Module 7

Pests Management

At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to:

1. Identify the common types of pests;

2. Discuss the control measures of pests; and
3. Apply the appropriate control measures in a specific situation.

What is a pest?

In the plant world, pests refer to harmful organisms that latch on to plants,
rendering them unsuitable for harvest. While most of these organisms tend to be
insects, some fungi or plants can also be classified as pests.

Every garden is prone to pests. Some organisms are harmless but the majority
are detrimental to a plant’s roots, leaves, and overall health. This is why it is important
to carefully prune plants and adopt the necessary precautions for proper pest control.

If left untreated, pests can destroy an entire crop. It should be known that they
also affect flowers, vegetables, and fruits. Some of these harmful organisms have also
been known to spread to neighboring crops.

Pests can stunt a plant's growth, especially smaller ones, disturb the soil, harm
the foliage’s appearance, and drastically reduce the overall quality of fruits and
vegetables. When left untreated, pests often result in the plant’s death.

As far as pest control is concerned, the majority of gardeners ultimately resort

to the use of pesticides. In some cases, these can harm the actual plants and disrupt
the overall garden ecology, which is why some people choose to use organic products.

Kinds of Pest:

1. Insect

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 Any animal of the class Insecta, comprising small, air-breathing arthropods
having the body divided into three parts (head, thorax, and abdomen), and having three
pairs of legs and usually two pairs of wings.
2. Plant Disease
A plant disease is any physiological or structural abnormality that is caused by a
living organism.
3. Weeds

Plants that are competitive, persistent, pernicious, and interfere negatively with
human activity.

What is pest control?

In agriculture, pests are kept by cultural, chemical and biological means.
Plowing and cultivation of the soil before sowing reduces the pest burden and there is a
modern trend to limit the use of pesticides as far as possible. This can be achieved by
monitoring the crop, only applying insecticides when necessary, and by growing
varieties and crops which are resistant to pests. Where possible, biological means are
used, encouraging the natural enemies of the pests and introducing suitable predators
or parasites.
Pest control measures:

A. Physical/ Mechanical control

Physical control refers to mechanical or hand controls where the pest is actually
attacked and destroyed. Physical controls are used mostly in weed control. Tillage, fire,
removal by hand, grazing and mowing are all used to destroy weeds and prevent
reproduction. Some insects may also be destroyed by tillage, which destroys their eggs
or overwinter stages of growth. Weeds are not controlled through a single operation.
The use of barriers is also considered under this control measure.

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B. Biological control or biocontrol

A method of controlling pests such as insects, mites, weeds and plant diseases
using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural
mechanisms, but typically also involves an active human management role.

C. Cultural control

The management of pests (insects, diseases, weeds) by manipulation of the

environment or implementation of preventive practices including using plants that are
resistant to pests, raising the mowing height of turf to shade out weeds, aerating turf to
reduce compaction and plant stress, dethatching to remove habitat, food sources and
impediments to management, etc.

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a.Synchronize planting

b. Crop rotation

c. Modification of the field;

-raising of beds
-construction of dikes on paddy fields to conserve water when irrigating.
-construction of fences
- irrigation (Ex. flooding the rice fields for the control of weeds)
- use of disease resistant varieties.

D. Chemical control

The most common method of pest control is the use of pesticides-chemicals

that either kill pests or inhibit their development. Pesticides are often classified
according to the pest they are intended to control. For example, insecticides are used to
control insects; herbicides to control weeds; fungicides, fungi; rodenticides, rodents; and
bactericides to control bacteria.

E. Integrated pest management (IPM)

A broad-based approach that integrates practices for economic control of pests.

IPM aims to suppress pest populations below the economic injury level (EIL). The UN's
Food and Agriculture Organization defines IPM as "the careful consideration of all
available pest control techniques and subsequent integration of appropriate measures
that discourage the development of pest populations and keep pesticides and other

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interventions to levels that are economically justified and reduce or minimize risks to
human health and the environment. IPM emphasizes the growth of a healthy crop with
the least possible disruption to agro-ecosystems and encourages natural pest control
mechanisms." Entomologists and ecologists have urged the adoption of IPM pest
control since the 1970s. IPM allows for safer pest control. Here are the steps you will
take to make your IPM plan:
 Decide what to grow that will prevent pest from getting into your crops.
 Watch your crops as they grow to be sure they are healthy.
 If a pest becomes a problem, find out what kind of pest it is.
 Use natural ways to get rid of the pest.
 If nothing else works, use the right kind and amount of pesticides to kill
pest.

Ecological Pest Management (EPM) – a wide arrays of techniques and controls to

effectively reduce or eliminate damage from insects, diseases and weeds without
sacrificing the good of the soil, water, or beneficial organisms.

Approaches of EPM

 Biocontrol
Modification of the environment or
existing practices to protect and enhance specific
natural enemies or other organisms to reduce the
effect of pests.

 Host plant resistance

Pertain to a plant's ability to resist damaging insect
invasions. Some plants use their physical appearance

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as a deterrent such as plants that have hair covering their leaves or plants with a thick
leaf cuticle.

 Bio pesticides
Certain types of pesticides derived from such
natural materials as animals, plants, bacteria,
and certain minerals.

Insect Pests

Insects and humans co-habit the Earth and have developed complex
relationships. Insect pests (less than 1% of all species) are those insects that feed on,
compete for food with, or transmit diseases to humans and livestock. Ecosystems
modified by human activities have provided opportunities for insects, and species that
successfully adapt often become pests.

Examples of Insect Pests:

Aphids
Aphids suck the sap out of tender plant
shoots and leaves. They suck sap in
through their beak-like mouths, while
injecting leaves with their saliva.

Tomato Hornworm
These large green worms can gobble a
mature tomato plant almost overnight.
The worms hide under leaves during the
daytime.

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 Whiteflies
The first line of defense against whiteflies
is prevention. Check plants regularly.
Avoid high-nitrogen fertilizers, which
create young, succulent growth, which
these insects love.

Mealy Bugs
The mealybug commonly feeds on cacti,
succulents, and other houseplants. It
causes leaf and stem distortion.

Leaf Miners
Leaf miners eat through leaf tissue
leaving distinctive colored lines or
blotches in the foliage where they have
tunneled. Cover plants with garden fabric
to shield from attacks.

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 Armyworm

Feeds on rice by cutting off leaves and

young seedlings at the plant's base.
They can also cut off rice panicles from
base. Armyworm damage can be
mistaken for cutworm feeding. The
characteristic form of armyworm
damage is leaf removal. To confirm,
check for the presence of the insect and
its egg mass.

Planthopper

High population of planthoppers cause

leaves to initially turn orange-yellow
before becoming brown and drying.
This condition, called hopperburn, kills
the plant. Planthoppers can be a
problem in rainfed and in irrigated
wetland environments. It also occurs in
areas with continuous submerged
conditions in the field, high shade, and
humidity

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 Grasshopper

The grasshopper's mobility makes it

hard to treat with ordinary insecticides.
Try handpicking if you can stand it.

Plant diseases

Plant diseases can affect plants of all ages and in various seasons. Most
diseases are named by the symptoms they display in the plant. With all diseases, it is
important to quickly identify and treat the ailment to prevent growth spurts and potential
plant death. Very often, pruning, weeding, or a medical dust or spray can treat the
majority of botanic ailments.
Example of plant diseases:

Bacterial Leaf Blight

This bacterial disease is particularly

severe on legumes in eastern and
southern North America. Foliage and
pods display water-soaked spots that dry
and drop out. On stems, lesions are long
and dark colored. Some spots may ooze
a bacterial slime. To control, plant
resistant cultivars, remove infected
plants, and dispose of plant debris. Use a
3-year rotation and don't touch plants
while they are wet, as you may spread
the disease.

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 Powdery Mildew
White powdery spreading patches of
fungus on upper or lower leaf surfaces,
flowers, and fruit. It can prevent in the
method of mulching and with the use of
fungicides.

Rust
The small yellowish uredinia( are observed
initially in the dark dots that progressively
acquire a light brown to red brown color and
open in a minute pore releasing the colorless)
appear in linear rows on the leaf. A single
infection can result in a stripe the length
of the leaf. To prevent it use a resistant
cultivalrs. Control of volunteer wheat and
seeding dates and the use of fungicide
sprays.

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 Soft rot

This caused by pathogens that secrete

enzymes capable of decomposing cell wall
structures, thereby destroying the texture of
plant tissue—i.e., the plant tissue becomes
macerated (soft and watery). There is no
effective treatment. You will need to remove
and dispose of infected plants as soon as
possible to avoid further damage to other
plants.

Three classification of weeds

a. Sedges
b. Grass
c. Broadleaves

Sedges

The Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants

known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses and rushes. The family is large,
with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the
"true sedges" genus Carexv with over 2,000 species. These species are widely
distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group occurring in tropical Asia and
tropical South America. While sedges may be found growing in almost all environments,
many are associated with wetlands, or with poor soils. Ecological communities
dominated by sedges are known as sedge lands.

Example of Sedges:

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 Cyperus difformis

It is also called small flower umbrella

plant. Grows well in flooded or moist
fertile soils and common in lowland rice.

Cyperus iria

Common names are rice flatsedge and

umbrella sedge. It thrives in wetland rice,
dryland annual crops, and plantation
crops.

Fimbristylis miliacea

Its common names are lesser

fimbristylis, grasslike fimbristylis, and
hoorahgrass. Its seeds can germinate
immediately after reaching maturity.

Grass

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 Monocotyledonous plant of the family Poaceae (also called Gramineae)
characterized by having narrow-blade, sheathing leaves, jointed stems.

Example of Grasses:

Echinochloa colona
Common names are jungle rice and
awnless barnyard grass. Plant flowers
throughout the year and is propagated by
seeds.

Echnochloa crus-galli

Also known as common barnyardgrass,

this plant flowers throughout the year and
can produce seeds within 60 days.

Leptochloa chinensis

It is a serious weed of rice. Its ability to

withstand waterlogged conditions as well
as drained, moist conditions makes it a
problem weed in rice. Also known as
chinese sprangletop

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Broadleaves

Broadleaf weeds are dicots with paired cotyledons (two seed leaves that usually
appear during germination) and are characterized by their broad leaves with a network
of veins.

Broadleaf weeds have distinct leaf shapes and surface characteristics that can
be used in identification. The arrangement of leaves on stems can also be a useful
identification aid. Leaves either are alternately arranged (when a leaf grows from a node
on one side of the stem and another is produced on the opposite side further up the
stem) or arranged opposite one another.
Example of Broadleaves:

Eclipta prostata
A widespread and has adapted to a
range of environments. Its common
name is false daisy.

Portulaca oleracea

An annual that reproduces by tiny black

seeds and stem fragments. This weed
appears in late spring or early summer
and likes warm weather and rich, fertile
soil. Its common name is puslane.

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 Peperomia pellucida

Also known by common names pepper

elder, shining bush plant, and man to
man.An annual, shallow-rooted herb,
usually growing to a height of about 15 to
45 cm (6 to 18 inches), it is characterized
by succulent stems, shiny, heart-shaped,
fleshy leaves and tiny, dot-like seeds
attached to several fruiting spikes.

Ludwigia hyssopifolia

Also known as seedbox and linear leaf

water primrose, this can be a serious rice
weed on both clay-loam and clay soils,
and in lowland rice fields.

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