Common Spring Flower Pests and Diseases and High-Yield Cultivation Techniques for Edible Mushrooms
In spring, the temperature turns warm but then cold again. From April to May, the pests and diseases harming flowers include the following:
Aphids
Rose of Sharon, ornamental peach, Chinese rose, honeysuckle and others are all susceptible to aphid damage. As the temperature rises, aphids also multiply increasingly. Control method: Spray with imidacloprid or acetamiprid; a small amount of laundry detergent solution can be added to enhance the efficacy.
Red Spider Mites
They begin causing damage to jasmine, asparagus fern, Chinese rose, dahlia and others from early April. Control method: Use pyridaben or abamectin for control.
Scale Insects
(Flower lice) Scale insects on white magnolia, Chinese rose, littleleaf boxwood and crape myrtle mostly begin hatching from mid-April to mid-to-late May. Control methods: 1. Before hatching, gently brush off the insect bodies by hand. 2. During the larval hatching period, spray with chlorpyrifos or beta-cyfluthrin.
Damping-Off
When the temperature reaches 20°C, newly sown flowers, saplings and some flowers prone to root rot are highly susceptible to damping-off when soil moisture is high. Control methods: 1. Before sowing, use flower-specific seed coating agent for seed dressing. 2. During the seedling stage, control watering and do not let the soil become too wet. 3. At the early stage of disease, water with 1% ferrous sulfate or spray with mancozeb.
Rust Disease
Rose rust disease attacks when rose buds are about to bloom. Control methods: 1. When roses sprout, promptly remove and burn the yellow diseased shoots that sprout first to eliminate the source of infection. 2. During the early infection period, spray with 15% triadimefon at 700-1000 times dilution.
Powdery Mildew
Chinese rose powdery mildew and garden balsam powdery mildew mostly occur from May to June, and in summer can easily cause symptoms such as yellow leaves, withered leaves and curved young shoots. Control methods: 1. Ensure good ventilation and light penetration for the flowers. 2. Apply less nitrogen fertilizer and more phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. 3. Spraying once with 15% triadimefon at 700-1000 times dilution at the early infection stage is sufficient.