Planting Garlic as a Pest Control In your Garden

Garlic is one of the strongest pest control methods in gardens. While using it, plant it around areas where pests are a problem Most insects are repelled by the smell.

However, even the beneficial insects may be repelled by the garlic. This means that care must be taken while planting it so as not to loose the beneficial insects.

To control moles, Use one whole or crushed garlic and place directly into their tunnels. The odor of garlic is very strong to their sensitive nose, and this will encourage them abandon the area. Garlic plants also work as a great deterrent So planting garlic as a companion plant is helpful to eliminate a mole or rats.

Using garlic water for plants can also work as a tonic that seeps into the soil and disrupts the harmful insects that usuallyhide  there. moles  will avoid digging in the dirt that has been treated with garlic water.

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The secret inTephrosia: Control of the distructive mole rats

Tephrosia is effective at controlling mole rats

Under ground rats feed on the roots and lower stems of many crop types including sweet potatoes and cassava. This leads to death of plants there by causing to low yields which affects farmers. They are among the most destructive pests to these crops as they can affect the whole garden.

To control mole rats effectively, plant scattered plants of tephrosia in
the garden and as a boarder around the whole garden.

The Leaves and roots of this tree contain a toxic compound called rotenone, which when eaten by rats can kill them. It also leads to death of many othe r insect types when eaten.

How ever after controlling the rats, remove the plant from the garden as it is dangerous to many other animals.

Also after removing it avoid planting beans and tomatoes because it spreads root note nematodes which mostly affect these 2 crop types. Plant such crops may be after 2 years.

 

By Mary Nakirya

How to control ticks in cattle

Mary Nakirya

Ticks transmit  many diseases to cattle,goats and sheep leading to heavy losses to the farmers.

Control them by getting 20 grams of dried tobacco leaves,add a pinch of water and keep for six hours. After that time, add 5 litres of water and spray on the affected animals. Also you may spray in the house for effective control.

Crushed tephrosia can also  be used as a spray against ticks.

It is advisable to spray or deep once a week until no signs are seen.

What farmers should know about avocado thrips.

By Mulopi Joseph; Mayuge

Most farmer enjoy planting and eating avocado in their homes because it has a higher nutrient values. The problem is that some end up harvesting avocado fruits with brown patches or spots on the fruit skins. This may be due to the damage done by thrips. But in most cases the farmer is un aware.
Thrips belong to the insect order of Thysanoptera which means fringe wings, and there are many species of thrips known of which just 1% are pests.
Thrips is a Latin word from the Greek for wood louse; and they are typically small, slender bodied insects a round 0.5-15cm in length. Although winged, thrips are poor fliers; they can be transported long distances by winds or storms. The majority of thrips feed on plant juice, some species are predators, and others feed on pollen, fungi, decaying vegetations or are omnivorous.
Thrips have usual mouth parts in that they only have one mandible and this single mandible is used like a needle to puncture plant tissue from which food and liquids are siphoned into the mouth through a straw like structure which is formed from moveable appendages around the mouth.
Female thrips lay eggs in the incision made into soft plant tissue with the ovipositor and eggs are kidney shaped and whitish – yellow color; the predator thrips type lays eggs on leaf surfaces. Following egg hatch, thrips pass through two actively feeding immature stages called larvae and all thrips species have more than one pupil stage.
The first pupil stage is the propupa and the second is the pupae and thrips don’t feed as pupae and many drop into the soil and leaves. Adult thrips move back onto the host plant to commence feeding and reproduction.
When they are disturbed they run to the leaf edges and move to the leaf under surface and larvae’s are most commonly found on the underside of the leaves. Avocado thrips larvae and adult feed on developing fruits while hiding under. This destroys the fruits.