Symptoms Treatment and Prevention of Phytophthora Dieback Dieback of plants is the symptom of Phytophthora infection. The plant pathogen called Phytophthora cinnamomi is the cause for dieback. This plant pathogen specifically attacks the root system of plants like zamia palms, azaleas, roses, grass trees, avacados. Australian natives that are highly susceptible are jarrah, wattle, grevilleas and banksias. This soil-borne water mould affects about 40% of the native plants in Western Australia and more than half of endangered species in the region. Agricultural as well as garden plants get affected by Phytophthora. This mould is highly invasive and even moving a small amount of soil containing the mould can spread the infection. Symptoms The symptoms of Phytophthora dieback infection vary for plant parts above the ground and below the ground. The symptoms on plant parts above the ground are Wilting and yellowing of leaves and dieback Woody stems develop canker and wilt Rotting of growing points Decreased fruit size Gum exudation from fruits and stems Decline in plant yield Below the ground Roots show soft rot of cortex Root cankers leading to plant death As the dieback attack spreads faster in landscapes, the symptoms include Quick death of host plants Greater
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Get to Know Spined Citrus Bug Better The Spined citrus bug or biprorulus bibax is a pest of citrus fruits. This insect feeds on the fruits of mandarins, lemons and oranges and cause brown staining and drying of fruit segments or gumming on the fruit skin. This may result in the premature drop of citrus fruits. This insect is native to Australia. The insect became a pest in 1980’s. All the adult insects are green in colour and are 15 to 20 mm in length. On the dorsal side of the thorax, a small sharp pointed spine is seen that sticks out of each side in the shoulder area, hence the name Spined Citrus Bug. The adult, as well as the nymphs, feeds on citrus fruits. However this insect prefers lemons over other citrus species. These bugs can pierce the rind of the citrus fruits of any stage. The adult bugs can fly and squirts a caustic liquid when disturbed or touched. Spined Citrus Bug Lifecycle The adult bugs lay eggs on the leaves, twigs or on fruits of the plant in clusters of 4 to 36. The lifecycle of the bug includes egg stage, nymphal stage, and adult stage.
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How To Kill Off Persistent Azolla Weed Very Well Azolla, also known as Water Fern or Mosquito Fern, is the fastest growing freshwater plant. The symbiotic association of Azolla with blue, green alga Anabaena provides it with nitrogen, which helps the plant to grow its biomass very fast. Azolla floats on water with its small scale-like leaves and their roots under water. This plant can colonize the freshwater areas at great speed. They are used as bio fertiliser, but are considered as a weed as they entirely cover the water bodies. Depending on the exposure of the plant to the sun, the Azolla can appear green or red in colour. The excess growth of the plant can block the water pumps and their filters. Azolla in water bodies can reduce the oxygen content in water. Therefore care should be taken to control the weed, if the Azolla weed is not treated and takes over. Beyond a doubt, it can kill off live fish and frogs spawning eggs masses. Why it is simple, swimming animals cannot survive under water without oxygen. Preventing Excessive Growth The excessive growth of Azolla plants can be prevented by reducing the amount of nutrients reaching the
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Grasshoppers And The Damage They Inflict On Plants Grasshoppers are the most common insects that you will come across in your gardens, fields, crops and forests. These insects are herbivorous and can tolerate any climate. This is why they are seen worldwide. Grasshoppers belong to the Caelifera suborder and Orthoptera order. They are the oldest chewing herbivores insects and can swarm and destroy crops, vegetables, and pasture. They have very powerful hind legs that will help them to easily jump vigorously when they are attacked. This is why they cannot be caught that easily. Some of the species of grasshoppers have the tendency to change colour and behaviour. When they form swarms, they are known as locusts. Grasshoppers Natural Control Golden spangled hamburg chooks love to eat grasshoppers, chasing them is best exercise for them. During the hot summer days the chooks spend a lot of time amusing themselves trying to catch them from around the daylilies and eating them. I worry that my prized golden spangled hamburgs will eat too many and this will kill them, because of this I lock them up for several days at a time. Life Cycle Of Grasshoppers A grasshopper begins its life as
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Paterson’s Curse Plant All About The Invasive Weed Paterson’s Curse (Echiumplantagineum) belongs to Boraginaceae. This is native to the Mediterranean region and is an invasive plant in Australia growing in pastures and roadsides. The plant got its name from the Paterson family, Jane Patterson in Cumberoona, New South Wales. This plant was first planted it in their garden in the 1880s. The plant is called as Salvation Jane, Riverina Bluebell, Blueweed or Lady Campbell weed in other parts of Australia. This weed replaces the desirable plants in the pastures in southern Australia and is causing great loss of cattle and sheep producers. This perennial plant is 10-150 cm tall it produces branches as the plant ages and bears purple or blue trumpet shaped flowers. The flowers are produced in clusters and contain five petals. Paterson’s Curse and Cattle Though Patterson’s Curse plant is used as food by grazing animals in drought situations, it can be fatally poisonous within a handful of days to animals, which do not have a ruminant digestive system like the horse. It is also poisonous to pigs and young or breeding stock of cattle. This plant contains the poisonous alkaloid called Pyrrolizidine and when consumed in
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Do Earwigs Bite? Their Lifecycle – Control and Damage to Plants Earwigs are insect pests, which live and hide in cool damp areas amongst dead and decaying plant matter. They are distributed widely in Asia, Africa, Australia and North America. Various types of earwigs are nocturnal in habit. These unlovely insects feast upon different creepy crawlies, rotting natural matter and our favourite garden plants. At night time is when earwigs are busily eating on anything including mosses and lichens but their favourite diet is feeding on other insects, leaves of lush green foliage plants or the fresh buds and petals of newly made flowers. The earwig or pincher bug grow half inch long and has forceps-like pincers on their abdomen. Though they are not dangerous to humans, they can insert the pincers into the human skin in self defence. The pincers are useful for capturing the prey and for mating. The earwigs get their name through the myth that earwigs crawl into a sleeping persons ear and bore into their brain. But they do live in the dark and moist areas outdoors, if they can get indoors into the house they like the same environment and surrounds where they like
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Centipedes Millipedes And Their Life Cycle Millipedes are detritivores found commonly in the garden. They feed on dead, decaying and all ready rotted away plant matter. They are commonly seen under the rocks, decaying logs or in leaf litter in the sun or shade. Though the word millipede means a thousand legs, they actually have less than 100 legs. When threatened, millipedes coil its body to form a spiral. Millipedes are very slow moving when compared to centipedes. Millipedes cannot sting, but produces foul smelling chemicals, which can burn or blister your skin. Millipedes can attack certain garden plants and bulbs by the stems and the roots but they don’t usually kill plants. Centipedes are mainly nocturnal in habit and mainly feed on insects in the garden. They do not harm the garden plants. Centipedes are venomous and they can sting humans. The effects of the poison include swelling, pain, discolouration and numbness. How to Differentiate a Millipede From Centipede? Millipedes are red or dark brown in colour with an elongated tubular body and have two pairs of legs on each body segment. Centipedes are flatter than millipedes and have a pair of well-developed antennae at the anterior end. They
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Thrips – How To Avoid Damages Caused By Thrips In Your Garden? Description of Thrips Thrips are very small insects with a slender body. They are a common pest of garden plants and crop plants. The adult insect is less than 1/25th of an inch and either black or straw coloured. There are wingless as well as winged varieties. What Do Thrips Eat? They have asymmetrical mouth parts to extract the plant sap. One of the mandibles is a bit longer than the other. Apart from damaging the plant parts like leaves and buds by sucking the juice, they also lay eggs on fruits and leaves. This causes discolouration of fruits and leaves. Some thrips feed on the buds and leaves of the plant where as there are varieties that feed on other insects by sucking the juice out of their body. Flower buds that die before opening and stippled leaves are an indication of thrips attack. Lifecycle of Thrips During the spring season, the female troops emerge from the pupal stage and start laying the eggs in the plant tissues of leaves, flowers and stems. Male insects are rare and are smaller than the female. They lay eggs without
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How To Get Rid Of Squash Bugs Organically?   Squash bug or Anasa Tristis is one of the pest affecting plants belonging to cucurbit family and pumpkins. The adults as well as the nymphs attack the plants and suck the juices out of the leaves leaving the plants to die eventually. The leaves of the infected plant will turn brown and brittle. The insect has sucking mouthparts which help them to inject toxins into the plant and suck the juices out of the plant. The insect lays eggs on the underside of the leaves. The nymphs and adults cluster beneath the foliage along the vines and of unripe fruits. Young plants are more prone to damage if the squash bugs are not controlled. Identification of Squash Bug The adult squash bugs have brownish-black wings and are more than ½ inch long. There are orange stripes on the sides and underside of the abdomen. They have a hard shell and a shield like a shape on its dorsal side. The young nymphs have a black head and light green abdomen. The nymphs become grey in colour and have black coloured legs when they grow larger. They feed voraciously and are seen
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Spider Mites How to control and Treat Red Spider Mites? Spider mites are tiny arachnids which attack the indoor and outdoor plants. The adult mites are pale or reddish brown in colour and are oval shaped and are only 1/50th of an inch by size. Large colonies can be identified by the presence of fine webs. The host plants include ornamental flowers, beans, tomatoes, strawberries, melons, eggplant, etc. This pest is common in hot and dry areas. It is difficult to see the mites with the naked eye. They are passed on to other plants in the outdoor and indoor garden by wind, pets and humans. It is necessary to dispose of the infested plant to protect the other plants in your garden. How do Spider Mites Damage Plants? These mites form colonies on the underside of the leaves and feeds on the plant tissues by piercing it and suck out the plant fluids. As the spider mites continue to feed on the plants, the leaves start to turn yellow and dry up completely. The spider mites attack the leaves and prevent the chances of proper transpiration by the plant from closing the stomatal pores on the underside of the
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