yellow-green. The middle area of the crown mostly has two green spots, and the front edge of the head has a pair of green rings, also called false ocelli; the compound eyes are grayish brown. The mesothoracic scutellum has white bands, and the transverse impression is straight. The forewings are pale yellow-green, the base of the front margin is green, and the wing tips are transparent or slightly smoky brown. The legs are the same color as the body, but the ends of the tibiae and the tarsi of each leg are green.
II. Damage mode
Nymphs and adults pierce and suck the sap of tender shoots, buds and leaves, and female adults also lay eggs inside tender shoots, causing damage to the conductive tissue, loss of nutrients and insufficient water supply. After the buds and leaves are damaged, they show wilting, reddening of veins, reddening of leaf tips and margins and even scorching, shortened internodes and a brittle texture. Among the whole year, the second round of tea suffers the most severe damage.
III. Occurrence characteristics
The false-eye small green leafhopper has a tendency to seek tender growth and only damages tender shoots, buds and leaves. It is photophobic and afraid of moisture, and is not very active in the early morning when the dew has not dried. After the sun comes out, it gradually moves into the canopy. Its adults gradually develop eggs, and the eggs are laid day by day, with 1-2 eggs laid per day. This determines that its occurrence generations are not uniform. In summary, it has the following characteristics in occurrence.
1. The number of generations per year is mostly 13 generations per year in Guangdong. In northern Guangdong it overwinters as adults, while in other places there is no obvious overwintering phenomenon.
2. Generations overlap, and in messy tea gardens adults and nymphs can be seen at the same time. However, there are two population peaks throughout the year: the first peak is in May-June, and the second peak is in September-October.
3. Influence of climatic factors. Temperature, precipitation and the number of rainy days are the main climatic factors affecting the population dynamics of the false-eye small green leafhopper. It is suitable for occurrence under conditions of an average temperature of 17-28°C and alternating sunny and rainy weather.
4. There are many natural enemies, more than 60 species, the most important of which are egg parasitoid wasps, mymarid wasps, spiders and entomophthoralean fungi, etc.
In addition, its occurrence and development are closely related to cultivation management and variety. Baiye Dancong is severely damaged.

IV. Control methods
There are two different directions for controlling the false-eye small green leafhopper in organic tea gardens: one is the ecological regulation method, and the other is the method of attraction and control by pheromones.
1. Ecological regulation. So-called ecological regulation means using agricultural cultivation and management measures, such as pruning and picking, to fully protect natural enemies, give play to the role of natural enemies, and properly control the occurrence of the small green leafhopper. For example, Haiou Farm and Yongshi Farm on the Leizhou Peninsula used the ecological regulation method and did not apply pesticides in more than 7000 mu of tea gardens. For more than ten years, they kept the small green leafhopper below the level that causes economic loss for a long time. The rate of damage to buds and leaves was low, the pest population density was low, there were many species and large numbers of spiders, and the parasitism rate of mymarid wasps was high, completely controlling the small green leafhopper. This method is convenient, effective and low in cost, and will not cause pesticide residue contamination in tea. When using the ecological regulation method, there will be a certain risk in the initial stage, that is, the pest population will rise to a certain extent at the beginning of stopping pesticide application, but there is no need to be afraid, because when the population numbers of natural enemies such as parasitoid wasps and spiders rise, they can play a controlling role.