Importance Of Pests In Agriculture

Pests are animals that cause damage to cultivated plants. Some such as slugs, snails, and rabbits are well known; however some such as mites, eelworms, woodlice, and millipedes are less well known but can be just as troublesome. The largest group are insects, such as the white butterfly, greenfly and the red spider mite who attacks leaves and roots , birds who eat the buds of fruit, aphids such as the whitefly, slugs who are active at night eating vegetables and herbaceous plants, and the bad nematodes who have quick life cycles i.e. Eelworms. All pests are capable of indirectly damaging other plants by spreading fungal or viral diseases.

Disease is any pathological condition caused by other organisms such as bacteria, fungal or viruses. These affect the growth of the plant and in some cases can kill it. Such fungi could be powdery mildew, rust, damping off, honey fungus and brown rot. Bacterial disease could be bacterial canker and viruses can infect fruit, vegetables, and ornamentals. The virus infects the whole of the plant and not just where you

It can be very effective but it may be harmful if not used correctly. Different methods of chemical control include contact weed killer, it kills the part of the weed that is touched. It is fast acting and suitable for annual weeds. It is not as suitable for perennial weeds. Systematic weed killer moves within the sap stream and kills the whole weed. This is suitable for both annual and perennial weeds. Residual control goes to the roots and kills the weeds below the ground as they germinate. Some of the damage chemical weeds killers can cause are inhalation, skin or eye contact damage, and environmental damage on plants in your own garden and possibly your neighbour’s garden. You should always read the label as chemical weed killers are potentially life threatening to humans, animals and other