These pests threaten your eggplant production
Most often purple, the spongy and absorbent eggplant fruit carries a multitude of beneficial health properties against diabetes, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome. How to grow your own purple curing bundles? We cover all the steps and requirements for a successful eggplant cultivation in this series.
Red spider mites Tetranicus urticae
These pests are known to attack eggplants, especially during springtime. The spider mite reaches its mature stage very quickly, in just a week, and then settles on the underside of the leaves, bites the pulp, and sucks the juice out. To fight this pest, it is necessary to spray:
- Floramite at a dose of 125ml/200litres of water; Or
- Danisaraba at a dose of 150ml/200 liters of water, especially when adults appear; Or
- Diva at a dose of 125ml/200 liters of water; Or
- Ramex at a dose of 150 ml/200 liters of water; Or
- Siltac at a dose of 200ml/200 liters of water in the case of biological pest control
The whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum; Bemisia tabaci
It survives on the underside of the leaves and weakens the plant following successive sap-sucking. In the event of a massive infestation, the plant may wither and the larvae will secrete honeydew and wax which accumulate under the leaves (underside) and promote the development of pathogenic fungi and bacteria. To fight against whiteflies, you can resort to sticky traps such as sticky yellow cardboard sheets or yellow adhesive tapes. There are also several solutions that require spraying:
- Aceplan at a dose of 150ml/200 liters of water, or even
- Siltac at a dose of 150ml/200 liters of water in the case of biological pest control
Thrips or thysanoptera
These pests feed on sucking the contents of epidermal cells. The most reported species seen on vegetables are Frankliniella occidentalis and Heliothrips haemorrhoidalis. Thrips attack leaves, fruits and flowers, and can cause severe damage, such as whitish lesions on flowers and leaves which tend to become chlorotic and dull. Damage of the fruit can also appear as a silvery alternation. The development cycle of the trip includes six stages – egg, two larval stages, two pro nymph and adult stages – its duration varies based on the temperature and the host plant. For example, regarding the Frankliniella occidentalis, it fluctuates between 34 days at 5°C and 13 days at 30°C.
To fight against this pest, it would be necessary to take a lot of control measures, especially in the case of greenhouse cultivation. Thus, it is necessary to install insect-proof textiles at the openings and to place sticky blue panels above the produce. The chemical intervention consists of spraying:
Aphids
Aphids can be black or green and are common on eggplant. Moreover, they settle on the young shoots and the underside of the leaves. Their bites on leaf tissue causes the leaves to roll up and become sticky due to the presence of honeydew excreted by the pest. To fight against aphids, spray:
- Aceplan at a dose of 100 g/200 liters of water mixed with Silwet Gold (sticky material) at a dose of 30 ml/200 liters of water.
Army worms Spodoptera spp.
This pest belongs to the order Lepidoptera and the family named Noctuidae. This type gnaws the leaves keeping only the main veins. Their development cycle includes 4 phases – egg, larva or caterpillar (phase causing major damage to the eggplant), pupa or chrysalis, and butterfly (adult phase). To fight against this pest, install insect-proof textiles on all openings and spray:
- Avaunt at a dose of 100ml/200litres of water, mixed with silwet gold (sticky material) at a dose of 30ml/200litres of water.
by Eng. Mounir Abi Fadel
