Although many pests and diseases are fatal for the wheat crop, but root aphid and leaf aphid pests cause a lot of damage.
Farmers are unable to identify these pests and by the time they are able to identify them, a lot of damage has been done.
Identification & Damages –
Root aphid is light green in colour. This insect damages the underground stem and roots of crops like wheat, barley and oats etc. Root aphid lives as a colony and suck the sap from the roots.
Around the affected plants, ants become active which feed on the sweet sticky substance and spread the root aphid to healthy plants. In some cases, ants have a tendency to aphids and feed on the sweet sticky fluid
excreted by the aphids, and the ants protect the aphids from natural enemies. High temperature and zero tillage technology further enhances the activity of this pest. This pest can cause damage of up to 15-20 percent to the crop.
These pests are often difficult to control when the number of aphids becomes high and they begin to distort the leaves.
Management –
Seed should be treated with Imidacloprid 17.8 SL before sowing.
Check your plants regularly for aphids at least twice a week when plants are growing rapidly in order to catch infestations early so that we can hose them off or prune them out.
For effective pest control, apply Neem oil 3 kg per hectare after 21 days of sowing with irrigation.
