Whether you are growing ornamentals or vegetables, your garden plants are always prone to insect infestations, particularly in monsoon season. Remember, not all insects are pests; in fact, many of them are beneficial to plants in different ways. But the insects that are well-known pests can have a nasty impact on your Hibiscus, Roses, Tomatoes, etc. Insect pests inflict lots of damage on plants & we must identify them at a very early stage if we are to take any action on controlling them. Following are some of the most common insect pests in your garden to watch out for: (Warning: These pictures may look ugly & gross, but it’s important first to identify the insect pests if you want to save your plants) 1. Scales:These remain covered inside a hard coating which looks like a waxy scale & infests lower surface of leaves & veins of branches. 2. Thrips: These are minute sucking insects that mainly attack tender leaves, twigs & flower buds, making the affected plants weak with burnt appearance. 3. Aphids: These brownish or green insects suck sap from tender shoots, leaves & flower buds. The affected plant becomes weak & retards in growth. 4. Mealybugs:These are small fleshy insects which remain covered in white, wooly & waxy secretions. Generally, older plants are affected. 5. Whiteflies: These are tiny insects, white in color and are very active in damp & dark conditions. 6. Spider-Mites: This is a minute dot sized dangerous, shoot sucking pest, red in color, almost invisible to the naked eyes, resembling the spider but not an actual spider. 7. Caterpillars: Various caterpillars feed on foliage, they damage the leaves by feeding continuously. 8. Leaf Beetles & Weevils:These leaf infesting flying insects are considered as serious pests on flowering plants like Roses. 9. Cut worms: This bug remains in the soil & attacks the plant at ground level. 10. Leaf-miners: The larvae of theses insects mine into leaves between tissue layers, leaving excreta on leaf surface & creating typical white patterns on leaves. Apart from these, there are many other insect pests like Termites, Jassids, Leaf folder, Cabbage Diamond Black-moth, Leaf Roller, Red pumpkin beetle, Stem borer, etc. & noninsect pests like Root-knot nematodes, snails & slugs; all of them are equally harmful to your garden plants. Now that we have identified them, we will explore various prevention and control measures of insect pests in our upcoming blogs. Meanwhile, check out our range ofinsecticides & choose appropriate one according to the condition of your plants.
