Banana, Tomato & Okra

BANANA Musa spp.
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The banana plant is the largest herbaceous flowering plant.[7] All the above-ground parts of a
banana plant grow from a structure usually called a "corm".[8] Plants are normally tall and fairly
sturdy, and are often mistaken for trees, but what appears to be a trunk is actually a "false stem"
or pseudostem. Bananas grow in a wide variety of soils, as long as the soil is at least 60 cm deep,
has good drainage and is not compacted.
WEEDS
Grasses
1. Bermuda Grass Cynodon Dactylon
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Description
Bermuda grass is a highly variable, hardy, long-lived perennial grass, and one of the most used
warm-season forages in the world (Hacker et al., 1998). This stoloniferous and rhizomatous grass
forms dense leafy mats that can reach 10-40 cm (-90 cm) high (FAO, 2012; Ecocrop, 2012).
Bermuda grass densely roots at the nodes. The root system mostly develops within 0-25 cm
depth but can go as deep as 70-80 cm in sandy soils. The underground biomass is mostly
rhizomatous. Creeping stolons spread rapidly and may be as long as 20 m, but are generally 0.5-
1.5 m. Culms are numerous (8-40), usually prostrate but flowering culms can be erect or
geniculated, and may be 10-90 cm high (Ecoport, 2012; Quattrocchi, 2006). Bermuda grass is a
leafy species. Leaf blades are blue green, 2-20 cm long, and 2-6 mm wide, smooth on the lower
surface and somewhat pubescent at the upper one (Cook et al., 2005).
Habitat
Bermuda grass is common in grasslands, lawns and pastures (FAO, 2012). It is dominant in
uncultivated areas: roadsides, sea-coast sandy dunes, or along rivers and irrigated land
Prevention and Control
Cultural Control
Legumes or other cover crops are sometimes used for smothering C. dactylon since the weed
does not tolerate deep shade. Vigorous crops and higher crop density may be important in
reducing weed competition.
Mechanical Control
Traditional techniques of controlling C. dactylon rely very little on manual methods, as it easily

survives shallow hoeing and positively thrives on mowing. However, the benefits of deep
cultivation have been confirmed in Botswana and Zimbabwe where double ploughing, either
after crop harvest or before the onset of the next season's rains, provided a high degree of control
and was beneficial to crop yields (Phillips, 1993; Phillips and Moaisi, 1993; Mabasa et al., 1995).
The main non-chemical approaches to control are deep tillage and shading/smothering crops.
Solarization
Solarization, using plastic sheets to raise soil temperatures, has proved highly effective in the
control of C. dactylon in Egypt (Satour et al., 1991) and India (Nasr Esfahani, 1993; Anju-Kamra
and Gaur, 1998). This technique has been also been recently tested in tomato orchards by Kumar
et al (2003).
Chemical Control
In sugarcane, banana and plantain, glyphosate can be used successfully as a directed spray but
care is needed to avoid contact with crop foliage.
The effects of addition of urea on herbicides have been tested by El-Quesni et al. (2000) in
Egypt. Results suggest that glyphosate or fluazifop applied with urea gave an effective level of
control of C. dactylon in July and August. Glyphosate formulations may have different
behaviour, and have been studied by Martini et al. (2002): best results were obtained with 2.50
kg a.i./ha of potash glyphosate.
Biological Control
Drechslera cynodontis, Ustilago cynodontis, Puccinia cynodontis, and Fusarium poae as fungal

pathogens and a specimen of Thripidae family were identified on C. dactylon and studied for
potential use in biological control (Uygur, 2000).
Integrated Control
A single ploughing followed by glyphosate after a regrowth of C. dactylon may provide an

effective and affordable control method to small-scale farmers (Abdullahi 2002).
Integrated weed management practices in spring planted sugarcane of coastal Orissa have been
studied by Mishra et al. (2003). The effects of combined management techniques were studied in
Italy by Caruso et al. (1997) who measured the effects of herbicides, and transplanting date of
onions in the weed community structure. They found that crop growth rate increased during the
first phases of the crop cycle, that the Shannon-Wiener diversity index showed a decreasing
trend from the first to the third planting time for the herbicide treatment, and that the greatest
mean influence on the diversity index was given by Amaranthus retroflexus, C. dactylon,
Cyperus esculentus and Portulaca oleracea.
When designing a weed management program the following should be taken into account:
-The depletion of carbohydrates accumulated in the vegetative structures of the weed (sprouting
promotion) coupled with the exposition of rhizomes and stolons to the soil surface in winter
when low temperatures may kill buds to a greater extent.
-The design of a crop sequence, in which the initial crop must be highly competitive (such as
sunflower or soyabean), to be sown early in the spring. The main target should be to avoid
irradiance reaching this C4 creeping weed.
-The use of herbicides such as glyphosate. These chemicals should be applied when the
aerial/subterranean biomass ratio is at its highest value (at the end of favourable season), after the
crop harvest in early autumn.
Southern crabgrass Digitaria ciliaris
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Description
This grass is as annual that can grow up to 1 m tall, but is usually much shorter. The roots are
at the nodes and the stems produce runnersthat allow the plant to grow fast forming scruffy-
looking patches about 1 m across and half a metre in height. The leaves are linear to linear-
ovate narrowing at the tip to 15 centimeters long. The inflorescence is at the top of a long
stem, usually much taller than the leaves, with two to nine 5–10 cm long sub-digitate
racemes.
Habitat
D. ciliaris is a typical weedy annual grass, flourishing mainly in disturbed, open areas, with
full sun or partial shade. It is a widespread weed of annual and perennial crops, including
pastures, in the tropics and sub-tropics. It is also abundant on roadsides and wasteland.
Cultural Control
Manual control of D. ciliaris is complicated by the habit of rooting at the nodes, which means
that small parts of the plant may remain and recover. Otherwise it is relatively easily controlled
by mechanical means.
Solarization can be highly effective on this species (Nobuoka and Hosoda, 1992).
Smothering by legume cover crops is likely to be of value in perennial tree crops.

Biological Control
There are no reports of serious interest in , or attempts at, biological control.
Chemical Control
Within the graminicides, haloxyfop, quizalofop, clethodim, cycloxydim and fenoxaprop may
give more reliable control than fluazifon
3. Purpletop chloris Chloris barbata
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Description
Annual, or perennial; caespitose. The stems are erect to creeping and rooting at the lower nodes
to then grow upwards to a total length of 35-70 cm. The internodes of the non-flowering stems
are very short with distinctly distichous leaves arising from the basal portion. The sheath is 2.5-
7.5 cm long, flattened, with the midrib winged and a few hairs at the tip. The ligule is
membranous, about 0.5 mm long, hairy on the abaxial side and fringed with short hairs. The leaf
blade is 1.5-13 x 0.1-0.6 cm and the midvein is winged underneath. The inflorescence is a
panicle, without a central rachis, the 7-14 branches are 4-7.5 cm long and 0.1-0.2 mm wide. The
single spikelets are arranged in two rows, about 2.3 x 1-1.2 mm and often tinged purple. Each is
3-flowered, the first bisexual, the second and third sterile, awned and hairy.
Habitat
It is found in dryland field crops, pastures, sugarcane, wastelands, abandoned cultivation, railway
embankments, roadsides, borders of plantation crops and on levees in lowland rice fields.
Cultural Control
Good cultural practices, including good tillage, use of vigorous cultivars and timing of water and
fertilizer applications
Chemical Control
Glyphosate is used to control C. barbata in tree crops in Hawaii and spot applications of
glyphosate or glufosinate are used in lawns (RK Nishimoto, University of Hawaii, personal
communication).
In Andhra Pradesh, India, fluchloralin effectively controlled C. barbata and other narrow-leaved
weeds in irrigated groundnuts (Rajan et al., 1981).
In tobacco in Thailand, clopomydim, fenoxaprop-ethyl, haloxyfop-methyl and fluazifop-butyl

gave good control of the narrow-leaved weeds, including C. barbata, but could not control all of
the broadleaved weeds. Fluazifop-butyl + bifenox, haloxyfop-methyl + dimethazone [withdrawn]
and fenoxaprop-ethyl + dimethazone [withdrawn] controlled all the annual weeds for longer than
4 weeks and did not damage the crop (Suwanarak et al., 1986).
Sedge
1. Purple nutsedge Cyperus rotundus

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Characteristic Features
Can be distinguished from other sedge weeds by its wiry rhizomes linking a network of tubers.
Purplish-brown spikelets and leaf-tips coming to an abruptly acute tip.
Young Plant
Seedling are not often found, seedlings are grass-like and later develop 3-sided, triangular base.
Stems
Flowering stems are erect, up to 60 cm (23.62 inch) tall, 3-sided, smooth with swollen bases
(basal bulbs).
Leaves
The leaves have a distinct midrib, are linear, usually shorter than the flowering stem, up to 7 mm
(0.27 inch) wide and emerge from a sheath around the shoot base.
Flowers
The inflorescence is a terminal, open umbel-like cluster subtended by several leafy bracts.
Several unequal rays, 2-6 cm (0.78 - 2.36 inch) long, support 3-8 reddish-brown to purplish-
brown, flattened spikelets, 1-2 cm (0.39 - 0.78 inch) long and 2 mm (0.078 inch) wide, each with
up to 30 glumes, 3.5-4 mm (0.13 - 0.15 inch) long.
Fruit
The fruit (often, but erroneously, known as the seed) is a 3-angled achene, 1.5 mm (0.059 inch)
long, dark brown or black.
Habitat
Cultivated fields, waste areas, roadsides, pastures, and natural areas.
Physical/Mechanical Control
Successful cultivation depends on destroying the tubers of C. rotundus by exposing them to
desiccation or by exhausting the food reserves. It is most effective on dry soils but it must be
sustained to avoid re-establishment of the fragmented and dispersed rhizome/tuber network. This
could necessitate cultivating every 2-3 weeks until the crop forms a canopy to suppress further
growth of the weed. In practice this consumes much time and energy and could be detrimental to
soil structure. Mowing 1-3 times a week reduces shoot and tuber populations on recreational turf
grass (Summerlin et al., 2000).
Organic mulch made from crop residues, such as coir dust (Van Mele et al., 1996) provides
temporary suppression of C. rotundus. A layer of 1000-gauge polyethylene is an effective barrier
to growth that can be used in nurseries and high value field crops. Soil solarization by
polyethylene cover sheets can control C. rotundus (Ricci et al., 1999). Higher soil temperatures
and more effective control are possible with thermal-infrared-retentive (TIR) films than with a
low-density polyethylene (LDPE) clear film (Chase et al., 1999). This treatment can have a
negative effect on some soil biota.
Chemical Control
Few herbicides kill C. rotundus but several have been used to suppress growth until after crop
establishment, including carbamate compounds such as EPTC, butylate, pebulate and vernolate,
and the uracils bromacil and terbacil. Amitrole, 2,4-D, dichlobenil, MSMA, norflurazon and a
range of other herbicides have all been used against C. rotundus but one of the most effective
products is glyphosate (Terry, 1985). Applied post-emergence at the flowering stage, glyphosate
is taken up by actively growing shoots and translocated to the tubers. Activity on the shoots is
not observed until 2-4 weeks after treatment. Tuber populations can be reduced by 95% with
multiple in-crop applications of glyphosate (Charles, 1997) or by single applications at the
beginning of four consecutive seasons within 2 years (Darkwa et al., 1999). Glyphosate is
inactivated on contact with the soil and has no effect on tubers that are not connected to emerged
shoots.
Biological Control
It is questionable whether a cosmopolitan weed like C. rotundus with a huge regenerative

capacity would be a good target for biological control but Evans (1991) claims that several fungi
are promising candidates for classical biocontrol, including Puccinia conclusa, P.
philippinensis and Phytophthora cyperi. Evans (1991) also notes that several pathogens are
damaging to C. rotundus and warrant evaluation as possible mycoherbicides. The fungal
pathogen, Dactylaria higginsii, has shown promise as a bioherbicide for the control of C.
rotundus; three applications of 10 million conidia/ml gave >90% control (Kadir et al.,
2000). Shabana et al. (2010) found that D. higginsii was more effective against C. rotundus than
against Cyperus esculentus. The use of D. higginsii is reported by Yandoc et al. (2006) to be
compatible with the use of some pesticides, although others reduced or inhibited conidial
germination or mycelial growth.
The use of fungi for biological control of C. rotundus and C. esculentus is reviewed by Morales-
Payan et al. (2005). The paper examines the biological enemies of nutsedges in nature (including
vertebrates and arthropods), and the fungi associated with nutsedges and their potential for
biological control
(Balansia, Curvularia, Ascochyta, Puccinia, Cercospora and Dactylaria). Priyadharsini et al.
(2013)suggest that metabolites produced by a Streptomyces strain inhibited sprouting of C.
rotundus rhizomes.
Arthropod predators of C. rotundus that have been investigated as biological control agents
include Athesapeuta cyperi, Chaetococcus australis, Bactra minima, B. venosana and B.
verutana (Julien, 1992). Bactra spp. have been widely tested but natural enemies have restricted
their impact.
Broaedleaves
1. Blackjack Bidens Pilosa
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Description
Characteristic Features
Ray florets absent or 4-7 per head, rays 2-8 mm (0.079 - 0.31 inch) long.
Stems
Erect, ramified, square, hairless, up to 120 cm (47.24 inch) high.
Leaves
Petiolate, with 1-2 pairs of petiolate pinnae and a large terminal pinna.
Flowers
Flower heads longer than wide, with yellow disk florets and white ray florets.
Fruit
Achenes dark brown or black, straight, wingless, 8-16 mm (0.31 - 0.63 inch) long, setose.
Habitat
Pastures, plantations, along roadsides and on wasteland.
Cultural Control
B. pilosa can be controlled by persistent mowing, hoeing and hand pulling in order to prevent
seed production. Thorough cultivation discourages growth (Pope, 1968).
Biological Control
The natural enemies of B. pilosa have not been investigated in detail as potential biological
control agents.
Chemical Control
Residual herbicides:diuron, bromacil, atrazine, simazine, ropazine, hexazinone, oryzalin, and

ametryn;
Translocated herbicides: 2,4-D, glyphosate, amitrole, metribuzin, and dicamba; and
contact herbicides bentazone, diquat, and paraquat have all been evaluated as effective means of
controlling B. pilosa when applied at standard rates. B. pilosa is thought susceptible to the
majority of broad-leafed plant herbicides (PIER, 2007).
2. Tamil Phyllanthus Maderaspatensis
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Description
Phyllanthus maderaspatensis is an erect to spreading, unbranched to much-branched, annual to

perennial plant
Stem
Stems that can become more or less woody and persist for more than a year. It can grow up to
90cm tall, occasionally to 120cm
Leaves
Leaves to 3.5 x 1.5 cm, obovate, obtuse, mucronate, base cuneate, glaucous; petiole to 2 mm,
stipule peltate, 3 mm, lanceolate, acute.
Flower
In axillary, solitary or clustered, minute; greenish-white. Flowering throughout the year.
Fruit
A globose, 3-valved capsule, 3-lobed; seeds triquetrous, vertically muricate. Fruiting throughout
the year.
Habitat
Found along the roadsides and fallow fields from plains to 800m.
Mechanical Control
Tillage, manual weeding and land preparation techniques can be used to control P.
Maderaspatensis.
Chemical Control
Reported that pre-emergence applications of either granular oxadiazon or pre-mixed granular

oxyfluorfen + oryzalin provided ca. 85% control of the weed. Post-emergence treatments with
paraquat, glyphosate, oxyfluorfen, and acifluorfen provided at least 90% control of the weed.
Integrated Control
The control measures include the integration of zero tillage, late sowing, close planting and
herbicide applications.
Broadleaves
1. Small knotweed Polygonum plebeium

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Description
Small knotweed is a prostate, densely branched, annual herb.
Stem
Stems are branched from base, branches numerous.
Leaves
Lance-like, elliptic, stalkless leaves are 1-3 x .1-.4 cm, entire. Ochrea (a kind of sheath formed
by two stipules united round a stem) are 1-2 mm long, memebranous, ovate, tube-shaped.
Flower
Flowers are pink, in leaf axils, in clusters of 1-5 , flower-stalks 0.5 mm long at flowering, usually
enclosed by ochreae. Flowers sunken between ochrea or hardly coming out, 1-2 mm across
nearly stalkless. Tepals 5, 1.5-3 x .5-1 mm, inverted lance-shaped, unequal, outer tepals slightly
longer and pointed , inner to blunt. Stamens 5, filaments long with broaden base, equal. Ovary
small, trigonous with three styles and capitate stigmas.
Fruit
Nuts, 1-1.75 mm long, circular to ovate, shining, black, hairless.
Habitat
Drier locations than many other Polygonum species, in places such as rocky ground in dried
riverbeds and drying mudflats along lakes. It is also found as a weed in fields
Cultural Control
Cultural methods can be described as indirect, or preventive weed control. One example of a
cultural control method for knotweed is preventing the spread of rhizome pieces in soil and on
excavation equipment. Encouraging or establishing alternative groundcover provides
competition to knotweed, and will enhance the effects of other treatments. Tillage is not effective
and will increase spread of root or stem fragments that can start new plants.
Mechanical Control
Stem cutting, mowing, and digging are effective on small, newly established infestations. These
methods must be repeated at least three times during the growing season and continued for more
than three years for successful control.
Covering plants with heavy black plastic or other barrier can be used on small infestations.
Livestock will graze young shoots of the plant and intensive grazing may reduce density and
competitive ability of the plant.
Chemical Control
Glyphosate is the herbicide of choice for controlling knotweed. It is effective, has no soil
activity, can be used near water, it is readily available, and inexpensive (Table 1). Arsenal
(imazapyr) and Vanquish (dicamba) have demonstrated significant activity on knotweed, but
have appreciable soil activity and should not be used near desirable trees. Garlon 3A (triclopyr)
has not been effective against established knotweed - it injures the topgrowth but does not appear
to injure the rhizomes. However, triclopyr is safe to grasses and has aquatic labeling in ROW
settings. It may be useful as a follow-up treatment where d
Spike 20 P (tebuthiuron) is a pelleted herbicide that is applied to the soil. This product is non-
selective and soil active. The effects of a tebuthiuron application develop slowly.
2. Chicken weed Portulaca quadrifida
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Description
Annual herbs, about 4-10 cm tall, stem creeping or prostrate, usually woody at the base,
branched, main root tuberous, fibrous, fleshy, profusely rooting at nodes, trichomes present are
dense silvery white, about 5 mm long.
Stem
stems often reddish and sometimes rooting at the nodes, sometimes reaching 25 cm long and c. 1
cm in diam.
Leaves
Leaves opposite; lamina fleshy, up to 10 × 4 mm, but often much less and frequently somewhat
shrunk in dried specimens, elliptic, lanceolate, elliptic-oblong or rarely cordate-ovate, apex acute
or obtuse, both surfaces more or less flattened; petiole c. 1 mm. long; stipular hairs whitish,
numerous, 3–5 mm long.
Flower
Solitary, terminal; yellow. Flowering throughout the year.
Fruit
An oblong capsule; seeds ca. 10, tubercled. Fruiting throughout the year.
Habitat
P. quadrifida is found in the wild on bare patches of ground and among rocks, on sandy or stony
soils, from sea-level up to 2000 m altitude.
Cultural Control
Normal hoeing is relatively ineffective against P. quadrifida as the plant can survive extremely
desiccating conditions and can re-grow from small fragments of stem. It is recommended either
to burn or bury all removed material to prevent re-establishment.
Solarization for 30 and 45 days provided 100% control in North India (Nasr-Esfahani, 1993).
Chemical Control
There are reports of P. quadrifida being controlled by herbicides and it is reported as being
susceptible to MCPA and 2,4-D (Pfeiffer and Burleigh, 1958). In India, selective control was
achieved with metoxuron, metribuzin, methabenzthiazuron, terbutryn, methabenzthiazuron +
fluchloralin and fluchloralin + metribuzin (Randhawa et al., 1981). Additionally, directed
applications of glyphosate + 2, 4-D have also been used in cropped fields (Tnau Agritech Portal,
2014).
3. Indian Copperleaf Acalypha indica L.
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Description
Small annual herbs, erect, at times diffuse, 30-120 cm high.
Stem
Simple or branched, deep-green, hirsute, angular, hairy and deeply grooved in younger parts,
more or less terete, glabrous and faintly straite in older.
Leaves
Alternate, ovate, rhomboid-ovate, sometimes obovate, subacute or obtuse at apex, cuneate or
tapering at base, serrate only in the upper part along the margins, dark-green above, pale-green
below, glabrous or thinly hairy, petioles 3-8 cm long, hairy, stipules small.
Flowers
 Male flowers minute, pale-greenish-yellow, condensed in the upper part, followed by a

tuft of sterile flowers.
 Females lax, in the lower half, scattered, 3-5 leafy, large, dentate, many-nerved bracts.
 Sepals4, petals 0, stamens 8, filaments free, ovary 3-celled, styles filiform.
Fruit
Capsules 1-2 mm in diameter, green pubescent, dehiscent, concealed in the bract.
Habitat
In shade along rivers, seasonal water courses and pans, at the base of rocky outcrop, often in
sandy soils and disturbed areas.
Mechanical Control
Manual weeding or hand pulling
Chemical Control
Used of Glyphosate.
4. Asthma weed Euphorbia hirta
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Description
Erected plant but generally bent back in the extremity, usually branched from the base, with
branches ascending or spreading from 10cm and up to 40cm, reddish or purplish according to the
period of sunshine.
Stem
Stems clothed in hairs. Stems produce a milky exudate when cut or broken.
Leaves
Leaf blades about 25-50 x 11-26 mm, petioles about 2-4 mm long. Both the upper and lower
surfaces of the leaf blade and the petioles clothed in hairs. Lateral veins 2-4 on each side of the
midrib. Stipules linear, about 1.5-2 mm long, hairy.
Flower
Flowers in clusters which are arranged in heads. Clusters consist of one female flower together
with 1-7 male flowers. Each cluster surrounded by an involucre of 4 glands. Male flowers: Male
flowers consist of a single anther and bract which is fimbriate at the apex. Female flowers: Ovary
green, about 1.1 mm diam., clothed in hairs. Styles 3 or absent. Stigmas 6.
Fruit
Fruits 3-lobed, about 1 x 1.1-1.2 mm, clothed in hairs.Seeds about 0.7-0.8 mm diam.
Habitat
It prefers sunny to lightly shaded dry conditions, and is an early colonizer of bare ground. E.
hirta is a weed of cultivated fields, perennial crops, grasslands, roadsides, gardens, lawns, fallow
lands, ditch banks and waste places.
Physical Control
It is easily controlled by hand or hoe (Parker, 1992) and by cultivation (Pope, 1968).
Soil solarization for 30 or 45 days using four thicknesses of polyethylene sheets (2.0, 2.5, 3.0 and
4.0 mm) gave 100% control of E. hirta (Nasr Esfahani, 1993).
Chemical Control
E. hirta is susceptible to oxadiazon at 0.75-1.0 kg ha-1 applied after harrowing and sowing. It
can also be controlled with 2_4-D at 500 g/ha or Metsulfuron at 4 g/ha applied 20-30 days
after emergence.
5. Red spiderling Boerhavia repens var. diffusa

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ges/9/b/9b833a7250125aad9ea6af12 ia/commons/f/f7/Starr_080601-
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Description
stems up to 60 cm long, with a slender taproot; stem few- to much-branched, fleshy, green, often
flushed with red, finely hairy or glabrescent, nodes swollen.
Leaf
Fine, leaves are egg shaped, light green and pinkish stems. Leaves are pale green.
Flower
Flowers bisexual, regular; pedicel (0–)1–1.5 mm long; perianth tubular-campanulate, distinctly

constricted halfway, lower part ellipsoid, surrounding the ovary, 5-ribbed, green, upper part 5-
lobed, up to 3.5 mm × 3 mm, lobes emarginate, white, pink or mauve, soon falling; stamens
( 1–)2(–3), slightly exserted; ovary superior, seemingly inferior, 1-celled, style slightly exserted,
stigma head-shaped.
Fruit
Fruit an achene enclosed by the thickened lower part of perianth (collectively called anthocarp);
anthocarp obovoid to ellipsoid, 3–3.5 mm × 1.5–2 mm, apex rounded, 5-ribbed, with rounded
ribs, with glandular hairs all over, 1-seeded.
Habitat
Occurs in disturbed sandy and rocky localities, often in occasionally inundated areas such as
ditches along roadsides, dry river beds, flood plains and irrigated fields.
Control Methods
Preparation of a clean seed bed, crop rotation, tillage methods
Mechanical Control
Hand weeding and spade digging
Chemical Contro;
Seedlings are relatively susceptible to 2,4-D and some control of established plants can also be
expected.
Insect pest
1. Banana Pseudostem weevil Odoiporus longicollis
http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/c http://www.cpsskerala.in/O
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Description
Since last 5 years it has become a very sevior pest. Eggs are yellow colour , Elleptical in shape.
The banana Psedostem weevil attacks the plant during flowering and bunch formation stage and
cause severe yield loss by preventing the bunch development. It is widely distributed in all
banana growing areas.
Damage
Female make holes on pseudostem by making pin holes with the help of snout (1 egg in each pin
hole) After hatching of eggs Grubs bores into the pseudostem and make tunnels and feed on
internal content of pseudostem . On an average we can see 150-200 weevils along with grubs in
each stem.
Cultural Control
The most practical method of combating O. longicollis consists of prevention by means of clean
culture, accompanied by trapping the adults. Clean culture should include the removal of trash
which provides hiding places and, more especially, the removal of broken and decaying plants
which serve as breeding places. The practice of cutting off the stems at a height varying from 2
to 7 feet and allowing these to remain until they disintegrate provides ideal breeding conditions
for the beetles. One of these cut stems may have dozens of insects in all stages of their
development (Hoffmann, 1933).
Trapping can be done by placing cut pieces of stem in the field for the purpose of attracting
beetles for oviposition. These traps are best destroyed at regular intervals, of short enough
duration to prevent maturity of any larvae which might hatch. The traps should be visited
frequently and the adults destroyed. Either the weevils are crushed or the traps burnt to kill the
weevils.
Biological Control
The technique of release of sterile males may have potential in control of this weevil (Chiang,
1965).
Chemical Control
In India infested pseudostems have been fumigated after the initiation of flowering, otherwise
there was a phytotoxic effect. Three aluminium phosphide tablets per plant were inserted 15 cm
above ground level, at a depth of a quarter of the pseudostem diameter. After insertion, the entry
hole was sealed (Anon., 1977).
Integrated Pest Management
Wijesekara and Menike (1991) stated that it is possible to manage O. longicollis and
Cosmopolites by a combination of cultural and chemical control. All infested plants are
removed, the pseudostems split open and allowed to dry in the field (if convenient all
pseudostems are remoned from field and destroyed by feeding to cows or pigs). The
pseudostems of harvested banana plants are cut at ground level and carbofuran [a hazardous
pesticide that is now banned] granules applied onto the cut surface, which is covered with
another piece of pseudostem to make a trap. Twenty five such pseudostem traps per acre are
randomly placed at the base of clumps once a month. Uninfested planting material should always
be used for establishing a new plantation.
2. Banana Root borer Cosmopolites sordidus.

https://www.growables.org/informati http://www.infonet-
on/TropicalFruit/images/BananaCorm biovision.org/sites/default/files/plant
WeevilLarva.jpg _health/pestsdiseasesweeds/341.400
Most destructive pest, widely distributed in all banana growing areas. • Specific pest of Musa
spp. Malbhog and Champa varieties highly susceptible. Adult weevils (10-13mm) are shiny
reddish brown to black, with a long and curved snout. Grubs are creamy white, stout, fleshy,
legless, wrinkled and spindle shaped, with red head. Eggs are white in colour and laid singly in
collar region or on underground rhizomes.
Damage
Grubs bore into the pseudostem and rhizome. The grub of corm weevil attacks the plant by
feeding on the corm portion and there by making bore holes and tunnels in the corm (downward
tunneling.)
Cultural Control
Two trapping methods are used in Central and South America banana populations.
The split-log trap uses fresh banana pseudostems cut into 1- to 1 1/2-foot lengths. The
pseudostem logs are then split lengthwise through the center, and the halves are placed with the
split surfaces on the soil at a number of locations in the field.
The stump trap uses recently harvested plants. Trunks are cut about a foot from ground level. A
piece of the remaining trunk is removed by making a second cut at a 30- to 45-degree angle
about 6 inches from the ground. The resulting piece of trunk is placed back on the stump. Adult
weevils are attracted to the surface between the piece and the stump.
Biological Control
There have been no introductions of beneficial insects to control this pest.
Suggested Practices
The following integrated control program is recommended to minimize damage by the banana
root borer.
1. Plant-clumps or mats should be cleaned of plant debris.
2. Harvested plants should be removed from the field weekly to eliminate hiding places for
adults. Stumps should be removed and the corms cut into 4 to 8 pieces and allowed to dry. This
practice prevents larval development in the harvested plants.
3. Transportation of planting material from infested fields to uninfested ones should be avoided
to prevent rapid dispersal of this pest to uninfested areas.
4. If keikis from infested fields are to be replanted nearby, the outer leaf sheaths should be
removed and the corms trimmed to remove eggs or young larvae that may be present. Keikis
may be treated in hot water instead, using the established method for burrowing nematode
disinfestation. However, these methods will only minimize the chance of planting an infested
keiki.
5. Chemicals may be needed if the number of adults caught by trapping exceeds action
thresholds.
Chemical Control
For many years persistent insecticides such as dieldrin and aldrin were used in controlling this
pest. Today, banana root weevils are reported to be resistant to these materials in several areas of
the world, and other insecticides are now being used. Primicid, Furadan, Nemacur, Dasanit, and
Lorsban are pesticides that have been reported to be effective. Primicid and Lorsban are not
registered for use on banana in Hawaii. Of the remaining products, Furadan is though to be the
most effective.
Home gardens. Diazinon is the only chemical that can be used to control this pest on banana in
home gardens. It can provide adult control for short periods and may need to be applied at 3- to
4-week intervals until trap counts indicate that the pest has been controlled. Diazinon sprays
should be applied to the bases of the plants and to the ground between them. In order for sprays
to be effective, steps 1 and 2 given above must be followed.
Commercial Farms. Furadan can be used by commercial banana growers. It provides control for
longer periods. The manufacturer recommends that applications be made at 4- to 6-month
intervals. Furadan is highly toxic to humans, and its use is restricted to licensed applicators only.
There are no insecticides currently registered as of April 2007.
3. Banana Aphid Pentalonia nigronervosa

http://www.musarama.org/u https://c1.staticflickr.com/2/ http://www.pestnet.org/fact
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The aphids are persistent vectors of bunchy top disease in banana.  Aphids congregate below
the leaf base and their direct damage is fairly less.  High humidity favours rapid multiplication
of this pest. Identification of pest :- Yellowish green nymphs and adults suck cell sap and
devitalise plants.
Damage
Both adult and nymphs suck the sap from lower portion of leaf. Due to sucking of sap (both by
adult and nymph ) from lower portion of leaf results in progressive leaf dwarfing and curling
reduced bunch size and distorted fruits. o Affected parts become discoloured and malformed.
Cultural Control
Banana Fruit infestations of the bunches can be reduced by covering them with polyethylene
bags.
Biological Control
The more common natural enemies of this pest are Coccinellidae, various parasitic Aphelinidae,
Braconidae and Aphilidae and the cecidomylid predator Aphilodeletes aphidimyza.
Chemical Control
In the Middle East this aphid is usually a minor pest , which may be controlled with
organophosphates. Another option is applying pesticides against associated ants, which transport
the aphids from site to site.
4. Leaf eating caterpillar Pericallia ricini

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Description OC8zNDQvb3JpZ2luYWwv
Eggs: Laid in cluster on the underside of leaves. 2. Larva: Covered with long yellowish to black
hairs 3. Adult :- Medium sized brown moth with a red abdomen.Wings pinkish with numerous
black spots
Damage
Papery appearance of leaf and only midrib, veins are only left out on plant. • In sevior infestation
the plant is completely defoliate. Caterpillar scraping the chlorophyll content and windowing in
unfurled leaves.
Cultural Control
 Collect and destroy egg masses and caterpillars

 Use burning torch to kill the congregating larvae
 Use light trap to attract and kill the adults
Chemical Control
 Spray chlorpyriphos 20 EC or quinalphos 25 EC 2ml/lit

 For hary catterpillar use dust formulations like melathion. • For Spodoptera spray avant at
0.5 ml / liter. • For Spodoptera application of poison bait (very effective.) Poison bait
preperation :- 1. 10 kg rice / wheat bran + 1 kg jagree – keep it over night by mixing both
very well. 2. Next day morning before spreading mix methomil , / monocrotopos at the
rate of 150 ml. Note :- Jagree act a phagostimmulant , rice brawn act as food to
catterpillar.
5. Leaf beetles /Flea beetles Nodostoma sabcostatum, N. viridipennis.

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Damage
The beetles feed on tender unfolded leaves and fruits and they remain hidden under unfolded
leaves. • The leaves of central whirl are worst affected. The beetles scratch epicarp of the
tender fruits, blemish them and render unmarketable.
Cultural Method
Follow clean cultivation and sanitation in the orchards.
Chemical Method
Spray carbaryl (0.1%) during April-Septermber coinciding with emergence of new growth.
Repeat spray at fortnightly interval if required. Stop spraying 15 days before bunch
harvesting.
6. Fruit and Leaf Scarring Beetle :-Colaspis hypochlora
https://bugwoodcloud.org/images/38 http://www.pestnet.org/portals/32/I
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%20scara/938b-Banana%20fruit.jpg
Damage
The adult beetle feeds on young leaves and skin of young fruits. Infested fruits get spotted and
severe scarring of fruit skin leads to underdeveloped fruit of less commercial value.
Pest Management
Cultural Control
Removal of grass weeds from plantations where the population of this pest is high.
Chemical Control
In case of severe infestation spraying with Carbaryl WP (0.1%) controls the pest population.
Diseases
1. Banana Bract Mosaic Virus
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q=tbn:ANd9GcQqSWnDEgDdWV9IVqf virus-1.jpg
Causal Organism: Virus spread by Aphids
Symptoms
 Dark red-brown mosaic pattern on flower bracts.
 Green or red streaks or spindle-shaped lesions on leaf petioles and midribs of new leaves.
 Reddish-brown spindle-like streaks can also be seen on the stem when the dead outer
leaves are removed.
 Chlorotic streaks may appear on bunch stems and fingers.
 Severe infection leads to fruit rejection
Cultural Method
Use seeds or seedlings from certified disease-free sources. Monitor the crop regularly for signs
of disease. Pick up and destroy plants with suspect symptoms.
Biological Method
The bio-control fungal agent verticillium lecanii can be used to reduce populations of aphids.
Insecticidal soap can also be used to control aphids when their numbers are not too high.
Chemical Method
There is no direct chemical treatments of viral diseases. However, the use of pesticides can
control aphid populations up to a certain degree (for example cypermethrin, acetamid,
chlorpyrifos). Herbicides can be used to kill affected plants or young shoots growing from
severed trees.
2. Banana Freckle- Cavendish Strain
http://www.pestnet.org/fact https://www.abc.net.au/news http://www.pestnet.org/fact_

_sheets/assets/image/banan /image/8017346-3x2- sheets/assets/image/banana_
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Causal Organism
Caused by fungus Guignardia musae
Symptom
The most characteristic symptom of freckle is a sandpaper feel to infected (spotted) leaves and
fruit. This is caused by the fungal spore structures protruding through the surface of the leaf
tissue or fruit peel.
CULTURAL CONTROL
Control would only be worthwhile if Phyllosticta cavendishii was present and Cavendish AAA
bananas were grown commercially(as in Taiwan), or the commercial interest was in cooking
banana or plantains (i.e., ABB and ABB varieties), in which case do the following:
Bag bunches as soon as possible after the male bud has been removed to help prevent fruit
infection.
Cut out diseased patches on leave
RESISTANT VARIETES
Cavendish varieties have resistance to the disease caused by Phyllostictamaculata and
Phyllostictamusarum.
CHEMICAL CONTROL
In most countries in the Pacific, spraying would only be considered for Cavendish bananas,
cooking varieties or plantains grown commercially. In such cases, the fungicides used against
black Sigatoka would most likely provide control (see Fact Sheet no. 02). In commercial
plantations, the main types of fungicides used are:
Protectant fungicides: Dithiocarbamates (e.g., mancozeb). Banana misting oil.
Systemic fungicides: Triazoles (e.g., propiconazole and flusilazole). Strobilurins (e.g.,

azoxystrobin).
It is important to rotate the fungicides in the different groups to prevent the build up of resistant
strains of the fungus. In drier times, mancozeb can be used alone.
3. Black Sigatoka/ Black Leaf Streak
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Causal Organism
Caused by fungus Mycosphaerella fijiensis
Symptoms
Black Sigatoka leaf spots begin as minute (1mm) reddish-brown flecks on the lower leaf surface
that gradually increase in size to form dark linear streaks (4–12mm) parallel to the leaf veins that
are visible on both leaf surfaces. As the streaks mature they expand, becoming oval spots often
with a distinctive yellow halo. As the lesions mature further they become sunken and the centre
turns grey. In susceptible cultivars, high levels of disease can cause large areas of the leaf surface
to die.
Cultural Control
Cultural management techniques such as wider plant spacing, better drainage of both water and
air, better weed management, and removal of severely diseased leaves or portions of them from
plants can also be used to obtain some measure of control. Simply removing infected leaves
(deleafing) and placing them on the ground can significantly reduce the efficacy of ascospore
discharge (Figure 19). The application of urea and other products onto infested plant debris on
the ground can accelerate decomposition and thus reduce further the available spore inoculum.
Use of resistant cultivars is really the only practical means of black Sigatoka control for the
small-scale and subsistence farmer since fungicides are generally unaffordable.
Biological Control
Various epiphytic bacteria (including Pseudomonas, Bacillus, and Serratia spp.) have been

tested for controlling M. fijiensis, but biological control research is still in its preliminary stages.
Chemical Control
Large plantations are heavily reliant on chemical controls. Control programs are largely based on
the protectant fungicides mancozeb, usually applied in water or in combination with oil, and
chlorothalonil. Mancozeb is often combined or rotated with morpholine, demethylation inhibitors
(DMI), or strobilurin (QoI) fungicides. Cholorothalonil is rotated but not combined with other
fungicides. Resistance to benzimidazole, DMI, and strobilurin fungicides is widespread in many
production areas.
4. Blood Disease
http://www.farmbiosecurity.co
m.au/wp- http://media.padil.gov.au/Speci
content/uploads/2013/01/Blood es/136649/3584-large.jpg
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Causal Organism
Blood disease Bacterium
Symptoms
Initial symptoms of blood disease are yellowing and wilting of leaves, which die and can form a
skirt of dead leaves around the plant stem. Younger leaves may turn yellow before dying.
Eventually the whole plant takes on a wilted appearance.Fruit can ripen prematurely or split and
sometimes fruit may appear unaffected but is internally discoloured reddish-brown and is often
dry or rotted. Stem internal tissue may be reddish-brownand this discolouration can extend from
the corm up to the fruit branches.Blackened or shrivelled flower buds and peduncles are also
common. Cut stems or peduncles exude bacterial ooze that may vary in colour from milky to
yellow to reddish-brown to black.Symptoms change depending on the type of banana and the age
of the plants
Cultural Method
Field sanitation procedures and practices developed for moko [Ralstonia solanacearum race 2]
will probably be effective for blood disease, but if infection takes place via female flowers,
removal of the male flower bud (denavelling) will not be effective.
The best prospects for control probably lie in improving sources of disease-free planting material
as part of an integrated programme for virus diseases and Fusarium wilt [Fusarium oxysporum
f.sp. cubense]. Since blood disease has apparently evolved together with its hosts, sources of
resistance or tolerance may exist, but resistance was not observed by Gäumann (1921) who
examined over 100 varieties. However, recent work in Indonesia (reported in Supriadi, 2005)
suggests that some local varieties are less susceptible than others.
5. Anthracnose Colletotrichum musae
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a_antracnosi.jpg banana-banana-1.jpg
Symptoms:
Infection starts at the distal end of the young harvested fruits, small, circular, black spots develop
on the affected fruits. Then these spots enlarge in size, turn to brown colour. The skin of the fruit
turns black and shrivels and becomes covered with characteristic pink acervuli. Finally the whole
finger is affected. Later the disease spreads and affects the whole bunch. The disease results in
premature ripening and shrivelling of the fruit which are covered with pink sore masses.
Occurrence if black lesions on the pedicel causes withering of the pedicel and dropping of the
fingers from the hands. Sometimes the main stalk of the bunch may become diseased. Infected
fruits become black and rotten.
Regulatory Methods
Use only diseased-free planting materials
Cultural Methods
Proper selection of planting materials

Proper sanitation- Remove and destroy infected parts but avoid touching other plant parts,
especially when these are wet. Harvest unripe but mature fruits.
Keep area free of weeds
Physical Methods
Treat the fruit with hot water for 5 min at 50 degree celsius
Biological Methods
Spray bunches twice with Pseudomonas fluorescens at 25 % or Bacillus subtilis at .2 %
Chemical Methods
Spray bunches twice with copper oxychloride .25% or Bordeaux mixture 1% or Indofil M-45
or chlorothaloail .2% or Carbendazim .1 % at fortnightly.
Post harvest dipping or fruits in Aureofungisol 100 ppm or Carbendazim 400 ppm or Benomyl
1000 ppm.
6. Banana Xanthomonas Wilt

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Causal Organism
Xanthomonas vasicola pv. Musacearum
Symptoms
Symptoms include general wilting of the plant prior to flowering, fruit rotting and premature
ripening and eventual death of the entire plant.
Cultural and Sanitary Methods

Efforts to eradicate the disease by poisoning, uprooting and burying affected and apparently
healthy plants in the original outbreak areas failed to prevent subsequent outbreaks of disease in
neighbouring villages, probably because spread had already occurred.
Debudding
Insect transmission of the bacteria through the inflorescence can be prevented by removing —
using a forked stick instead of a knife — the male bud as soon as the last hand has formed[15].
Using a forked stick not only avoids the risk of moving bacteria around on knives, should the
plant be already infected, but also enables farmers to remove out-of-reach male buds.
Disinfecting tools
Only clean tools should be used on healthy plants. Cutting tools can be sterilized by putting the
blade in a fire. The blade should be left in the fire for a short time (about 20-30 seconds). It
should not get red hot.
Farmers should not let people from outside their farm use their cutting tools without sterilizing
them first.
Biological Control
Not known. Control of insect vectors may prove possible once these have been identified.
Chemical Control
None known. Conventional antibiotics (streptomycin, tetracyclines) have been used to manage
plant diseases caused by prokaryotes but these are rarely cost-effective.
7. Panama Disease/ Fusarium Wilt
http://www.musarama.org/uplo https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/sit
ad/medium/fusarium-leaf- es/gateway/files/Panama
symptom.jpg %20disease%202%20-
Causal Organism
Soil-borne fungus (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Cubense)
Symptoms
The first external symptom of Panama is the irregular yellowing of the margins of older leaves,
which later turn brown and dry out. These leaves eventually collapse along the leaf stalk or at the
junction of the stalk and stem, resulting in a skirt of dead leaves forming around the lower part of
the plant. Heart leaves may remain unusually upright giving the plant a spiky appearance.
Following
this, plants can take on a generally wilted appearance. The stem may split, which is often
followed by death of the parent stem, but suckers do not necessarily die.
Internal symptoms of Panama include discolouration of the inner tissue in the corm and
pseudostem. The discolouration is usually seen as reddish-brown or black lines running up and
down the pseudostem, or rings running around the cross section of tissue. Affected plants rarely
produce marketable bunches
There is no satisfactory method to control Fusarium wilt. Chemical control, flood fallowing,

crop rotation and the use of organic amendments have not been effective in managing the
disease.
The only effective means of control is by host resistance. Natural sources of resistance exist in
wild species and cultivars and in synthetic diploids developed by breeding programmes.
Quarantine and exclusion procedures are effective in controlling the disease by restricting the
movement of corms, suckers and soil that could be carrying F. oxysporum f.sp. cubense from
infested to clean areas.
The use of micropropagated planting material should be encouraged (Jones and Diekmann,
2000), as this, if managed correctly, should be free from contamination by the pathogen. Plants
derived from tissue culture and planted in soil where bananas have not been previously grown
should remain free of Fusarium wilt for a considerable period.
8. Bunchy Top Disease
https://image.slidesharecdn.com/ppt-
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cb=1489479289
Causal Organism
Banana bunchy top virus (Babuvirus)
Symptoms
 Dark green dot-dash flecks along veins of leaves, most visible on the underside at the
base
 of the leaf adjacent to the midrib.
 Flecks in veins which can form characteristic ‘hooks’ into the midrib from the leaf blade
(also seen on the petioles and in the leaf sheaths of stems).
 Reduced growth with emerging leaves becoming choked and ‘bunched’.
 Affected leaves appearing more upright with pale yellow margins, often having wavy leaf
margins.
 If infected at an early stage, plants become very stunted and rarely produce bunches.
 If infected at a later stage, distorted bunches may be produced.
Cultural Method
Plant less susceptible varieties; destroy infected plants to prevent spread of disease. Control
depends on prompt detection and destruction of infected stools. These are strict quarantine
restrictions to prevent movement of contaminated planting material. Control also depends on the
use of planting material free of virus and intensive eradication schemes.
9. Moko Disease
https://www.freshfruitportal.com
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https://projects.ncsu.edu/cals/co
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2. Cold Soil
When soil temperatures fall below 68 F, banana tree growth slows. This is a problem in gardens
where banana trees do not enjoy lots of space, as crowding can shade the soil and make it
cooler.To make sure the soil receives ample sunlight, banana trees need at least 6 to 8 feet of
space between them.
TOMATO Solanum lycopersicum
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com
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Description
Tomato, Lycopersicum esculentum (syn. Solanum lycopersicum and Lycopersicon lycopersicum)
is an herbaceous annual in the family Solanaceae grown for its edible fruit. The plant can be
erect with short stems or vine-like with long, spreading stems. The stems are covered in coarse
hairs and the leaves are arranged spirally. The tomato plant produces yellow flowers, which can
develop into a cyme of 3–12, and usually a round fruit (berry) which is fleshy, smoothed skinned
and can be red, pink, purple, brown, orange or yellow in color. The tomato plant can grow 0.7–2
m (2.3–6.6 ft) in height and as an annual, is harvested after only one growing season. Tomato
may also be referred to as love apple and originates from South America.
DISEASES
1. Anthracnose Colletotrichum coccodes
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Causal Organism
Fungus
Symptoms
Fruit symptoms are the most common although stem, leaves and roots can also be infected;
disease causes characteristic sunken circular lesions on the fruit; the indentations on may have
visible concentric brown and yellow rings; lesion centers turn tan in color as they mature and
become dotted with small black fungal fruiting bodies (microsclerotia); lesions can grow very
large.

Cultural Method
Plant resistant plants, or buy healthy transplants.
Plant your plants in well-drained soil. You can also enrich the soil with compost in order to help
plants resist diseases.
Water your plants with a drip sprinkler, as opposed to an overhead sprinkler. Don’t touch the
plants when they are wet.
Keep ripening fruits from touching the soil.
Remember to rotate your plants every 2 to 3 years.
Remove and destroy any infected plants in your garden
Biological Method
None
Chemical Method
You can try spraying your plants with a copper-based fungicide, though be careful because
copper can build up to toxic levels in the soil for earthworms and microbes. For trees, try a
dormant spray of bordeaux mix.
2. Black Mold Alternaria alternata

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Cause
Fungus
Symptoms
Disease causes the appearance of black or brown lesions on the surface of ripe fruit; lesions may
be tiny flecks or may be large patches of decaying tissue; during periods of humid weather, the
lesions may become covered in black, velvety spore masses.

Cultural Control
 Avoid overhead irrigation late in the season and keep beds dry.
 Delays in harvest increase the chance of exposure to rain or dew and the incidence of
blackmold. Begin harvest as soon as fruit ripens.
Cultural practices that encourage dense leaf canopies and the selection of varieties that develop
and retain a heavy canopy, may aid in preventing blackmold by protecting fruit from dew.
However, a dense canopy also retains high humidity that favors other fruit molds such as gray
mold.
Organically Acceptable Methods
Cultural control is acceptable for use on organically certified produce.
Biological Method
None yet
Chemical Method
Among fungicides found to be effective for control of blackmold are Difolatan, mancozeb
(Dithane M45 or Manzate 200), Bravo, and Dyrene. These should be used in accordance with
label instructions.
Treatment Decisions
Treatments are most likely necessary in late-harvest fields, in rainy years, or if the fruit is
damaged. Apply the first treatment 4 to 6 weeks before anticipated harvest. Two applications
may be necessary if harvest is anticipated after mid-September. Check with tomato processor
representatives concerning allowed fungicides and rates.
3. Early blight Alternaria solani
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Cause
Fungus
Symptoms
Early blight symptoms start as oval shaped lesions with a yellow chlorotic region across the
lesion; concentric leaf lesions may be seen on infected leaves; leaf tissue between veins is
destroyed; severe infections can cause leaves to completely collapse; as the disease progresses
leaves become severely blighted leading to reduced yield; tomato stems may become infected
with the fungus leading to Alternaria stem canker; initial symptoms of of stem canker are the
development of dark brown regions on the stem; stem cankers may enlarge to girdle the whole
stem resulting in the death of the whole plant; brown streaks can be found in the vascular tissue
above and below the canker region; fruit symptoms include small black v-shaped lesions at the
shoulders of the fruit (the disease is also known black shoulder); lesions may also appear on the
fruit as dark flecks with concentric ring pattern; fruit lesions can seen in the field or may develop
during fruit transit to the market; the lesions may have a velvety appearance caused by
sporulation of the fungus

Resistant cultivars.
There are many resistant tomato cultivars available, often designated with an "EB" in seed
catalogs. There is also an extensive list of resistant cultivars on Cornell University's
vegetable pathology website . Resistant varieties are not immune to early blight. Rather
moderate levels of resistance to either leaf infection, stem infection or both are present.
A few common cultivars with early blight resistance include:
 Iron Lady
 Mountain Supreme
 Mountain Magic
 Defiant PhR
 Jasper
 Juliet
 Verona
Cultural control
 Use pathogen-free seed, or collect seed only from disease-free plants.

 Rotate out of tomatoes and related crops for at least two years.
 Control susceptible weeds such as black nightshade and hairy nightshade, and
volunteer tomato plants throughout the rotation.
 Fertilize properly to maintain vigorous plant growth. Particularly, do not over-
fertilize with potassium and maintain adequate levels of both nitrogen and
phosphorus.
 Avoid working in plants when they are wet from rain, irrigation, or dew.
 Use drip irrigation instead of overhead irrigation to keep foliage dry.
 Stake the plants to increase airflow around the plant and facilitate drying. Staking
will also reduce contact between the leaves and spore-contaminated soil.
 Apply plastic or organic mulch to reduce humidity and provide a barrier between
contaminated soil and leaves.
 In the fall, remove or bury infected plants to reduce the likelihood of the pathogen
surviving to the following year.
 For greenhouse production, early blight has been reduced by as much as 50% by
covering houses with UV-absorbing vinyl film.
Chemical control
Among fungicides found to be effective for control of Early Blight are Penthiopyrad, Boscalid,
Pyraclostrobin, Fenamidone, Azoxystrobin, Cymoxanil and Famoxadone, Fluxapyroxad and
Pyraclostrobin, Pyrimethanil, Difenoconazole and Cyprodinil, Mancozeb, Mancozeb and
Zoxamide, Difenoconazole and Mandipropamid, Cyprodinil and Fludioxonil,
Chlorothalonil, and Copper (copper hydroxide, copper oxychloride, etc.). These should be
used in accordance with label instructions. Always follow the pesticide label directions
attached to the pesticide container you are using. Remember, the label is the law.
4. Fusarium Wilt Fusarium oxysporum
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Cause
Fungus
Symptoms
Symptoms of Fusarium wilt may first appear as yellowing and wilting of leaves on one side of
the leaf midrib or plant; one-sided symptoms are caused by a blockage in the vascular system
supplying the symptomatic side of the plant; as the disease progresses, older leaves become
necrotic and the plant begins to wilt; fruit on infected plants is smaller and yield is reduced;
damage to leaves makes fruit susceptible to sunscald; stem symptoms may be mistaken for
bacterial wilt but a bacterial ooze test will be negative; stem tissue becomes discolored brown.

Use plant resistant varieties when available.
Cultural Method
 Purchase disease free seed and transplants from a reliable supplier.

 Clean soil and plant debris off all equipment prior to moving to a new field.
 Completely remove infected plants. Burn or bury plants in an area that will not be
used for solanaceous crops.
 Rotation away from susceptible crops for 3-5+ years will reduce disease, but careful
weed management must be done during this period.
 Avoid excessive N as it will encourage disease.
 Use of calcium nitrate fertilizer instead of ammonium nitrate can reduce Fusarium
disease severity in some soils.
 In acidic soils, raising the soil pH to 7 can help to control disease.
Chemical Method
Mycostop is a biological fungicide that will safely protect crops against wilt caused
by Fusarium. Approved for use in organic crop production, it can be applied as a soil spray or
drench (1-2 gm/ 100 sq ft) to seedlings, ornamentals and vegetables. Apply sufficient water
during application to move Mycostop into the root zone. If the disease persists, it is best to
remove the entire plant and solarize* the soil before planting again.
5. Gray Mold (Botrytis blight) Botrytis cinerea

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Cause
Fungus
Symptoms
Disease appears on tomato seedlings at or just below the soil line as a fuzzy gray-brown lesion
which often girdles the stem, if stem is girdled all parts of the plant above the lesion begin to
wilt; infected flowers and calyxes become covered in gray spores; unripe fruit turns light brown
or gray in color and rots; green fruit infected by airborne spores develop circular white rings
called “ghost spots”.
Cultural Method
 Keep humidity and leaf wetness low by rolling up high tunnel sides, increasing
ventilation, and avoiding overhead irrigation
 Space plants well to avoid excess humidity in dense plant canopies
 Remove infected stems, leaves and fruit in a plastic bag
 Clean up leaf debris on the ground
 Prune plants in the afternoon when the morning dew has dried
 Maintain consistent and adequate soil moisture to promote healthy plants and fruit
 Remove all plant debris at the end of the season
Chemical Method
Fungicides are available for control of gray mold on tomato; however, they should only be
used once cultural practices have been implemented. Fungicide-resistant gray mold has been
reported on many crops. Apply fungicide according to label instructions. Rotate fungicide
groups and/or tank mix fungicides to avoid producing fungicide-resistant isolates.
6. Leaf Mold Passalora fulva
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Cause
Fungus
Symptoms
The older leaves are infected first, exhibit pale greenish to yellow spots (without distinguishable
margins) on upper surface. Whereas the lower portion of this spots exhibit green to brown
velvety fungal growth. As the disease progress the spots may coalesce and appear brown. The
infected leaves become wither and die but stay attached to the plant. The fungus also infects
flowers and fruits. The affected flowers become black and drop off. The affected fruit initially
shows smooth black irregular area on the stem end but later it becomes sunken, leathery and dry.
Cultural Method
Use of resistant cultivars
Use drip irrigation and avoid watering foliage.
Space plants to provide good air movement between rows and individual plants.
Stake, string, or prune to increase airflow in and around the plant.
Circulate air in greenhouses or tunnels with vents and fans and by rolling up high tunnel
sides to reduce humidity around plants. Keep night temperatures in greenhouses higher than
outside temperatures to avoid dew formation on the foliage.
Remove crop residue at the end of the season and either burn it or bury it away from tomato
production areas.
Sterilize stakes, ties, trellises etc. with 10% household bleach or commercial sanitizer
Clean the high tunnel or greenhouse walls and benches at the end of the season with a
commercial sanitizer.
Chemical Control
Applications should be made prior to infection when environmental conditions favor disease
to be the most effective. Common product names of fungicide to control leaf mold of tomat
are Inspire Super, Revus Top, Tanos and active ingredients are Difenoconazole and
Cyprodinil, Difenoconazole and Mandipropamid and Cymoxanil and Famoxadone,
respectively.
7. Septoria Leaf Spot Septoria lycopersici
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Cause
Fungus
Symptoms
Symptoms may occur at any stage of tomato development and begin as small, water-soaked
spots or circular grayish-white spots on the underside of older leaves; spots have a grayish center
and a dark margin and they may colasece; fungal fruiting bodies are visible as tiny black specks
in the center of spot; spots may also appear on stems, fruit calyxes, and flowers.
Prevention and control

 Cultural Method
 Use disease-free seed.
 Start with a clean garden.
 Avoid overhead watering.
 Leave some space between your tomato plants so there is good airflow. Stake them so
that they are not touching the ground and not all bunched together. Good air circulation is
especially important during damp and rainy periods.
 Mulch below the plants. A layer of mulch will prevent spores on the ground from
splashing up onto the lower leaves.
 Plant next year's tomatoes in a different section of your garden. In small gardens, it's not
always practical to rotate your crops, so good clean up and sanitation become even more
important
Chemical Method
Consider organic fungicide options. Fungicides containing either copper or potassium

bicarbonate will help prevent the spreading of the disease. Begin spraying as soon as the first
symptoms appear and follow the label directions for continued management.
8. Target Spot Corynespora cassiicola
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Cause
Fungus
Symptoms
The fungus infects all parts of plant. Infected leaves shows small, pinpoint, water soaked spots
initially. As the disease progress the spots enlarge to become necrotic lesions with conspicuous
concentric circles, dark margins and light brown centers. Whereas the fruits exhibit brown,
slightly sunken flecks in the beginning but later the lesions become large pitted appearance.

Cultural Control
 Destroy crop residues promptly.
 Avoid overfertilization, especially with nitrogen, as this leads to a lush growth habit, with
more likelihood of significant “melting out”.
 Be certain that fields are scouted thoroughly and that target spot is not misdiagnosed as
bacterial spot, early blight, or other foliar diseases.
Chemical Control
 Chlorothalonil and mancozeb (maneb) provide fairly good control of target spot when
applied on a preventative basis.
 New chemistries, including the strobilurins and related compounds (e.g., azoxystrobin
and famoxadone + cymoxanil), have given excellent control of target spot in University
research trials.
9. Verticillium Wilt Verticillium albo-atrum
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Cause
Fungi
Symptoms
Symptoms appear first on lower leaves and spread upwards; initial symptoms of the disease may
be visible as yellow blotches on the lower leaves of the plant; a rapid yellowing of leaves follows
as the disease progresses; leaf veins turn brown and brown dead spots appear on the leaves;
leaves may wilt then die and drop from the plant; the disease progresses upwards through the
stem causing the plant to be stunted; leaves at the top of the plant remain green; fruits develop
yellow shoulders and yield is reduced; loss of leaves results in fruit being susceptible to sun
scald.
Verticillium wilt is a devastating and incurable disease, but with special care and attention, you
can preserve the plant and enjoy it for several more years.
Cultural Method
 Long rotations between susceptible crops (four to five years), good drainage, and proper
soil moisture management are recommended to aid in control.
 Soil fumigation provides control and is recommended on high-value crops grown on
plastic.
 The most feasible and economic control is the use of Verticillium-tolerant tomato
cultivars. Most commercial hybrids incorporate Verticillium resistance, and a wide range
of cultivars with varying maturities and superior horticultural qualities are available.
Chemical Method
Application of soil fumigants is an effective, but expensive control tactic.
10. Bacterial Canker Clavibacter michiganensis

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Cause
Bacterium
Symptoms
Bacterial canker can affect tomato plants of any age, seedlings may be killed quickly once they
become infected; initial symptoms of bacterial canker is the unilateral wilting of plants and
formation of light colored streaks up and down the outside of the leaf midrib, petiole and stem;
streaks on stems may break open to form cankers; mature leaves develop small necrotic spots on
the upper leaf surfaces or small raised white spots on the leaves; white spots develop on fruit,
usually while they are still green; spots on fruit develop a raised dark center and are known as
"bird's eye spots"
Cultural Method
 Use disease-free or certified planting materials.
 Destroy old tomato plants immediately after final harvest.
 Do not allow volunteer plants to grow between seasons or amongst cover crops, because
they can harbour the disease.
 Control solanaceous weeds such as nightshades in and around the crop.
 Do not rotate or grow tomato crops with crops in the same family like capsicum, potato
or eggplant.
 Provide appropriate amounts of fertilizer and water because plants that are stressed or
those that are growing too luxuriantly can be more susceptible to disease.
 Use drip rather than overhead irrigation. Water splashed during overhead irrigation
spreads the pathogen. When overhead irrigation is the only option, water during the day with
enough time to ensure that the plants are dry by nightfall.
 Monitor crops thoroughly for bacterial and other diseases regularly.
 Avoid working fields when plants are wet.
 Disinfect spray equipment/ machinery with a general disinfectant before and after using.
 Do not save seed from infected plants
 Use disease tolerant/resistant varieties.
Chemical Method
For an effective control of the canker disease, copper-based fungicides are recommended.
Copper is known to suppress and prevent the movement of bacteria in the soil.
These include;
 GREENCOP 500WP
 TRINITY GOLD 452 WP
 COLONIZER 440WP
Crops sprayed with BIODISTINCTION XTRA have a better protection against the bacterial
infection.
Drenching PYRAMID 700WP to suppress activity of the bacteria within the plant
11. Bacterial speck Pseudomonas syringae

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Cause
Bacterium
Symptoms
Dark specks appear on the leaves, often associated with a yellow halo; foliar symptoms of
bacterial speck are very difficult to distinguish from bacterial spot but can be differentiated by
symptoms on the fruit; lesions on fruit are much smaller than those caused by bacterial spot;
lesions on fruit are raised and scaly.
Prevention And Control

Cultural Method
 Delay planting in spring to avoid exposing tomatoes to cool wet conditions that favor
disease development.
 When the disease appears, change from overhead to furrow irrigation.
 Do not plant tomatoes in a field previously planted to tomatoes that developed the
disease; instead rotate with a nonhost crop such as small grains or corn.
Chemical Method
Copper-containing bactericides provide partial disease control. Timing is critical. Apply before
rainfall and repeat at 10- to 14-day intervals when cool and moist conditions prevail. Copper is
strictly a protectant and must be applied before an infection period occurs. One or two treatments
are usually enough to protect tomatoes during the most susceptible stages of growth. Spraying
can stop when temperatures move into the 90°F range.
Resistance or partial resistance to copper is common. This is somewhat overcome by combining

copper with mancozeb.
12. Bacterial Spot Xanthomonas campestris pv. Vesicatoria
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Cause
Bacterium
Symptoms
Bacterial spot lesions starts out as small water-soaked spots; lesions become more numerous and
coalesce to form necrotic areas on the leaves giving them a blighted appearance; of leaves drop
from the plant severe defoliation can occur leaving the fruit susceptible to sunscald; mature spots
have a greasy appearance and may appear transparent when held up to light; centers of lesions
dry up and fall out of the leaf; blighted leaves often remain attached to the plant and give it a
blighted appearance; fruit infections start as a slightly raised blister; lesions may have a faint
halo which eventually disappears; lesions on fruit may have a raised margin and sunken center
which gives the fruit a scabby appearance.

Cultural Method
Plant only high quality seed and transplants free from the bacterial spot pathogens
Practice a three-year or longer crop rotation between susceptible crops; do not plant tomato and
pepper consecutively in a field.
Eliminate weeds, volunteers, crop debris, and cull piles that can serve as inoculum sources.
Avoid reuse of irrigation tail water and overhead irrigation if possible.
Resistant varieties are available, but should be chosen carefully to match the most prevalent
pathogenic races of the pathogen present.
Biological Method
Bacteriophage, viruses that attacked bacteria, control bacterial spot but must be applied at dusk at
least twice weekly to be effective. Nonpathogenic Xanthomonas spp. provide some control of
bacterial spot.
Chemical Method
Current chemical control is limited to copper or copper combined with maneb sprays that
provide only marginal success thus making the disease very difficult to control once the
epidemic is underway..
13. Bacterial Wilt Ralstonia solanacearum

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Cause
Bacterium
Symptoms
Initial symptoms of the disease is the wilting of a few of the youngest leaves; the disease
progresses rapidly in hot weather and the entire plant wilts suddenly and dies; in cooler
conditions, wilting is less rapid and plant may produce roots on the stems; vascular tissue shows
a brown discoloration and decaying roots; stems cut under water will ooze bacterial exudate and
will confirm the symptoms are not caused by Fusarium wilt.
Use of resistant cultivars
Cultural Method
Crop rotation, intercropping or incorporation, green manure and planting a susceptible
crop such as mungbean before the cultivation have been practiced ( Hartman et al., 1993).
Biological Method
Positive results were achieved in laboratory experiments with the antagonistic bacteria Bacillus
polymyxa and Pseudomonas fluorescens
Chemical Method
Chemical control is ineffective. Antibiotics, streptomycin, ampicillin, tetracycline and penicillin
showed hardly any effect (Farag et al., 1982); in fact, streptomycin application increased the
incidence of bacterial wilt in Egypt (Farag et al., 1986).
14. Blossom-end rot
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Cause
Physiological disorder
Symptoms
Blossom end-rot is caused by a low concentration of calcium in the tomato fruit; symptoms
initially appear as light tan, water-soaked areas which can then enlarge and turn black and
leathery in appearance; symptoms are most often seen at the blossom end of the fruit, but may
also occur on the side of the fruit; blossom-end rot may also occur internally with no visible
symptoms on outside of fruit.

Cultural Method
 Choose resistant vegetable varieties whenever possible.
 A layer of mulch (straw, compost, grass ) will help conserve soil moisture during the hot,
dry days of July and August. Mulching plants will help conserve moisture and provide a
more uniform water supply.
 Avoid using high nitrogen fertilizers which accelerate vegetative growth and reduce the
uptake of calcium by plants
 Adding high levels of calcium — bone meal, oyster shell or gypsum — to the soil at
planting time usually prevents this problem from developing.
Chemical Method
 Foliar applications of Liquid Calcium 5% (1-2 Tbsp/ gallon of water) can be used to
correct or prevent deficiencies of this essential nutrient. For best results, combine with
a natural surfactant to increase adhesion and spray leaves to the point of run-off.
15. Cat Face
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Cause
Symptoms
Catface usually occurs on the blossom end, tomato fruits are usually misshapen with large holes
or corky brown scars close to the blossom end of the fruit; fruits are often flattened and may be
kidney shaped; holes on the fruit extend deep inside the fruit.
Cultural Method
 Use varieties which are tolerant to this disorder. Resistant/Tolerant Varieties: Duke,
CountII, Floradade, Walter and others.
 Avoid the use of herbicides that can lead to this condition. Proper growing practices
revolving around monitoring temperature, overt pruning, and nitrogen levels in soils
should be accomplished.
Avoid the use of hormonal herbicides and the potential drift that may accompany their
use.
 Avoid physical injury to plants during fieldwork.


Biological Method and Chemical Control
The disease can only be treated by preventive measures.
16. Edema (Oedema)
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Cause
Symptoms’
Swellings and/or blisters or calluses on leaves caused by rupturing epidermal and inner leaf
cells ; deformed foliage which curls; leaf tissue may also tear as the leaf matures; symptoms are
often mistaken for disease or insect damage

Changes in weather and cultural practices of growing plants usually will avoid edema. Growers
can reduce the risk of edema occurrence by adopting the following practices:
Cultural Method
 Avoid irrigation or watering during cool, overcast humid weather. Irrigate when air
temperatures are rising or humidity is low.
 Prevent edema by allowing the top two inches of soil to dry between watering and space
plants to allow for sufficient air circulation.
 In greenhouses: a) reduce the humidity of the air by venting; b) improve air circulation;
c) increase light intensity; d) space the plants farther apart; e) use a well-drained
potting medium.
 Avoid over-fertilizing, especially when the plants are growing slowly, such as during the
late fall and winter. Maintain fertility based on a soil test. Avoid low levels of potassium
and calcium.
 Varietal selection: Some cultivars might be more susceptible to edema than others.
17. Buckeye rot (Phytophthora Root Rot) Phytophthora spp.

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Cause
Fungi
Symptoms
Buck eye rot of tomato initially appears as a brown spot on the fruit which enlarges over the fruit
surface and forms concentric rings; the lesions may eventually cover up to half of the fruit and
the flesh develops a soft rot underneath the skin; green or red fruits can be affected and disease
often develops where fruit is in contact with the soil; white cottony growth may be visible in the
centers of affected regions; spots enlarge and form large concentric ring shaped symptoms which
are usually brown in color with sunken edges; the Phytophthora pathogen also causes root rot;
young plants may exhibit a white cottony growth at crown of the plant and begin to wilt as the
damage to the roots progresses; Phytophthora root rot can cause severe destruction of plant roots
and cause the plants to wilt completely.
Cultural Method
 Plant certified disease free seeds from recognised sources.

 The disease is reduced by practicing crop rotation.
 To control the disease stake the tomatoes.
 Plant on ridges and avoid poorly drained soils especially on the lower parts of a farm.
 Avoid irrigating frequently when using overhead irrigation as it helps spread the disease.
Use furrow irrigation instead.
 Applying mulch keeps the fruit off the soil, which reduces the chances of the disease
getting into the fruit.
Chemical Method
 Where the disease is prevalent, spray the crops with fungicides at fruit set. These include
Mancozeb, Metalaxyl-M and copper oxychloride.
When using a pesticide, always wear protective clothing and follow the instructions on the
product label, such as dosage, timing of application, and pre-harvest interval.
18. Late Blight Phytophthora infestans
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Cause
Oomycete
Symptoms
Late blight affects all aerial parts of the tomato plant; initial symptoms of the disease appear as
water-soaked green to black areas on leaves which rapidly change to brown lesions; fluffy white
fungal growth may appear on infected areas and leaf undersides during wet weather; as the
disease progresses, foliage becomes becomes shriveled and brown and the entire plant may die;
fruit lesions start as irregularly shaped water soaked regions and change to greasy spots; entire
fruit may become infected and a white fuzzy growth may appear during wet weather.
Cultural Method
1. Plant resistant cultivars when available.
2. Remove volunteers from the garden prior to planting and space plants far enough apart to
allow for plenty of air circulation.
3. Water in the early morning hours, or use soaker hoses, to give plants time to dry out
during the day — avoid overhead irrigation.
4. Destroy all tomato debris after harvest
Chemical Method
Before disease occurs, apply fungicides at 7-10 day intervals. After disease is detected in your
area, apply fungicides at 5-7 day intervals. Alternate products and tank mix mancozeb or
chlorothalonil to avoid generating fungicide-resistant strains.
19. Tomato Mosaic Virus

http://www.creative-
http://u.osu.edu/hightunneldiseasefa
diagnostics.com/blog/wp-
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http://aggie-
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Cause
Virus
Symptoms
Symptoms can occur at any growth stage and any part of the plant can be affected; infected
leaves generally exhibit a dark green mottling or mosaic; some strains of the virus can cause
yellow mottling on the leaves; young leaves may be stunted or distorted; severely infected leaves
may have raised green areas; fruit yields are reduced in infected plants; green fruit may have
yellow blotches or necrotic spots; dark necrotic streaks may appear on the stems, petioles leaves
and fruit.
Cultural Method
Use certified disease-free seed or treat your own seed.
 Soak seeds in a 10% solution of trisodium phosphate (Na 3PO4) for at least 15
minutes.
 Or heat dry seeds to 158 °F and hold them at that temperature for two to four days.
 Purchase transplants only from reputable sources. Ask about the sanitation
procedures they use to prevent disease.
 Inspect transplants prior to purchase. Choose only transplants showing no clear
symptoms.
 Avoid planting in fields where tomato root debris is present, as the virus can survive
long-term in roots.
 Wash hands with soap and water before and during the handling of plants to reduce
potential spread between plants.
 Disinfect tools regularly — ideally between each plant, as plants can be infected
before showing obvious symptoms.
o Soaking tools for 1 minute in a 1:9 dilution of germicidal bleach is highly
effective.
o Or a 1-minute soak in a 20% weight/volume solution of nonfat dry milk and
water is also very effective.
o When pruning plants, have two pruners and alternate between them to allow
proper soaking time between plants.
 Avoid using tobacco products around tomato plants, and wash hands after using
tobacco products and before working with the plants.
o Tobacco in cigarettes and other tobacco products may be infected with either
ToMV or TMV, both of which could spread to the tomato plants.
 Scout plants regularly. If plants displaying symptoms of ToMV or TMV are found,
remove the entire plant (including roots), bag the plant, and send it to the University
of Minnesota Plant Diagnostic Clinic for diagnosis.
 If ToMV or TMV is confirmed, employ stringent sanitation procedures to reduce
spread to other plants, fields, tunnels and greenhouses.
o Completely pull up and burn infected plants. Do not compost infected plant
material.
o After working with diseased plants, thoroughly disinfect all tools and hands
as outlined above.
o For added security against spread, keep separate tools for working in the
diseased area and avoid working with healthy plants after working in an area
with diseased plants.
o At the end of the season, burn all plants from diseased areas, even healthy-
appearing ones, or bury them away from vegetable production areas.
o Disinfect stakes, ties, wires or any other equipment between growing seasons
using the methods noted above.
Chemical Method
There are currently no chemical options that are effective against either virus.
20. Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus
http://aces.nmsu.edu/ces/plantclinic/
documents/pepperleaf.jpg http://aces.nmsu.edu/ces/plantclinic/
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virus.jpg
Cause
Virus
Symptoms’
Infected plants exhibit bronzing or purpling of the upper sides of young leaves and develop
necrotic spots; leaf spots may resemble those caused by bacterial spot, but a bacterial ooze test
will be negative; leaves may cup downwards, shoot tips may begin to die back; symptoms on
ripe fruit appear as chlorotic spots and blotches, often with concentric rings; ring spot symptoms
vary with different tomato cultivars; irregular ripening caused by TSWV can also show up when
fruit are treated with ethylene gas; green fruit may exhibit slightly raised areas with faint
concentric zonation.
Cultural Method’ \
Reflective mulches help to control spotted wilt by causing fewer thrips to land on the tomato
plants.
Varieties with resistance to spotted wilt have recently become available, primarily for
commercial growers (a deteminate saladette variety, “Health Kick,” is provided by Park Seed
Co. for the home garden market).
Chemical Method
Use of insecticides alone to control thrips populations in the field is often ineffective.
21. Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Disease
https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8537/29
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994445671_b6914b44d0_b.jpg
Cause
Virus
Symptoms
The infected leaves become reduced in size, curl upward, appear crumpled and show yellowing
of veins and leaf margins. The internodes become shorter and whole plant appear stunted and
bushy. The whole plant stand erect with only upright growth. The flowers may not develop and
drop off.
Before planting
 Select TYLCV-resistant varieties.
 Use virus- and whitefly-free transplants.
 DO NOT import tomato (or any potential whitefly host) transplants from areas known to
have the virus (Florida, Georgia and Texas in the U.S.; and Mexico).
During the growing season

 Plant immediately after any tomato-free period or true winter season.
 Avoid planting new fields near older fields (especially those with TYLCV-infected
plants).
 Manage WHITEFLIES.
 Cover plants with floating row covers of fine mesh (Agryl or Agribon) to protect from
whitefly infestations.
 Rogue diseased plants when incidence of virus infection is low.
 Practice good weed management in and around fields to the extent feasible.
After the growing season

 Remove and destroy old crop residue and volunteers on a regional basis.
 A voluntary or enforced regional host-free period in areas lacking a true winter season
(i.e., temperatures low enough to prevent crop cultivation and whitefly survival) might be a
useful management tool. The crops to be included in a region will depend on the
agroecosystem.
Chemical Method
Applying systemic insecticides as soil drenches or regular spraying during the seedling stage can
reduce the population of the B. tabacivector and the incidence of TYLCV. Many insecticides
such as organophosphates, carbamates and pyrethroids effectively reduce the whitefly
population, whether sprayed one insecticide at a time, alternately, or together with oil and
emulsifiers (Makkouk and Laterrot, 1983). However, these insecticides provided only partial
TYLCV control, even when sprayed daily (Cohen and Antignus, 1994).
22. Curly top / Beet Curly Top Virus

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com
http://entoweb.okstate.edu/ddd/IMA
/wp-
GES/curly-top2.jpg
content/uploads/2012/09/tomato-
Cause
Virus
Symptoms
Young plants are usually killed by the virus; older plants are stunted and turn yellow to bronze in
color with purple-tinged leaves; leave become thickened and roll upwards; leaf petioles roll
downwards; green fruit turns red regardless of its age and becomes dull in color and wrinkled;
plants do not recover form the disease and will not flower of produce fruit after infection.

While there are no cures for this rapidly spreading virus, some preventative measures may help.
Cultural Method
 The leafhopper feeds mostly in the direct sunlight and will not feed on plants that are
shaded. Use a shade cloth in very sunny locations or place plants where they will receive
some shade.
 A weekly spray of neem oil will also help keep the pesky leafhopper at bay.
 Remove all infected plants immediately.
Pests
1. Aphids (Peach aphid, Potato aphid) Myzus persicae Macrosiphon euphorbiae
https://www.almanac.com/sites/defa ia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Macrosiph
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Cause
Insect
Symptoms
Small soft bodied insects on underside of leaves and/or stems of plant; usually green or yellow in
color, but may be pink, brown, red or black depending on species and host plant; if aphid
infestation is heavy it may cause leaves to yellow and/or be distorted, necrotic spots on leaves
and/or stunted shoots; aphids secrete a sticky, sugary substance called honeydew which
encourages the growth of sooty mold on the plants.
Cultural Method
Using smaller amounts of fertilizer throughout the growing season can help to reduce potential
aphid outbreaks.
the use of reflective silver mulch (a Mylar like film placed over the soil surface), especially in
vegetable production.
Mechanical Method
A good effective method for eliminating aphids is to simply rinse them off the leaves of affected
plants. A water hose and nozzle with adequate pressure is enough to knock the aphids from the
foliage, but not to damage the plant.
Biological Method
Lady beetles and their larvae feed on many different types of aphids, and their presence in the
garden should be encouraged by reducing the overall use of broad-spectrum insecticides.
Another natural enemy, that can be effectively purchased and used, is green lacewing larvae
(Chrysoperia rufilabris). These larvae are extremely aggressive and will eat numerous aphids a
day.
Another natural enemy are parasitic wasps (Aphidius species) that sting aphids and impregnate
them with an egg. The egg then grows inside the aphid, killing and mummifying it, and a new
adult wasp hatches out of the mummified aphid.
A biological control that can be applied similar to a traditional is insecticide is any product
containing Beauvaria bassiana. This entomopathogenic fungus is usually applied as a foliar
spray and is parasitic to many soft body insects. The organism is available in both liquid or
powder form, but the powder is more stable and has a longer shelf life. This can be used for
control of aphids or other soft body insect. Apply the product as a preventative every 7-14 days
to help keep pest populations low. The downsides to the product is that it can only be found
online and needs to be kept refrigerated, but not frozen.
Chemical Control
The first effective choice to spray would be either insecticidal soap or horticultural oil. These
insecticidal products coat the aphid’s exoskeleton and cause it to suffocate.
An effective step up from the soaps and oils, are insecticides that contain the active ingredient
pyrethrin. This botanically derived compound can be very effective in providing a relatively
quick knockdown of aphids.
Another effective botanically derived chemical is azadirachtin. This compound is a natural insect
growth regulator that modifies the way insects grow by inhibiting the shedding of the
exoskeleton. It can be mixed with an entomopathogenic fungi or bacteria to allow more contact
time between the insect’s exoskeleton and the pathogenic organism. This ensures that the fungi
or bacteria have time to grow and penetrate the exoskeleton, and kill the insect.
2. Beet Armyworm Spodoptera exigua
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Cause
Insect
Symptoms
Singular, or closely grouped circular to irregularly shaped holes in foliage; heavy feeding by
young larvae leads to skeletonized leaves; shallow, dry wounds on fruit; egg clusters of 50-150
eggs may be present on the leaves; egg clusters are covered in a whitish scale which gives the
cluster a cottony or fuzzy appearance; young larvae are pale green to yellow in color while older
larvae are generally darker green with a dark and light line running along the side of their body
and a pink or yellow underside.

Mechanical Control
Handpicking, then drop the caterpillars into a container of soapy water to kill them and then bag
and discard the carcasses.
Biological Method
Many natural enemies attack beet armyworms. Among the most common parasites are the
wasps Hyposoter exiguae and Chelonus insularis, and the tachinid fly Lespesia
archippivora. Viral diseases may also be important; however, none of these organisms provide
reliable control of armyworms when they feed on the fruit.
Chemical Control
Beet armyworm larvae are susceptible to neem products (Prabhaker et al. 1986). Eggs can be
killed with petroleum oil, and both eggs and young larvae can be controlled with foliar
applications of 5% cottonseed oil, but this concentration is damaging to some plants (Butler and
Henneberry 1990).
Pheromones can also be used to disrupt mating and inhibit or eliminate reproduction. Saturation
of the atmosphere around beet armyworm-susceptible crops has been estimated to reduce mating
by 97% (Wakamura and Takai 1992).
3. Colorado Potato Beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata
http://www.agroatlas.ru/content/pes
http://www.potatobeetle.org/pics/CP
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otarsa_decemlineata.jpg
Cause
Insect
Symptoms
Feeding damage to foliage; if infestation is severe or if left untreated plants can be completely
defoliated; adult insect is a black and yellow striped beetle; larvae are bright red with black heads
when they first hatch and change color to pink; larvae have two rows of black spots.
Cultural Method
Keep your garden clean
Plant early maturing varieties
Mechanical Method
Handpicking in small gardens can be effective
 Drop adults and larvae in a pail filled with soapy water.

 Remove or crush the yellowish orange eggs on the underside of leaves.
Biological Method
 Stink bugs and lady beetles will prey upon Colorado potato beetle eggs
 The fungus Beauveria bassiana will kill both larvae and adults
Chemical Method
Using microbial pesticide

Bacillus thuringiensis var. tenebrionis, a naturally occurring bacterial disease, can control
young Colorado potato beetle larvae (1st and 2nd instars).
Anytime you use a pesticide and it does not seem to kill Colorado potato beetles, switch to a
different active ingredient.
 Esfenvalerate - relatively new synthetic pesticide that is still effective on Colorado

potato beetles.
 Pyrethrin - can be effective but it has a short residual. Smaller larvae should be
targeted to achieve the best results. Some Colorado potato beetles may have
developed resistance to pyrethrins.
 Azadirachtin (Neem) - a pesticide derived from the Neem tree of Asia and Africa,
may provide some control.
 Spinosad - is also an effective product, made from the soil
bacterium, Saccharopolyspora spinosa.
Colorado potato beetles are not resistant to azadirachtin or spinosad. These products are also
“soft” on natural enemies.
Azadirachtin needs to be reapplied frequently and provides poorer control of large larvae
and adults.
4. Cutworms various species including: Agrotis spp. Pedrimoma saucia Nephelodes

minians etc.
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Cause
Insect
Symptoms
Stems of young transplants or seedlings may be severed at soil line; if infection occurs later,
irregular holes are eaten into the surface of fruits; larvae causing the damage are usually active at
night and hide during the day in the soil at the base of the plants or in plant debris of toppled
plant; larvae are 2.5–5.0 cm (1–2 in) in length; larvae may exhibit a variety of patterns and
coloration but are usually dirty gray or brown to black with dark spots or lines and will curl up
into a characteristic C-shape when disturbed

Cultural Method
 Fields need to be kept free of weeds and thoroughly ploughed at least two weeks before
planting.
 Transplanting can be delayed in order to plant bigger seedlings which will tolerate
cutworm damage.
 Detecting the cutworms early helps to control them and avoid serious damage.
 Ploughing helps expose the cutworm to natural predators and sunlight which eventually
kills them.
 Small infestations might be controlled by digging out the damaged seedling to find and
kill the cutworm.
 Sprays of Bacillus thuringiensis are also effective. Use a baited trap (flour and water
with Bacillus thuringiensis or other pesticide).
 Ashes deter cutworms when spread on seed beds, around plants or mixed with soil in
planting holes.
Chemical Control
 Use Bifenthrin, Deltamethrin, Indoxacarb, L-Cyhalothrin and Methoxyfenozide to

control.
When using a pesticide, always wear protective clothing and follow the instructions on the
product label, such as dosage, timing of application, and pre-harvest interval.
5. Flea Beetles Epitrix spp.
https://aggie- http://earthwiseagriculture.net/wp-
horticulture.tamu.edu/vegetable/files content/uploads/2017/07/1243040-
/2012/01/flea_beetle.jpg Potato-Flea-Beetle-
e1501556069564.jpg
Cause
Insect
Symptoms
Small holes or pits in leaves that give the foliage a characteristic “shothole” appearance; young
plants and seedlings are particularly susceptible; plant growth may be reduced; if damage is
severe the plant may be killed; feeding damage may also occur on the fruit; the pest responsible
for the damage is a small (1.5–3.0 mm) dark colored beetle which jumps when disturbed; the
beetles are often shiny in appearance.

Cultural Method
 Remove garden trash and plow or rototill under weeds to reduce overwintering sites.
 Floating row covers are extremely effective when placed on seedlings and left in place
until plants are old enough to tolerate beetle damage.
 Place yellow sticky traps throughout garden rows every 15 to 30 feet to capture adults.
Biological Method
Microctonus vittatae is a native braconid wasp (found more commonly in the eastern half of
the U.S). This wasp kills the adult flea beetle. The larvae of this wasp develop on the female
flea beetle and prevent the beetle from reproducing.
Chemical Method
There are many pesticides labeled for treating flea beetles. Below are names of active
ingredients that are commonly available in pesticides sold in stores that sell garden
pesticides:
 pyrethrins/pyrethrum
 carbaryl
 malathion
 spinosad
 permethrin
 lambda cyhalothrin
 cyfluthrin
6. Hornworms (Tomato hornworm, Tobacco hornworm) Manduca quinquemaculata

Manduca sexta
https://www.planetnatural.com/wp- https://www.gardenzeus.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/12/tomato- content/uploads/shutterstock_83082
hornworm.jpg 550-2.jpg
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/IPM/i
mages/tomatoes/insects/tomato_I7a-
Hornworm-334_zoom.jpg
Cause
Insect
Symptoms
Feeding damage to leaves or leaves stripped from plant; heavy infestation may result in damage
to fruit appearing as large open scars; large green caterpillars may be spotted on plant;
caterpillars may reach in excess of 7.5 cm (3 in) in length and possess a spike at the end of their
body; most common species have 7 diagonal stripes on sides or 8 v-shaped markings on each
side; single eggs may be present on leaves and measure approx 1.3 mm in diameter; eggs are in
initially light green in color and turn white prior to hatching.
Cultural Control
 Discing after harvest destroys pupae in the soil. Rotations with crops that are not attacked
by hornworms will also help to keep population levels low in individual fields.
Biological Control
 There are several important naturally occurring parasites that help control hornworms in
tomatoes. Hornworm eggs are attacked by Trichogrammaparasites and the larvae
by Hyposoter exiguae. Trichogramma released for control of tomato fruitworm will also
attack hornworm eggs.
Chemical Control
 Bacterial insecticides include Bacillus thuringiensis of the Kurstaki strain (BtK—e.g.
Dipel, Thuricide). Applied to foliage, they are most effective when hornworm larvae are
small. Caterpillars lose the ability to feed soon after munching leaves sprayed with BtK,
according to Gardens Alive, a retailer of eco-friendly garden products.
 Chemical insecticides, carbaryl, permethrin, bifenthrin, and spinosad, kill larvae on
contact, though should be used with caution if you have animals near the garden or are
concerned about keeping beneficial insect populations intact.
7. Leafminers Tuta absoluta
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped http://www.inspection.gc.ca/DAM/D
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https://www.greenhousecanada.com/
images/stories/WebExclusives/2010/
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Cause
Insect
Symptoms
Thin, white, winding trails on leaves; heavy mining can result in white blotches on leaves and
leaves dropping from the plant prematurely; early infestation can cause fruit yield to be reduced;
adult leafminer is a small black and yellow moth which lays its eggs in the leaf; larvae hatch and
feed on leaf interior.
Cultural Method
Ploughing, manuring, irrigation, crop rotation, solarisation, and the elimination of symptomatic
leaves and destruction of infested tomato plants have all been used to control this pest. The
removal of alternative reservoir hosts such as nightshades is strongly recommended before and
during the cropping cycle.
Biological Method
Several species of parasitic wasps, particularly Chrysocharis parksi and Diglyphus begini, attack
leafminer larvae; left undisturbed, parasites often keep leafminers numbers below economic
injury levels.
Chemical Method
The most common method of controlling T. absoluta in South American countries is the
application of insecticides, usually pyrethrin, carbaryl and deltamethrin.
8. Loopers (Cabbage Looper, Alfalfa Looper) Trichoplusia ni Autographa
californica
https://onvegetables.com/wp- http://ketenewplymouth.peoplesnet
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https://extension.umd.edu/sites/defa
ult/files/_images/programs/hgic/Inse
cts/Cabbage_looper/CabbageLooperL
arva.jpg
Cause
Insect
Symptoms
Large or small holes in leaves; damage often extensive; caterpillars are pale green with a white
lines running down either side of their body; caterpillars are easily distinguished by the way they
arch their body when moving; eggs are laid singly, usually on the lower leaf surface close to the
leaf margin, and are white or pale green in color.

Cultural Method
Use pheromone traps to signal the arrival of moths to your garden.
Cover plants with floating row covers to keep migrating moths from landing and laying eggs.
This can make a significant difference if timed correctly.
Biological Method
There are several important naturally occurring parasites that help control loopers in tomatoes.
One of these is Hyposoter exiguae, which also attacks tomato fruitworms and armyworms.
Another parasitic wasp, Copidosoma truncatellum, commonly kills looper and other lepidopteran
larvae by attacking the overwintering pupae. In southern California, looper eggs are often killed
by Trichogramma; Trichogramma released for tomato fruitworm control often parasitize
cabbage looper eggs as well. Alfalfa and cabbage loopers are also subject to disease caused by
a nuclear polyhedrosis virus. Conserve these parasites by not treating with disruptive pesticides,
particularly early in the season.
Chemical Method
 Use plant-derived products, such as neem, derris, pyrethrum and chilli (with the addition
of soap), or synthetic products that contain disease-causing organisms, such as spinosad
(Success) and Bt - Bacillus thuringiensissubspecies kurstaki (Bt).
 If using Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), note the following:
 The spray needs to be applied carefully so that there is good coverage of the plant
as the insecticide has to be eaten by the caterpillars to kill them.
 Eggs are not susceptible to Bt.
 Small larvae are more susceptible to Bt than fully grown ones.
 Use Bt as soon as damage is seen.
 Avoid using broad-spectrum insecticides (such as pyrethroids and
organophosphates) as they will kill natural enemies.
9. Stink Bugs (various)
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cB/s1600/Stinkbug.JPG
Cause
Insect’
Symptoms
Dark colored pinpricks on fruit surrounded by a lighter area that turns yellow or remains light
green; stink bugs often carry pathogens in their mouthparts which can cause secondary infections
and decay of fruit; adult insect is shield-shaped and brown or green in color; may have pink, red
or yellow markings; eggs are drum shaped and laid in clusters on the leaves; larvae resemble the
adults but are smaller.

Cultural Method
Sanitation and keeping a weed-free area will reduce the risk of reaching crop-damaging levels of
this pest.
Eliminating any overwintering sites and staying away from areas with heavy cover will further
reduce the risk of suffering economic losses due to extremely high densities.
when bugs first make an appearance in your tomato patch, spray tomato plants daily with water.
The stream will force them off plants. You can also treat tomatoes with a 1-1 solution of water
and vegetable oil, olive oil, or lavender oil applied with a garden sprayer to repel the insects.
Plant trap crops
Mechanical Method
Hand pick bugs, remove them and drop them into a bucket of soapy water. You can place a tray
beneath plant and shake it to collect bugs. Or use a hand vacuum to capture them.
Chemical Method
 Use green treatment. Kaolin is a soft, white, silicate clay mineral combined with water
and applied with a garden sprayer.After application, water evaporates leaving a protective
powdery film. The coating acts as a physical barrier to insects, preventing pests from reaching
tissue. Kaolin is natural and non-toxic. Treat tomato plants for two weeks before taking more
drastic measures to control these insects.
 Treat with insecticide.If the bugs continue to attack tomatoes after kaolin treatments,
you may need to resort to insecticides like Sevin or Eight (Permethrin).
10. Thrips (Western flower thrips, Onion thrips, etc.) Frankliniella occidentalis
Thrips tabaci
http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.corn
ell.edu/Images/Tomato/Tom_Thrips/
ia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Thrips_taba
A)-125-2583_IMG.jpg
ci
%2C_Frankliniella_occidentalis.jpg/22
https://www.greenlife.co.ke/wp-
content/uploads/tomato_thrips-1-
1500x750.jpg
Cause
Insect
Symptoms
If population is high leaves and buds may be distorted; leaves appear silvery and are speckled
with black feces; most damage occurs through the transmission of Tomato spotted wilt virus
(TSWV); insect is small (1.5 mm) and slender and best viewed using a hand lens; adult thrips are
pale yellow to light brown and the nymphs are smaller and lighter in color.

Cultural Method
 To get rid of thrips remove weeds and grass from around garden areas to eliminate
alternate hosts. Clean up crop debris in the garden, especially onion leaves after harvest.
 Inspect all plants you import into the garden for signs of thrips or their damage. Discard
any infested plants by securely bagging and putting in the trash.
 Blue sticky traps are helpful for monitoring adult populations.
 If found, use the Bug Blaster to hose off plants with a strong, encompassing spray of
water to reduce pest numbers.
Biological Method
Release commercially available beneficial insects, such as minute pirate bugs, the effective thrips
predator (feeds on eggs and larvae before they can become adults), ladybugs, and lacewing,
(especially effective in green houses) to attack and destroy all stages of this pest. For best results,
make releases after first knocking down severe infestations with water spray or other method.
Chemical Method
 BotaniGard ES is a highly effective biological insecticide containing Beauveria bassiana,
an entomopathogenic fungus that attacks a long-list of troublesome crop pests – even
resistant strains! Weekly applications can prevent insect population explosions and
provide protection equal to or better than conventional chemical pesticides.
 Severe populations may require a least-toxic, short-lived botanical insecticide (pyrethrin)
to reduce pest numbers. Follow-up with predatory insects to maintain control.
 Safe, smothering insecticidal soaps made from naturally occurring plant oils and fats, are
also effective for knocking down heavy infestations (and won’t harm most naturally
occurring beneficial insects). Spinosadand neem oil can be used to spot treat heavily
infested areas.
11. Tomato Fruitworm (Corn Earworm) Helicoverpa zea
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4244/35
https://media.gettyimages.com/phot
302929576_c33594a802_b.jpg
os/tomato-fruitworm-on-a-damaged-
tomato-fruit-portugal-picture-
id81781874
Cause
Insect
Symptoms’
Holes in tomato fruit, including entry holes near stem end; feeding turns inside of tomato into a
watery cavity filled with cast skins and frass (insect feces); damaged fruit ripens prematurely;
young caterpillars are cream-white in color with a black head and black hairs; older larvae may
be yellow-green to almost black in color with fine white lines along their body and black spots at
the base of hairs; eggs are laid singly on both upper and lower leaf surfaces and are initially
creamy white but develop a brown-red ring after 24 hours and darken prior to hatching.
Prevention and Contro;
Cultural Method
Remove and destroy infected plants. Roto-till the soil at the beginning and end of the season to
expose and destroy overwintering fruitworm pupae. Rotate crops by planting tomatoes in a
different area of your garden each year. Companion planting with garlic has been said to repel
many pests.
Biological Method
Encourage natural predators of the tomato fruitworm. Big-eyed bugs, minute pirate bugs,
lacewing and damsel bugs feed on tomato fruitworms. Attract them by planting goldenrod,
daisies, alfalfa and stinging nettle. Trichogramma wasps and Hyposoter exiguae wasps parasitize
the eggs and larvae respectively. Planting dill, parsley and asters attracts the
parasitic Trichogramma wasps. These wasps are available commercially and can be ordered.
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a microbial biological control, is effective against tomato
fruitworms among several other pests. Use Bt at the first sign of fruitworm eggs. Apply as
directed by the product label. Bt works by paralyzing the digestive system and infected
fruitworms stop feeding within hours.
Chemical Control
Neem oil and biodegradable insecticidal soaps have been found to deter fruitworm
infestations. Spinosad, a natural, broad-spectrum biological insecticide made from soil microbes
works on tomato fruitworms too.
12. Root Knot Nematode Meloidogyne spp.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile
/Nancy_Kokalis- https://bugwoodcloud.org/images/76
Burelle/publication/43282049/figure/ 8x512/1575444.jpg
fig8/AS:394281165574153@1471015
https://image.slidesharecdn.com/root
knotdiseaseoftomato-
161217114101/95/root-knot-disease-
Cause
Nematode
Symptoms
The characteristic symptom of root knot nematodes is the presence of galls on roots which can be
up to 3.3 cm (1 in) in diameter but are usually smaller; galls cause a reduction in plant vigor; if
the galls on the roots are extensive then plants may yellow and wilt, particularly in hot weather.
13. Spider Mites (Two-spotted spider mite) Tetranychus urticae
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/ https://www.sciencephoto.com/imag
orn/twospotted_spider_mite01.jpg e/128449/800wm
https://www.researchgate.net/profile
/Peter_Schausberger/publication/281
084863/figure/fig2/AS:267489082867
713@1440785775201/Adult-two-
spotted-spider-mite-female-
Tetranychus-urticae-on-bean-leaf-
Cause
Arachnid
Symptoms
Leaves stippled with yellow; leaves may appear bronzed; webbing covering leaves; mites may be
visible as tiny moving dots on the webs or underside of leaves, best viewed using a hand lens;
usually not spotted until there are visible symptoms on the plant; leaves turn yellow and may
drop from plant.
Cultural Method
In the home garden, spraying plants with a strong jet of water can help reduce buildup of spider
mite populations
Biological Method
Some of the most important are the predatory mites, including the western predatory
mite , Galendromus (formerly Metaseiulus) occidentalis, and Phytoseiulus mite species.
Various other insects are also important predators—sixspotted thrips (Scolothrips sexmaculatus)
(Figure 8), the larvae and adults of the spider mite destroyer lady beetle (Stethorus picipes), the
larvae of certain flies including the cecidomyid Feltiella acarivora (Figure 9), and various
general predators such as minute pirate bugs, bigeyed bugs, and lacewing larvae. Western flower
thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis, can be an important predator on spider mite eggs and larvae,
but this species will also inflict severe damage to plants if mites aren’t present on which to feed.
Chemical Method
If a treatment for mites is necessary, use selective materials, preferably insecticidal soap or
insecticidal oil. Both petroleum-based horticultural oils and plant-based oils such as neem,
canola, or cottonseed oils are acceptable. There are also a number of plant extracts formulated as
acaricides (a pesticide that kills mites) that exert an effect on spider mites. These include garlic
extract, clove oil, mint oils, rosemary oil, cinnamon oil and others. Don’t use soaps or oils on
water-stressed plants or when temperatures exceed 90°F. These materials may injure some
plants, so check labels and/or test them out on a portion of the foliage several days before
applying a full treatment. Oils and soaps must contact mites to kill them, so excellent coverage,
especially on the undersides of leaves, is essential, and repeat applications may be required.
Sulfur sprays can be used on some vegetables, fruit trees, and ornamentals. This product will
burn cucurbits and other plants in some cases. Don’t use sulfur unless it has been shown to be
safe for that plant in your locality. Use liquid products such as sulfur and potash soap
combinations (e.g., Safer Brand 3-in-1 Garden Spray) rather than sulfur dusts, which drift easily
and can be breathed in. Don’t use sulfur if temperatures exceed 90°F, and don’t apply sulfur
within 30 days of an oil spray. Sulfur is a skin irritant and eye and respiratory hazard, so always
wear appropriate protective clothing.
https://plantvillage.psu.edu/topics/tomato/infos
WEEDS
1. Yellow Nutsedge Cyperus esculentus L.
http://malag.aes.oregonstate.edu/wil
dflowers/images/04_YellowNutsedge http://malag.aes.oregonstate.edu/wil
_7.JPG dflowers/images/04_YellowNutsedge
_6.JPG
Description
Leaves awl-shaped, glossy, rosette-forming.
Stems
Triangular, inconspicuous nodes, 20-80 cm ( 7.87 - 31.49 inch) high.
Leaves
Triangular, plicate, emerging from the stalk base, light green, ca. 5 mm (0.19 inch) wide and 20-
90 cm (7.87 - 35.43 inch) long.
Flowers
Spikelets straw-colored to gold-brown, in terminal umbel, 5-30 mm (0.19 - 1.18 inch) long, ~ 2-3
mm (0.078 - 0.12 inch) wide. Longest leaf-like bract much longer than infloresence.
Fruit
Light brown achenes.
Habitat
Moist depressions of upland prairies, pond margins, stream edges, pastures, old fields, roadsides,
railroads, moist open areas.
Mechanical Method
The best way to remove small plants is to pull them up by hand or to hand hoe. If you hoe, be
sure to dig down at least 8 to 14 inches to remove the entire plant.
Cultural Method
Drying- you can control purple nutsedge by cultivating the infested area and then withholding all
moisture to allow the sun to dry the tubers. Repeated tilling and drying are required to give good
control.
Shading- Nutsedges don’t grow well in shade, so changing landscape plantings might reduce
their growth. For example, a highly infested, annually planted flower bed might be better off if
you replant it with a tall, dense ground cover or shrub. Low-growing ground covers won’t shade
out nutsedge.
Mulching
Landscape fabrics made from polypropylene polymers are available that effectively suppress
nutsedge growth and have the added benefit of being water and air permeable, unlike
polyethylene.
Chemical Control
Few herbicides are effective at controlling nutsedge, either because of a lack of selectivity to
other plants or a lack of uptake such as dichlobenil, dimethenamid-P, glyphosate, halosulfuron,
metolachlor, penoxsulam, sulfosulfuron, and trifloxysulfuron-sodium
.
2. Purple Nutsedge Cyperus rotundus
ia/commons/thumb/a/ac/Nutgrass_C http://sernecportal.org/imglib/sernec
yperus_rotundus02.jpg/220px- /misc/201510/Cyperus-rotundus-F-
Nutgrass_Cyperus_rotundus02.jpg web-6-28-15_1443716348_tn.jpg
Description
Can be distinguished from other sedge weeds by its wiry rhizomes linking a network of tubers.
Purplish-brown spikelets and leaf-tips coming to an abruptly acute tip.
Stem
Flowering stems are erect, up to 60 cm (23.62 inch) tall, 3-sided, smooth with swollen bases
(basal bulbs).
Leaves
The leaves have a distinct midrib, are linear, usually shorter than the flowering stem, up to 7 mm
(0.27 inch) wide and emerge from a sheath around the shoot base.
Flowers
The inflorescence is a terminal, open umbel-like cluster subtended by several leafy bracts.
Several unequal rays, 2-6 cm (0.78 - 2.36 inch) long, support 3-8 reddish-brown to purplish-
brown, flattened spikelets, 1-2 cm (0.39 - 0.78 inch) long and 2 mm (0.078 inch) wide, each with
up to 30 glumes, 3.5-4 mm (0.13 - 0.15 inch) long.
Fruit
The fruit (often, but erroneously, known as the seed) is a 3-angled achene, 1.5 mm (0.059 inch)
long, dark brown or black.
Habitat
Cultivated fields, waste areas, roadsides, pastures, and natural areas.
Mechanical Method
Handpicking
Cultural Method
Tillage is important in the control of this weed.
Competive cropping like sunhemp, spreading legumes etc are helpful in smothering nut sedge by
cutting light to the weed.
In rainy season fallow fields infested with C. rotundus.
Chemical Method
Several herbicides like Glyphosate 2 kg ai/ha as post emergence can arrest the growth of nut
sedge completely. While dalapon 4 kg /ha or 20 PPM brings about complete scorch and desiccate
and thereby kills underground parts of nutsedge.
2,4-D ( Sodium) at 3 kg /ha can kill 80 to 90 % nutsedge while a mixture of 2,4-D (amine) 0.5
kg/ha. Plus MSMA 0.5 kg/ha can kill the basal bulbs and attached tubers. Nutsedge is susceptible
to mixture of aimtrole 4.5 kg/ha plus Atrazine 2 kg/ha Dicamba 1 kg + 2 ,4-D, 2 kg/ha added
with molasses at 3% spray can easily be translocated from mother to daudhter tuber and kill them
completely.
3. Morning Glories Ipomoea purpurea
https://d16wp86s16nsnf.cloudfront.n https://previews.123rf.com/images/al
et/sarahraven/product/7a3c77d.0500 exan66/alexan661608/alexan6616080
07_1.jpg/500x550.crop.050007_1.jpg 0173/61199028-ipomoea-
purpurea.jpg
Description
Vine up to 5 m (16.4 ft) long, distinctive heart-shaped leaves and purple to white flowers.
Stems
Glabrous or bristly-pubescent, trailing or twining.
Leaves
Alternate, leaves heart-shaped, leaf-blade ovate, entire or 3-lobed, 7.5 cm (2.95 inch) long and
wide, acuminate at the apex, cordate at the base, glabrous or pubescent. Petiole 7.5 - 9 cm (2.95 -
3.54 inch) long. First true leaf often without hairs, different shape than the subsequent leaves.
Flowers
lowers solitary or in few-flowered cymes.
Peduncle up to 12 cm (4.72 inch) long.
Pedicels 1.3-2.5 cm (0.51 - 0.98 inch) long.
Sepals lanceolate, 1.3-1.6 cm (0.51 - 0.63 inch) long, 1.5-4.5 mm (0.059 - 0.18 inch) wide,
usually not conspicuously attenuated at the apex, bristly below, finely pubescent all over.
Corolla funnel-shaped white, pink or magenta.
Tube white below, 4-5 cm (1.57 - 1.97 inch) long.
Fruits
Capsule 1.1 cm (0.43 inch) in diameter, glabrous, 3-locular, containing 4-6 seeds.
Habitat
Fallow and cultivated fields, waste ground, roadsides, railroads.
Seedlings are frail and easy to pull or hoe. Small infestations can be cut near the base of the
plant; the roots require digging out by hand. For larger infestations with many stems, cutting and
subsequent applications of herbicides are required (Defelice, 2001).
Chemical Control
The herbicides 2,4-D, atrazine, diquat, diuron, glyphosate, oxyfluorfen, pronamide and simazine
have been recommended for annual morning-glory. For large infestations, the stems can be cut
higher up (breast height) causing the upper growth to die. Then the basal stems can be cut closer
to the ground following with an undiluted (or up to 1: 3 dilution) dose of herbicide such as
glyphosate onto the stems (Halvorson, 2003).
4. Pigweeds Amaranthus viridis

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/90/e9/ http://agpest.co.nz/wp-
e2/90e9e2b09aa3f196037910ccbcf9d content/uploads/2016/12/Amaranthu
6d6.jpg s-viridis-u-web.jpg
Description
An annual herbaceous plant, erect, branched (often) herb
Stem: green to reddish (often), grooved lengthwise, glabrous or pubescent
Leaves: alternate, simple, ovate to rhombic; surfaces glabrous (mostly), lower surfaces pilose
along veins (often); margins entire; leaf tip mucronate (short spiny tip); petioles pink (often)
Flower: green, minute, unisexual, monoecious, both sexes intermixed on spikes with pistillate
flowers more numerous; corolla absent; sepals 3-4 subtended by 2 tiny bracteoles, bracts and
bracteoles whitish and membranous with short pale or reddish awns; female flowers: style 1,
stigmas 2-3; male flowers: stamens 3
Fruit: utricle, subglobose, rugose (wrinkled surface), ruptures irregularly, beaked, one seeded
Habitat: disturbed areas, croplands, roadsides, landscaped areas, waste areas, ditch banks,
facultative upland, exposed/sunny areas, moist areas; ability to survive arid conditions
Cultural Method
Cultivation favours A. viridis emergence, and is a useful means of killing seedlings.
Crop rotation and fallow-land management.

Chemical Method
The triazine herbicides, atrazine, cyanazine, simazine, propazine, and metribuzin, are effective in
the control of A. viridis in several cropping systems.
5. Bermuda Grass Cynodon dactylon
https://previews.123rf.com/images/s
pring75/spring751808/spring7518080 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped
0645/107605645-cynodon-dactylon- ia/commons/6/62/Cynodon_dactylon
plant.jpg _2.jpg
Description
Habitat
Mechanical Method
Persistent manual removal of rhizomes and stolons can eliminate Bermuda grass from small
areas.
A high mower setting (2-3 in) can suppress bermuda grass relative to other turf grasses.
Cleaning mowers and agricultural machinery after use in infested areas can prevent dispersal of
rhizomes, stolons and seeds.
Tilling or disking as needed to expose rhizomes to sun drying or freezing temperatures can be
effective . If water/rain is applied during the drying process bermuda grass will regrow. Do not
cultivate Bermuda grass if the soil is moist, because rhizome fragments will begin to grow.
Cultivating and drying will not kill the seeds.
Cultural Method
Shading by other plants , mulches, or cloth can help to suppress Bermuda grass growth.
Using plastic to solarize moist soil for 6 weeks in summer can control small infestations.
Biological
Due to its importance as turf grass, there are no efforts to develop a biological control program
for Bermuda grass.
Chemical Method
Herbicides that can be used to eliminate Bermuda grass are Clethodim, Fluazifop, Sethoxydim,
Glyphosate and Imazapyr.
6. Johnson Grass Sorghum halepense
https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/ https://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/we
plants/graminoid/sorhal/habitat.jpg eds/data/media/Images/sorghum_hal
epense/sorghumhalepense61.jpg
Description
Ribbed leaf sheath, conspicuous midrib, large, purplish panicle and extensive rhizome system.
Stems
Flowering stems are unbranched, 0.5-3.0(-4.0) m (1.64 - 9.84 - 13.12 ft) tall, 0.5-2.0 cm (0.19 -
0.78 inch) in diameter, often with basal adventitious prop roots, nodes sometimes with fine hairs.
Leaves
Leaf blades, 20-60 cm (7.87 - 23.62 inch) long, 1.0-3.3 cm (0.39 - 1.56 inch) wide, prominent
midribs and white, whitish midvein, many nerved and hairless.
Membranous ligule with hairy fringe, 2-5 mm (0.078 - 0.19 inch) long.
No distinct auricles.
Ribbed, hairless leaf sheaths with overlapping margins.
Flowers
Inflorescence pale green to purplish, hairy, pyramidal, many branched panicle, 15-50 cm (5.9 -
19.68 inch) long.
Primary branches up to 25 cm (9.84 inch) long, usually without spikelets for 2-5 cm (0.78 - 1.96
inch) from the base.
Spikelets usually in pairs but towards the top of the inflorescence in threes, one spikelet of each
pair or triplet is sessile and perfect with stamens and stigma, others stalked and sterile or only
carry stamens. Fertile spikelets are ovoid, hairy, 4.5-5.5 mm (0.17 - 0.21 inch) long.
Awns if present are 1-2 cm (0.39 - 0.78 inch) long, twisted and abruptly bent.
Glumes reddish brown to shiny black, glossy and finely lined.
Fruit
The grain remains enclosed by glumes 4-6.6 mm (0.16 - 0.25 inch) long, 2-2.6 mm (0.078 - 0.10
inch) wide. The glumes are reddish brown to shiny black, glossy and finely lined on the surface.
Habitat
In the eastern Mediterranean, where it is probably native, S. halepense is found in dry open
habitats. It is now found in most of the tropical and warm temperate regions of the world but is
best adapted to humid summer rainfall areas in the subtropics rather than to areas which are
strictly tropical. The lack of cold tolerance has prohibited the spread of S. halepense into areas
with cooler climates. The species can be found on arable land, wasteland and roadsides, and
along stream or irrigation canal banks.
Cultural Method
Mowing Johnson grass for several seasons weakens the plants and reduces rhizome growth
Hand hoeing is practical only where the concentration of Johnson grass is low. Shallow
cultivation using sharp hoes, shovels, knives or hand pulling will remove the plants and the
rhizomes from the upper portion of the soil without dividing or pulling up deep rhizomes
Chemical Control
Foliar sprays that are used to control Johnson grass are glyphosate and dalapon
7. Large Crab Grass Digitaria sanguinalis
ia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Harig_vinger http://hasbrouck.asu.edu/imglib/sein
gras_plant_%28Digitaria_sanguinalis et/Poaceae/Digitaria-sanguinalis-F-
%29.jpg/1200px- w_0.jpg
Stem
Initially prostrate, then curvily ascending, sparsely haired at the nodes, growing up to 50 cm
(19.68 inch) high.
Leaves
Leaf blades 5-15 cm (1.96 - 5.9 inch) long and 3-12 mm (0.118 - 0.47 inch) wide. Leaf blade
green to purple, both sides with silky, shiny hairs; often reddish with central strip and pale at the
margin.
Ligule membranous, white, 1-2 mm (0.039 - 0.078 inch) long, truncate.
Auricles absent.
Sheaths green to reddish violet, with long blister-like hairs, especially at the sheath base.
Flowers
Panicle with 4-10 finger-like spike-like racemes, each 2-16 cm (0.78 - 6.29 inch) long, not all
originating from a single point but with one or more 1-2 cm (0.39 - 0.78 inch) below the others.
Spikelets elliptic, plano-convex, about 3 mm (0.118 inch) long, paired, on short, unequal
pedicels; each spikelet has a single fertile floret, lower glume minute, up to 1 mm (0.039 inch)
long, upper glume half to two thirds the length of the spikelet, hairy.
Lemmas as long as the spikelet, the lower green, hairy and minutely rough on the nerves towards
the tip; upper lemma glabrous, smooth, pale green or light brown.
Fruit
Caryopsis enclosed in 2 sterile flowering-glumes, 2-4 mm (0.078 - 0.157 inch) long, greenish-
gray, halved-fusiform.
Habitat
Disturbed areas of prairies, weedy meadows, edges of degraded wetlands, areas along roads and
railroads, lawns and gardens, vacant lots, fields, grassy paths, and miscellaneous waste areas.
Cultural Method
The use of trash as mulch.
Proper irrigation
Proper mowing
Soil solarisation
Mechanical Method
Handpicking
Chemical Method
Pre-emergent Herbicide
Bensulide, dithiopyr, oryzalin, , oxadiazon, pendimethalin, prodiamine, and trifluralin
Post-emergent Herbicide
Dithiopyr, fluazifop, quinclorac, and sethoxydim plus oil
8. Gallant soldier Galinsoga parviflora

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped https://florapittsburghensis.files.word
ia/commons/thumb/e/e7/Galinsoga_ press.com/2013/07/galinsoga-
parviflora_bluete.jpeg/220px- parviflora-2013-07-16-greenfield-
Galinsoga_parviflora_bluete.jpeg 01.jpg
Description
Vigorous, up to 3 generations/year.
Stems
Usually erect with several three-pronged ramifications, 10 - 80 cm (3.93 - 31.49 inch) tall.
Leaves
Opposite, ovate acuminate, light green, margin finely dentate, lower leaves petiolate, upper
leaves nearly sessile.
Flowers
Terminal and axillary cyme.
Flower heads small, numerous, button-like with yellow tube-like disk florets and 5 white lingular
margin florets.
Fruits
Achenes sparsely appressed, pubescent or glabrous, cylindric to ovoid, with pappus attached.
Central achenes ovate, black, covered with short white bristles pappus as long as the fruit, with
8-20 silvery and cut-margined scales. Marginal achenes smooth, 3-blunt-angled, without pappus.
Habitat
Arable land, waste places, pavements in towns.
Cultural Method
Crop Rotation
Bare fallow- Prior to a summer smother crop you might want to kill emerging summer annual
weeds by repeated shallow cultivation, for several weeks or more.
Use cover crops
Host plant resistance- Among a total of seven varieties of Phaseolus vulgaris studied, differences
were observed in ability to compete against G. parviflora (Senesac et al., 1979).
Biological Method
Vulgamycin, produced by a new strain of Streptomyces sp., demonstrates some control of G.
parviflora(Babczinski et al., 1991). Although no pre-emergence applications of vulgamycin
showed any control of G. parviflora, post-emergence applications resulted in good control of
several weeds, including G. parviflora.
Chemical Method
Chemical control may be achieved with isoproturon, bromoxynil, 2,4-D, MCPA and dicamba in
winter and spring cereals.
Rimsulfuron, a sulfonylurea herbicide, gives adequate control of G. parviflora in maize and
potatoes, as do atrazine and related herbicides in sorghum.
Urea derivatives are applied to cotton, celery, onion and carrot crops. Metribuzin has been
successfully tested in tomatoes.
Imazaquin, fomesafen and acifluorfen are used for G. parviflora control in soybeans.

Desmetryn, nitrofen and chloroxuron are used for G. parviflora control in cabbage.
In flower crops (chrysanthemum, gerbera, gladiolus, freesia and carnation), oxadiazon and
napropamide are used.
Chemical control of G. parviflora in orchards may be achieved with terbacil, simazine and
diuron.
Prolonged herbicide application using metamitron resulted in development of resistance in G.

parviflora(Schmidt, 1986).
https://articles.extension.org/pages/65212/weed-management-strategies-for-organic-tomato-
pepper-and-eggplant-in-the-southern-united-states
Prevention and
Environmental Factors Affecting the Growth of Tomato
1. Climate
A warm season crop, sensitive to frost. It is usually cultivated in sub-tropical and mild cold
climatic regions. It thrives well in temperature 100C to 300C with optimum range of temperature
is 21-240C. The mean temperature below 160C and above 270C are not desirable. Thus
temperature affects the germination, crop standing and ultimately affects yield, quality and price.
2. Soil Requirement
Tomatoes do very well on most mineral soils, but they prefer deep, well drained sandy loams.
Deep tillage can allow for adequate root penetration in heavy clay type soils, which allows for
production in these soil types. Tomato is a moderately tolerant crop to a wide pH range. A pH of
5.5- 6.8 is preferred though tomato plants will do well in more acidic soils with adequate nutrient
supply and availability. Tomato is moderately tolerant to acid soils that is pH of 5.5.
3. Irrigation
Tomatoes have been observed to withdraw water from depths up to 13 feet in a well structured
soil. Tomato plants require adequate moisture throughout their growth period. First irrigation is
required soon after seedlings are transplanted. Frequent water is necessary in root zone when
plants are small. In summer irrigation at intervals of 3-4 days and 10-15 days water is necessary
to maintain wet soil.
4. Topography
Topography is the nature of surface earth (levelled or sloppy) is known as topography.

Topographic factors affect the crop growth indirectly.
5. Altitude
Increase in altitude cause a decrease in temperature and increase in precipitation and wind
velocity (hills and plains)
6. Steepness of Slope
It results in run off of rain water and loss of nutrient rich top soil.
7. Exposure to Light and Wind
a mountain slope exposed to low intensity of light and strong dry winds may results in poor crop
yields (coastal areas and interior pockets)
OKRA Abelmoschus esculentus
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DISEASES
1. Charcoal Rot Macrophomina phaseolina
http://media.padil.gov.au/Species https://bugwoodcloud.org/image
/143036/51125-large.jpg s/384x256/5360372.jpg
Cause
Fungus
Symptoms
Discoloration of stem at soil line; cankers on stem may spread upwards; leaves may wilt and
drop from plant; numerous small black sclerota (fungal fruiting bodies) develop in affected
tissues and can be used to diagnose the disease.
Cultural Method
Crop rotation out of a susceptible host is effective in some crop production systems.
Early Planting will aid in earlier canopy closure that will help reduce soil temperatures and
therefore reduce the competitive ability of M. phaseolina.

Avoid high plant populations. High plant populations can contribute to increase plant stress and
competition for water increasing charcoal rot potential.

Fertility. Adequate levels of available P and K will reduce nutrient stress and encourage health
plant growth.

Soil Moisture. Tillage practices which reduce soil moisture stress may reduce disease
potential. Maintaining good soil moisture with irrigation from planting to pod fill may reduce
disease potential.
Biological Method
No biological control strategies have been developed for charcoal rot.
Chemical Method
No fungicides are registered for charcoal rot management.
2. Fusarium Wilt Fusarium oxysporum
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Cause
Fungus
Symptoms
Wilting of cotyledons and seedling leaves; cotyledons become chlorotic at the edges and then
necrotic; older plants exhibit symptoms of wilting and leaf chlorosis; wilting is usually gradual
but may be pronounced after heavy summer rain; if infection is severe plants become stunted and
may be killed; vascular system of infected plants becomes discolored and can be seen by cutting
the stem

Mechanical Method
Hand pull
Cultural Method
Crop rotation. Rotate with cereals and other grassy crops. Do not rotate with Solanaceous family
crop such as potatoes, tomato, pepper, eggplant or nightshade for 5 to 7 seasons after infestation
with Fusarium wilt
Enhancement of soil quality. Raise soil pH by applying lime / farmyard manure where soils are
acidic.
Leave field fallow for 2- 3 months after cropping, even if disease is not there.
Avoid fields with history of Fusarium wilt disease. The fungal spores can survive in the soil for
up to 7 years.
Biological Control
No biological control strategies have been developed
Chemical Control
It is always prudent to treat seed with a fungicide or heat to destroy the fungus on the seed and to
protect the emerging seedlings from infection.
Fungus populations can be reduced from soil by heat treatments and by chemical fumigation.
These treatments, while effective in controlling the fungus in annual plantings, leave much to be
desired in perennial plantings. In field crops, Fusarium wilt diseases are controlled by selection
and plant breeding. In perennial ornamental crops such as carnations, the best way to deal with
the disease is through the use of resistant cultivars; however, the most popular cultivars are not
resistant. Liming soils and using nitrate nitrogen fertilizer have been effective for management
of Fusarium oxysporum on chrysanthemum, aster, gladiolus, cucumber, tomato, and watermelon.
Soil Fumigation- Methyl Bromide, Chloropicrin

Soil Fungicide- Thiophanate- Methyl, StreptomycesGriseoviridis and Ipriodione
Mycostop is a biological fungicide that will safely protect crops against wilt caused
by Fusarium. Approved for use in organic crop production, it can be applied as a soil spray or
drench (1-2 gm/ 100 sq ft) to seedlings, ornamentals and vegetables. Apply sufficient water
during application to move Mycostop into the root zone.
If the disease persists, it is best to remove the entire plant and solarize* the soil before planting
again.
3. Powdery Mildew Oidium asteris-punicei

http://www.infonet-
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Cause
Fungus
Symptoms
Powdery white covering on leaves; patches may coalesce to cover entire plant; if plant is heavily
infected leaves may roll upward and appear scorched. Powdery mildew starts on young leaves as
raised blister-like areas that cause leaves to curl, exposing the lower leaf surface. Infected leaves
become covered with a white to gray powdery growth, usually on the upper surface; unopened
flower buds may be white with mildew and may never open. Leaves of severely infected plants
turn brown and drop. The disease prefers young, succulent growth; mature leaves are usually not
affected.

Cultural Method
Plant in sunny areas as much as possible, provide good air circulation, and avoid applying excess
fertilizer. A good alternative is to use a slow-release fertilizer. Overhead sprinkling may help
reduce powdery mildew because spores are washed off the plant. However, overhead sprinklers
are not usually recommended as a control method in vegetables because their use may contribute
to other pest problems.
Biological Method
None yet
Chemical Method
Use Copper, Sulphur or Potassium bicarbonate foliar sprays.
4. Southern Blight Sclerotium rolfsii
https://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/int http://www.infonet-
ropp/lessons/fungi/Basidiomycetes/A biovision.org/sites/default/files/plant
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Cause
Fungus
Symptoms
Sudden wilting of leaves; yellowing foliage; browning stem above and below soil; browning
branches; stem may be covered with fan-like mycelial mat

Cultural Method
Crop rotation becomes part of an integrated method of controlling the disease.
use disease free or resistant transplants and cultivars when southern blight has been diagnosed.
Deeply plow under or destroy any diseased plants.
If the disease is severe, consider solarizing the area.

Biological Method
Some biological agents, such as Trichoderma harzianum, Gliocladium virens, Trichoderma
viride, Bacillus subtilis, and Penicillium spp., were found to antagonize S. rolfsii and could
suppress disease. Gliocladium virens was found to reduce the number of sclerotia in soil to a
depth of 30 cm, resulting in a decreased incidence of southern blight on tomato (Ristaino, Perry,
and Lumsden 1991). Trichoderma koningiialso reduced the number of sclerotia and the plant-to-
plant spread of southern blight in tomato fields (Latunde-Dada 1993). However, there is
evidence from a greenhouse study that G. virens has better biocontrol capability against S.
rolfsii than Trichoderma spp. (Papavizas and Lewis 1989).
Chemical Method
The use of soil fumigants, such as methyl bromide, chloropicrin, and metam-sodium, are the
most practical means to treat seed beds and fields for a number of soil-borne pathogens,
including S. rolfsii (Mullen 2001). They must be applied days to weeks before planting.
However, the availability of methyl bromide is limited due to its status as an ozone-depleting
material (EPA 2009).
Preplant fungicides, such as captan and pentachloronitrobenzene (PCNB), are effective in

reducing disease severity.
5. White Mold Sclerotinia sclerotum

http://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/intr http://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/intr
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Cause
Fungus
Symptoms
Flowers covered in white, cottony fungal growth; small, circular, dark green, water-soaked
lesions on pods leaves and branches which enlarge and become slimy; cottony white growth may
be visible on lesions during periods of high humidity; death of branches and/or entire plant
Cultural Method
Crop rotation.
Crop rotation is most effective when initiated before white mold becomes a serious disease
problem in a field.
Canopy management
Tillage effects on white mold are complex. Although sclerotia can survive in the plow layer for
several years, only the sclerotia near the soil surface germinate to produce apothecia and
ascospores. Therefore, burying infested residues with a moldboard plow can prevent the
apothecial germination of sclerotia.
Choose resistant varieties whenever possible. Use of cultivars that are able to resist infection
by S. sclerotiorum would be a predictable, convenient, and inexpensive option for controlling
white mold.
Biological Method
Several fungi have been shown to be parasites of sclerotia of S. sclerotiorum. One of these
organisms, Coniothyrium minitans, has been released as a commercial product for suppression of
white mold due to S. sclerotiorum.
Chemical Method
Application of fungicides.
6. Enation Leaf Curl Disease Okra Enation Leaf Curl Virus
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Cause
Virus transmitted by white fly
Symptoms
On lower surface of leaves we will see a small pin head enations. This enation become warty and
rough in structure at later stage. Reduce in leaf size. The stem, lateral branches and leaf petioles
become twisted along enation. Leaves appear thick and leathery. In severely infected plants the
emerging leaves shows bold enations and curling. And produce few deformed fruits.

Cultural Method
Remove the infected plant and burn them to avoid further spread of disease
Use yellow sticky traps to monitor whiteflies population
Biological Method
1. Release Green Lacewing early in the season so larvae can feed on whitefly eggs or
nymphs before the infestation becomes severe.
2. For high whitefly populations, release specialized predators & parasites for best
control. E. formosa and E. eremicusare species-specific parasites effective in many
environments. A. swirskii are predatory mites effective in warm, humid areas.
Chemical Method
Beauveria bassiana sprays (BotaniGard, BioCeres) are effective for ongoing control of
whiteflies in gardens or commercial growing. They use the fungus to slow feeding/reproduction
and kill the infected pests. Using biorational control sprays also helps limit environmental
impacts on non-target organisms like bees and pollinators.
If necessary, knockdown sprays of contact insecticides will quickly reduce whitefly numbers.
Repeat applications may be necessary as most sprays have little residual impact.
 Neem is a growth and feeding inhibitor commonly used by organic gardeners for
general pest control.
 Pyrethrin sprays are excellent for rapid reduction of large pest populations, but
should not be applied to flowering plants.
 Horticultural Oils are an effective knockdown for use in-season and for
controlling overwintering or dormant life stages.
7. Yellow Vein Mosaic Virus Bhendi Yellow Vein Virus

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Cause
Virus Transmitted by white fly Bemisia tabaci. It causes huge loss if disease occur at early stage
of crop.
Symptoms
The infected leaves shows alternate patches of green and yellow. Veins become clear and
chlorotic. With the progress of disease the veins become conspicuous and both vein and vein lets
become thick. In advance stage the stems and leaf stalk become distorted. Fruits are yellowish
green in color and small in size.

Cultural Method
Use resistant cultivars. Sow disease free certified seeds.
Roughing of infected plants.
Follow crop rotation.
Keep the field free from weeds.
Chemical Method
Control vector with suitable insecticides.
Pest
1. Aphid (Green peach aphid, Potato Aphid, etc.) Myzus persicae Macrosiphum
euphorbiae
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Cause
Insect
Symptoms
Small soft bodied insects on underside of leaves and/or stems of plant; usually green or yellow in
color, but may be pink, brown, red or black depending on species and host plant; if aphid
infestation is heavy it may cause leaves to yellow and/or distorted, necrotic spots on leaves
and/or stunted shoots; aphids secrete a sticky, sugary substance called honeydew which
encourages the growth of sooty mold on the plants.
Cultural Control
If aphid population is limited to just a few leaves or shoots then the infestation can be pruned out
to provide control
Use tolerant varieties if available.
Use of reflective mulches such as silver colored plastic can deter aphids from feeding on plants
Sturdy plants can be sprayed with a strong jet of water to knock aphids from leaves.
Biological Method
Natural enemies of aphids can be used to treat infestations. Lady beetles, or ladybugs, can be
purchased commercially for release in the garden, where one lady beetle eats 50 to 60 aphids per
day, doing no harm to plant matter.
Chemical Method
Insecticidal soaps or oils such as neem or canola oil are usually the best method of control;
always check the labels of the products for specific usage guidelines prior to use
Use of pesticides such as acephate and malathion
2. Armyworms ( Beet armyworm, Western striped armyworm) Spodoptera exigua
Spodoptera praefica
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Cause
Insect
Symptoms
Singular, or closely grouped circular to irregularly shaped holes in foliage; heavy feeding by
young larvae leads to skeletonized leaves; shallow, dry wounds on fruit; egg clusters of 50-150
eggs may be present on the leaves; egg clusters are covered in a whitish scale which gives the
cluster a cottony or fuzzy appearance; young larvae are pale green to yellow in color while older
larvae are generally darker green with a dark and light line running along the side of their body
and a pink or yellow underside.

Mechanical Method
Handpick the worms you discover and don’t be tempted to crush them between your thumbs.
Instead drop them in a bucket of soapy water.
Cultural Method
Tillage and Crop rotation
Use of pheromone traps to monitor the arrival of moths.
Biological Method
Release trichogramma waps to parasitize any new laid eggs. Other beneficial insects, such as
lacewin, ladybugs, and minute pirate bugs feed on armyworm eggs as well as the young larval
stage. Plant to attract birds and beneficial insects. And also beneficial nematodes.
Chemical Method
 Applications of Garden dust (Bt-kurstaki) or OMRI-listed Monterey Garden Insect

Spray (spinosad) will kill caterpillars.
 After the season has advanced, natural horticultural oil sprays can be used on plants
showing signs of worm infestations. Multi-purpose neem oil spray is effective on various
stages of the larvae as well as mites. It also prevents fungus growth. Complete coverage,
including undersides of leaves and junctions with stems, is critical.
 Use fast-acting organic insecticides if pest levels become intolerable.
3. Corn Earworm Helicoverpa zea
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Cause
Insect
Symptoms
Larvae damage leaves, buds, flowers and pods; young caterpillars are cream-white in color with
a black head and black hairs; older larvae may be yellow-green to almost black in color with fine
white lines along their body and black spots at the base of hairs; eggs are laid singly on both
upper and lower leaf surfaces and are initially creamy white but develop a brown-red ring after
24 hours and darken prior to hatching
Cultural Method
Trap cropping is often suggested for this insect.
The destruction of crop residues helps to control this pest by eliminating harboring areas between
plantings.
Pheromone traps
Biological Method
The bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, and steinernematid nematodes provide some suppression.
Trichogramma spp. (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) egg parasitoids have been reared and
released for suppression of Helicoverpa zea in several crops.
Chemical Method
Scouting for these pests is essential because some of the pesticides available (Bacillus
thuringiensis products, spinosad, and methoxyfenozide) are most effective on young caterpillars
and are less effective on later stages that can defoliate plants.
4. Cucumber Beetles ( Western striped cucumber beetle, Western spotted cucumber beetle,
Banded cucumber beetle) Acalymma vittata Diabrotica undecimpunctata Diabrotica
balteata
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Cause
Insect
Symptoms
Stunted seedling; damaged leaves, stems and/or petioles; reduced plant stand; plants may exhibit
symptoms of bacterial wilt; scars on fruit caused by beetle feeding damage; adult beetles are
brightly colored with either a green-yellow background and black spots or alternating black and
yellow stripes
Cultural Control
Use Floating Row Covers to protect seedlings and new plantings. Maintain monitoring
techniques to catch any pest issues early and determine if action is needed.
Rotating crops with grain, tomatoes, or a cover crop or using perimeter trap crops can delay
infestations.
If a trap crop is used, exercise care that the trap crop will not act as a reservoir for bacterial wilt.
Biological Control
Introduce Beneficial Insects early in the growing season and supplement populations if pest
levels increase. Ladybugs, Green Lacewing, Spined Soldier Bugs and Assassin Bugs will all feed
on various life stages of cucumber beetles.
NemaSeek (Hb) beneficial nematodes should be applied to the soil of infested areas to control
the pupal stage of the cucumber beetle.
Chemical Control
 If adult feeding damage is identified, apply kaolin clay (Surround WP) to plant foliage.
The film left behind disorients insects and prevents feeding.
 Spinosad sprays can be applied as soil drenches to kill larvae before they pupate in the
soil.
 If immediate action and control is necessary, apply
a Pyrethrin or Azadirachtin insecticide to the affected areas. Use caution if beneficial
insects have been released before applying insecticides.
5. Loopers (Cabbage Looper) Trichoplusia ni
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Cause
Insect
Symptoms
Large or small holes in leaves; damage often extensive; caterpillars are pale green with a white
lines running down either side of their body; caterpillars are easily distinguished by the way they
arch their body when moving; eggs are laid singly, usually on the lower leaf surface close to the
leaf margin, and are white or pale green in color
Cultural Method
Use pheromone traps to signal the arrival of moths to your garden.
Cover plants with floating row covers to keep migrating moths from landing and laying eggs.
This can make a significant difference if timed correctly.
Biological Method
There are several important naturally occurring parasites that help control loopers in tomatoes.
One of these is Hyposoter exiguae, which also attacks tomato fruitworms and armyworms.
Another parasitic wasp, Copidosoma truncatellum, commonly kills looper and other lepidopteran
larvae by attacking the overwintering pupae. In southern California, looper eggs are often killed
by Trichogramma; Trichogramma released for tomato fruitworm control often parasitize
cabbage looper eggs as well. Alfalfa and cabbage loopers are also subject to disease caused by
a nuclear polyhedrosis virus. Conserve these parasites by not treating with disruptive pesticides,
particularly early in the season.
Chemical Method
 Use plant-derived products, such as neem, derris, pyrethrum and chilli (with the addition
of soap), or synthetic products that contain disease-causing organisms, such as spinosad
(Success) and Bt - Bacillus thuringiensissubspecies kurstaki (Bt).
 If using Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), note the following:
 The spray needs to be applied carefully so that there is good coverage of the plant
as the insecticide has to be eaten by the caterpillars to kill them.
 Eggs are not susceptible to Bt.
 Small larvae are more susceptible to Bt than fully grown ones.
 Use Bt as soon as damage is seen.
 Avoid using broad-spectrum insecticides (such as pyrethroids and
organophosphates) as they will kill natural enemies.
6. Thrips (Melon thrips) Thrips palmi

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Cause
Insect
Symptoms
If population is high leaves may be distorted; leaves are covered in coarse stippling and may
appear silvery; leaves speckled with black feces; insect is small (1.5 mm) and slender and best
viewed using a hand lens; adult thrips are pale yellow to light brown and the nymphs are smaller
and lighter in color.
Cultural Control
Organic mulch is thought to interfere with the colonization of crops by winged thrips.
Biological Control
The predatory mite Neoseiulus cucumeris (Oudemans) has been investigated for suppression of
melon thrips.
Chemical Control
Foliar insecticides are frequently applied for thrips suppression, but at times it has been difficult
to attain effective suppression. Various foliar and drench treatments, alone or combined with oil,
have achieved some success (Seal and Baranowski 1992, Seal et al. 1993, Seal 1994) though it is
usually inadvisable to apply insecticides if predators are present, especially pyrethroids.
7. Root Knot Nematode Meloidogyne spp.
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Cause
Insect
Symptoms
Galls on roots which can be up to 3.3 cm (1 in) in diameter but are usually smaller; reduction in
plant vigor; yellowing plants which wilt in hot weather.
Cultural Method
 Crop Rotation
 Fallowing-clean fallow during the off-season is probably the single most important and
effective cultural control measure available for nematodes
 Use of nematode-resistant crop varieties has not been extensively evaluated in Florida,
but is often viewed as the foundation of a successful integrated nematode management
program on all high value crops in which soil fumigants are currently used.
 Frequent incorporation of organic matter, especially high rates (400 to 500 pounds per
100 square feet) of composted leaves, grass clippings, and manure, into the soil is also
beneficial for improving soil structure and moisture retention. It will also encourage
biological control of the nematodes. The use of such organic materials may require
additional nitrogen.
 Soil solarization can provide control of many soilborne diseases, nematodes, and weed
pests.
 Flooding
 Use of nematode-resistant crop varieties.
Biological Method
At present there are no effective, commercially available, biological control agents that can be
successfully used to control nematodes.
Chemical Method
Use of Nonfumigant nematicides such as Nimitz.
8. Spider Mites (Two spotted spider mite) Tetranychus urticae
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Cause
Arachnid
Symptoms
Leaves stippled with yellow; leaves may appear bronzed; webbing covering leaves; mites may be
visible as tiny moving dots on the webs or underside of leaves, best viewed using a hand lens;
usually not spotted until there are visible symptoms on the plant; leaves turn yellow and may
drop from plant
Cultural Method
In the home garden, spraying plants with a strong jet of water can help reduce buildup of spider
mite populations
Biological Method
Some of the most important are the predatory mites, including the western predatory
mite , Galendromus (formerly Metaseiulus) occidentalis, and Phytoseiulus mite species.
Various other insects are also important predators—sixspotted thrips (Scolothrips sexmaculatus)
(Figure 8), the larvae and adults of the spider mite destroyer lady beetle (Stethorus picipes), the
larvae of certain flies including the cecidomyid Feltiella acarivora (Figure 9), and various
general predators such as minute pirate bugs, bigeyed bugs, and lacewing larvae. Western flower
thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis, can be an important predator on spider mite eggs and larvae,
but this species will also inflict severe damage to plants if mites aren’t present on which to feed.
Chemical Method
If a treatment for mites is necessary, use selective materials, preferably insecticidal soap or
insecticidal oil. Both petroleum-based horticultural oils and plant-based oils such as neem,
canola, or cottonseed oils are acceptable. There are also a number of plant extracts formulated as
acaricides (a pesticide that kills mites) that exert an effect on spider mites. These include garlic
extract, clove oil, mint oils, rosemary oil, cinnamon oil and others. Don’t use soaps or oils on
water-stressed plants or when temperatures exceed 90°F. These materials may injure some
plants, so check labels and/or test them out on a portion of the foliage several days before
applying a full treatment. Oils and soaps must contact mites to kill them, so excellent coverage,
especially on the undersides of leaves, is essential, and repeat applications may be required.
Sulfur sprays can be used on some vegetables, fruit trees, and ornamentals. This product will
burn cucurbits and other plants in some cases. Don’t use sulfur unless it has been shown to be
safe for that plant in your locality. Use liquid products such as sulfur and potash soap
combinations (e.g., Safer Brand 3-in-1 Garden Spray) rather than sulfur dusts, which drift easily
and can be breathed in. Don’t use sulfur if temperatures exceed 90°F, and don’t apply sulfur
within 30 days of an oil spray. Sulfur is a skin irritant and eye and respiratory hazard, so always
wear appropriate protective clothing.
https://plantvillage.psu.edu/topics/okra/infos
Weeds
Grass
1. Large Crab Grass c
http://weedid.missouri.edu/images/i https://ohiograpeweb.cfaes.ohio-
mages_optimized/2038optimized.jpg state.edu/sites/grapeweb/files/imce/
Nitika/crab%20grass%203.jpg
Description
This grass is a summer annual about 1-3' long. It develops several branching culms at the base;
the lower branches of the culms tend to sprawl across the ground, while their upper branches are
more erect. The culms are light green, terete, and glabrous, although they are mostly covered by
the sheaths. The blades of the alternate leaves are up to 6" long and nearly ½" across; they are
dull light green, entire or slightly curly along the margins, and often hairy toward the base. The
sheaths are light green, finely ribbed, shiny or dull, and hairy.
Stem
Initially prostrate, then curvily ascending, sparsely haired at the nodes, growing up to 50 cm
(19.68 inch) high.
Leaves
Leaf blades 5-15 cm (1.96 - 5.9 inch) long and 3-12 mm (0.118 - 0.47 inch) wide. Leaf blade
green to purple, both sides with silky, shiny hairs; often reddish with central strip and pale at the
margin.
Ligule membranous, white, 1-2 mm (0.039 - 0.078 inch) long, truncate.
Auricles absent.
Sheaths green to reddish violet, with long blister-like hairs, especially at the sheath base.
Flowers
Panicle with 4-10 finger-like spike-like racemes, each 2-16 cm (0.78 - 6.29 inch) long, not all
originating from a single point but with one or more 1-2 cm (0.39 - 0.78 inch) below the others.
Spikelets elliptic, plano-convex, about 3 mm (0.118 inch) long, paired, on short, unequal
pedicels; each spikelet has a single fertile floret, lower glume minute, up to 1 mm (0.039 inch)
long, upper glume half to two thirds the length of the spikelet, hairy.
Lemmas as long as the spikelet, the lower green, hairy and minutely rough on the nerves towards
the tip; upper lemma glabrous, smooth, pale green or light brown.
Fruit
Caryopsis enclosed in 2 sterile flowering-glumes, 2-4 mm (0.078 - 0.157 inch) long, greenish-
gray, halved-fusiform.
Habitat
Disturbed areas of prairies, weedy meadows, edges of degraded wetlands, areas along roads and
railroads, lawns and gardens, vacant lots, fields, grassy paths, and miscellaneous waste areas.
Cultural Method
The use of trash as mulch.
Proper irrigation
Proper mowing
Soil solarisation
Mechanical Method
Handpicking
Chemical Method
Pre-emergent Herbicide
Bensulide, dithiopyr, oryzalin, , oxadiazon, pendimethalin, prodiamine, and trifluralin
Post-emergent Herbicide
Dithiopyr, fluazifop, quinclorac, and sethoxydim plus oil
2. Goose Grass Eleusine indica

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BXUdYc1FgiU/
http://www.oisat.org/images/eleu
maxresdefault.jpg
sine_indica_base.jpg
Description
The stem is erect, flattened, and branching, with smooth few long hairs along the edges. It is
whitish or pale-green in color. The leaves are smooth and dark-green with laterally flattened or
folded blades. Mature leaves are very difficult to cut unless with very sharp farm implements.
The flower head is windmill-like. The flowers are composed of 2 -10 flattened, finger-like spikes
that look like a zipper, which emerge from a common point. The roots are strong and can easily
grow in compacted soil. The weed is propagated by seeds and flowers the whole time. Each plant
can produce up to 40,000 seeds.
Habitat
Cultivated and uncultivated areas

Cultural Method
E. indica is relatively easily removed by hoeing at the early growth stages.
Solarization has been shown to kill seeds of E. indica down to 5 cm (Standifer et al., 1984).
Shredded and chopped newspaper has shown potential as a mulching material for control
of Echinochloa crus-galli, Chenopodium album, Eleusine indica and Digitaria album.
Biological Method
For classical biocontrol, potential organisms include the smut fungus Melanopsichium eleusinis,
the nematode Heterodera delvii, and certain cecidomyiid gall midges (Contarinia sp.) but all
require further study before they could be used. Fungi which might be developed as
mycoherbicides include Bipolaris [Cochliobolus] setariae andPyricularia [Magnaporthe]
grisea (Figliola et al., 1988) but no active programme of development of these has yet been
reported.
Chemical Method
E. indica is susceptible to virtually all groups of standard grass-killing herbicides, including
arsenicals, substituted ureas (diuron, etc.), uracils (bromacil), triazines (atrazine, etc.),
dinitroanilines (trifluralin, etc.), thiolcarbamates (EPTC, etc.), dimethylethers (oxyfluorfen, etc.),
graminicides (fluazifop, sethoxydim, etc.), imidazolinones (imazaquin, etc.), propanil,
oxadiazon, clomazone, quinclorac, diphenamid, paraquat, glufosinate, glyphosate and
flumioxazin.
3. Bermuda Grass Cynodon cz
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped https://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/we
ia/commons/6/62/Cynodon_dactylon eds/data/media/Images/cynodon_dac
_2.jpg tylon_var._dactylon/cynodondactylon
Description
Habitat

Mechanical Method
Persistent manual removal of rhizomes and stolons can eliminate Bermuda grass from small
areas.
A high mower setting (2-3 in) can suppress bermuda grass relative to other turf grasses.
Cleaning mowers and agricultural machinery after use in infested areas can prevent dispersal of
rhizomes, stolons and seeds.
Tilling or disking as needed to expose rhizomes to sun drying or freezing temperatures can be
effective . If water/rain is applied during the drying process bermuda grass will regrow. Do not
cultivate Bermuda grass if the soil is moist, because rhizome fragments will begin to grow.
Cultivating and drying will not kill the seeds.
Cultural Method
Shading by other plants , mulches, or cloth can help to suppress Bermuda grass growth.
Using plastic to solarize moist soil for 6 weeks in summer can control small infestations.
Biological
Due to its importance as turf grass, there are no efforts to develop a biological control program
for Bermuda grass.
Chemical Method
Herbicides that can be used to eliminate Bermuda grass are Clethodim, Fluazifop, Sethoxydim,
Glyphosate and Imazapyr.
Broadleaves
4. Sicklepod Senna obtusifolia

https://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/we
https://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/
eds/data/media/Images/senna_obtus
eafrinet/weeds/key/weeds/Media/Ht
ifolia/sennaobtusifolia2lp.jpg
ml/images/Senna_obtusifolia_(Sicklep
od)/Senna_obtusifolia_from_wiki.jpg
Description
Senna obtusifolia is a short-lived (annual or biennial) shrub growing to up to 2.5 m tall, but
usually less than 2 m in height. The lower stems often sprawl along the ground in open areas.
Stems
Plants produce numerous, branched, sprawling stems that are 1.5-2 m long. These stems are
usually softly hairy (pubescent) when young, but become mostly hairless (glabrescent) with
age. The foliage has a slightly rank odour.
Leaves
The compound (pinnate) leaves are alternately arranged along the stems and are borne on
relatively short stalks (petioles) 15-20 mm long. They have two or three pairs of leaflets (17-65
mm long and 10-40 mm wide), with those further from the leaf stalk usually being larger.
The leaflets are egg-shaped in outline with the narrower end attached to the stalk (obovate) and
have rounded tips (obtuse apices). Their surfaces may be either hairless (glabrous) or sparsely
hairy (pubescent) and the entire margins are usually edged with tiny hairs (cilia). There is a
small elongated structure (gland) 1-3 mm long located on the main leaf axis (rachis) between
the lowest pair of leaflets(occasionally also between the second pair of leaflets as well).
Flowers
The yellow flowers (10-15 mm across) are borne on stalks (pedicels) 7-28 mm long. These
flowers usually occur in pairs in the leaf forks (axils) and are mostly located near the tips of the
branches. They have five green sepals (5.5-9.5 mm long) and five yellow or pale
yellow petals (8-15 mm long). Each flower also has seven fertile stamens with anthers (3-5 mm
long) that have a short narrow projection (beak) on one end.
Fruits
The fruit is a slender, are strongly curved downwards (sickle-shaped), pod (6-18 cm long and 2-
6 mm wide) that is almost round (cylindrical) in cross-section (sometimes slightly flattened or
four-angled) and curved downwards and resembles a sickle in shape. The pods turn brownish-
green as they mature and are slightly indented between each of the numerous seeds
(faintly septate). The seeds (3-6 mm long) are dark brown in colour, shiny in appearance, and
either diamond-shaped (rhomboid) or irregular in shape.
Habitat
Senna obtusifolia is a weed of disturbed sites, waste areas, roadsides, riparian zones (banks of
watercourses), floodplains, drainage channels, open woodlands, fallow land, crops and pastures
in wetter tropical and subtropical environments. It usually grows as a pasture weed but is
sometimes found along roads and in disturbed areas in rain forest.
Cultural Method
Various mulching treatments can be used to control S. tora and S. obtusifolia:

olypropylene fabric mats completely inhibit the growth of S. obtusifolia when placed over
glasshouse flats
Biological Method
Alternaria cassiae, formulated as a mycoherbicide, has given >96% control of S. obtusifolia.
Chemical Method
Use of glyphosate and glyphosate trimesium.
5. Morning Glories Ipomoea purpurea
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et/sarahraven/product/7a3c77d.0500 west/Convolvulaceae/201805/Ipomo
07_1.jpg/500x550.crop.050007_1.jpg ea_purpurea_flws_2er_1527248324.j
pg
Description
Vine up to 5 m (16.4 ft) long, distinctive heart-shaped leaves and purple to white flowers.
Stems
Glabrous or bristly-pubescent, trailing or twining.
Leaves
Alternate, leaves heart-shaped, leaf-blade ovate, entire or 3-lobed, 7.5 cm (2.95 inch) long and
wide, acuminate at the apex, cordate at the base, glabrous or pubescent. Petiole 7.5 - 9 cm (2.95 -
3.54 inch) long. First true leaf often without hairs, different shape than the subsequent leaves.
Flowers
lowers solitary or in few-flowered cymes.
Peduncle up to 12 cm (4.72 inch) long.
Pedicels 1.3-2.5 cm (0.51 - 0.98 inch) long.
Sepals lanceolate, 1.3-1.6 cm (0.51 - 0.63 inch) long, 1.5-4.5 mm (0.059 - 0.18 inch) wide,
usually not conspicuously attenuated at the apex, bristly below, finely pubescent all over.
Corolla funnel-shaped white, pink or magenta.
Tube white below, 4-5 cm (1.57 - 1.97 inch) long.
Fruits
Capsule 1.1 cm (0.43 inch) in diameter, glabrous, 3-locular, containing 4-6 seeds.
Habitat
Fallow and cultivated fields, waste ground, roadsides, railroads.
Seedlings are frail and easy to pull or hoe. Small infestations can be cut near the base of the
plant; the roots require digging out by hand. For larger infestations with many stems, cutting and
subsequent applications of herbicides are required (Defelice, 2001).
Chemical Control
The herbicides 2,4-D, atrazine, diquat, diuron, glyphosate, oxyfluorfen, pronamide and simazine
have been recommended for annual morning-glory. For large infestations, the stems can be cut
higher up (breast height) causing the upper growth to die. Then the basal stems can be cut closer
to the ground following with an undiluted (or up to 1: 3 dilution) dose of herbicide such as
glyphosate onto the stems (Halvorson, 2003).
6. Common Cocklebur Xanthium strumarium

https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/tax
on-images- https://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/5438
1000s1000/Asteraceae/xanthium- 1.jpg
strumarium-canadense-le-
Description
Relatively large, linear to oblong waxy cotyledons in the early stages of development.
Long-petiolated triangular leaves.
Stems with maroon to black stem lesions. Distinctive prickly cocklebur fruit.
Stem
Ramified, closely adjacent hairs, 15-120 cm (5.9 - 47.2 inch) high.
Leaves
Lower leaves cordate-triangular, irregularly lobed-dentate, underside thickly short-haired, upper

leaves lanceolate.
Flowers
Male inflorescences spherical, greenish, sessile on branch ends.

Female flowers single or in groups in the leaf axils.
Fruits
Small, hard, 2-chambered bur, oval in shape and about 2 cm (0.78 inch) long, covered with
strong, hooked spines.
Habitat
Disturbed ground, cropland, stream banks, edge riparian.
Mechanical Control
Hand pulling is effective on small incipient populations. Pulling is most effective before bur
development and seed dispersal.
Cultural Method
Neither grazing nor burning is considered as effective control option. Seeds and Foliage contain
a glycoside that can be fatally toxic to livestock.
Biological Method
The most promising control species appears to be Nupserha antennata, a beetle native to India
and Pakistan. Another potential biocontrol agent for Xanthium strumarium id Oedopa, which
feeds exclusively on Xanthium.
Chemical Method
Herbicides that can be used to control Xanthium are 2,4-D, Aminopyralid , Clopyralid ,
Dicamba, Fluroxypyr, Picloram, Triclopyr
https://www.daff.gov.za/Daffweb3/Portals/0/Brochures%20and%20Production
%20guidelines/Brochure%20Okra.pdf
Environmental Factors Affecting the Growth of Okra
1. Poor soil fertility

2. Inconsistent light intensity
The reduction of the incidence of sunlight, according to Queiroga et al. (2001), provides greater
dry mass production to the plants.
3. Temperature
The okra is a vegetable of hot weather and needs temperatures between 21 and 35ºC for
germination and good development

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BANANA Musa spp.

1. Bermuda Grass Cynodon Dactylon

Traditional techniques of controlling C. dactylon rely very little on manual methods, as it easily

Drechslera cynodontis, Ustilago cynodontis, Puccinia cynodontis, and Fusarium poae as fungal

A single ploughing followed by glyphosate after a regrowth of C. dactylon may provide an

Southern crabgrass Digitaria ciliaris

Smothering by legume cover crops is likely to be of value in perennial tree crops.

3. Purpletop chloris Chloris barbata

In tobacco in Thailand, clopomydim, fenoxaprop-ethyl, haloxyfop-methyl and fluazifop-butyl

1. Purple nutsedge Cyperus rotundus

It is questionable whether a cosmopolitan weed like C. rotundus with a huge regenerative

1. Blackjack Bidens Pilosa

http://tropical.theferns.in https://encrypted- https://upload.wikimedia.o

Prevention and Control

Residual herbicides:diuron, bromacil, atrazine, simazine, ropazine, hexazinone, oryzalin, and

2. Tamil Phyllanthus Maderaspatensis

Phyllanthus maderaspatensis is an erect to spreading, unbranched to much-branched, annual to

Prevention and Control

Reported that pre-emergence applications of either granular oxadiazon or pre-mixed granular

1. Small knotweed Polygonum plebeium

Prevention and Control

2. Chicken weed Portulaca quadrifida

Prevention and Control

 Male flowers minute, pale-greenish-yellow, condensed in the upper part, followed by a

Capsules 1-2 mm in diameter, green pubescent, dehiscent, concealed in the bract.

Prevention and Control

Manual weeding or hand pulling

4. Asthma weed Euphorbia hirta

Prevention and Control

5. Red spiderling Boerhavia repens var. diffusa

Flowers bisexual, regular; pedicel (0–)1–1.5 mm long; perianth tubular-campanulate, distinctly

Prevention and Control

Hand weeding and spade digging

1. Banana Pseudostem weevil Odoiporus longicollis

2. Banana Root borer Cosmopolites sordidus.

1. Plant-clumps or mats should be cleaned of plant debris.

There are no insecticides currently registered as of April 2007.

3. Banana Aphid Pentalonia nigronervosa

4. Leaf eating caterpillar Pericallia ricini

Prevention and Control

 Collect and destroy egg masses and caterpillars

 Spray chlorpyriphos 20 EC or quinalphos 25 EC 2ml/lit

5. Leaf beetles /Flea beetles Nodostoma sabcostatum, N. viridipennis.

6. Fruit and Leaf Scarring Beetle :-Colaspis hypochlora

Prevention and Control

2. Banana Freckle- Cavendish Strain

http://www.pestnet.org/fact https://www.abc.net.au/news http://www.pestnet.org/fact_

Prevention and Control

Systemic fungicides: Triazoles (e.g., propiconazole and flusilazole). Strobilurins (e.g.,

3. Black Sigatoka/ Black Leaf Streak

Prevention and Control

Various epiphytic bacteria (including Pseudomonas, Bacillus, and Serratia spp.) have been

Prevention and Control

5. Anthracnose Colletotrichum musae

Prevention and Control

Use only diseased-free planting materials

Proper selection of planting materials

Keep area free of weeds

Spray bunches twice with Pseudomonas fluorescens at 25 % or Bacillus subtilis at .2 %

6. Banana Xanthomonas Wilt

Prevention and Control

Cultural and Sanitary Methods