I am often being questioned to resolve the mealy-bug infestations in their aesthetic and food gardens by numerous people. Most of the time it is hibiscus/China-rose which is being infested and set the alarm bells ringing.
Pink hibiscus mealy-bug is serious pest of plants belonging to hibiscus/malvaceae family including edibles like okra and fiber cotton. This is major problem in warm-temperature days and in dry climate. It is pink coloured nymphs which suck the sap from plants. Even controlling mealy-bug infestations with harsh chemicals has been failed. The other way around applications of simple home-made/in-situ formulations do work well.
Why controlling/killing mealy-bug is challenging?
- Simply, because it is thick-skinned insect with protective waxy layer/coating over the skin.
- It is being devoid of fluid/blood means less watery.
Key to control
As mentioned it is being covered with thick protective waxy layer/coating and devoid of blood/fluid in body, application of alcohol and soap holds the key/Brahmastra. Alcohol would dissolve the wax layer and soap would penetrate and promote ex-osomosis, desiccating mealy-bugs to death.
Solutions/remedies
- Wash/spray the infested plants with simply soap-water regularly. You may use 5 gm synthetic soap per liter water or boil 10-12 seeds kernels of soap-nut berries for organic soap water.
- Take 100 gm rice powder 100 gm soap-nut powder/seed kernels. Get mixture boil in 1 liter water. Let it cool down and keep remain for minimum 3 days to ferment (rice starchy water would ferment to natural alcohol, right!!) Use 8-10 ml of solutions third day onward.
- Mixture of 10 ml of drinkable alcohol and 50 ml concentrated soap-nut berries concentrated liquid could works well.
- Mixed solution of 10 ml vinegar 10 gm jaggery/sugar per liter once in 3 days of water helps to ward-off ants from farming mealy-bugs (ants and mealy-bugs have symbiotic relationship. Ants help mealy-bug nymphs to transfer new branches and save from predator).
No comments:
Post a Comment