Teacher I

What is this lesson about?

This lesson focuses on controlling insect pests

and diseases of vegetable crops.
LET US DEFINE

Insect- a tiny invertebrate animal with three pairs of legs and

usually with wings. It has three marked body regions: the
head, thorax, and abdomen.

Disease- an abnormal condition that injures the plant or

causes it to malfunction. A disease is any disturbance that
interferes with the standard structure. (height, tillers, leaves.)
function (reduced vigor, early death) and economic value (
reduced yield, poor quality produce) of the plants( host )
LET US DEFINE
Symptom- the physical expression of a change in the appearance and
function of the plant.

Signs- the visible presence of the pathogen.

Pathogen-a causal agent of diseases. In the broader sense, it is any that

causes a disease. The term generally refers to living organisms like fungi,
bacteria, and viruses.

Pesticides- a broad term that describes all products used to control insects,
diseases, weeds, fungi, and other ‘pests” on plants, animals, and buildings.
LET US DEFINE

Susceptible- easily affected or capable of being

influenced.

Virulent- noxious, poisonous, infective, or

malignant.

Vector- the transmitter or carrier of a disease.

We have learned how to apply fertilizer to keep our
crops healthy. Well this seems not enough. We still
need to keep them away from pests and diseases.
Hmm… let’s learn more about this.
Crop protection is another significant aspect of crop
production. Losses have been experienced brought about by
damage caused by insects, diseases, weeds, and other pests.
Weeds have been observed to cause most crop damage,
followed by insects and diseases. Fungi, bacteria, or virus
causes the conditions commonly encountered.

All these factors do not favor high and quality yield as well as
maximum income on the part of the crop producer.
•What are insects? Insects belong to the class Insecta, with three pairs of legs and three distinct body regions
(head, thorax, and abdomen). This group of animals dominates the earth in number and is found everywhere.

•What are the uses of insects to man? Insects have many benefits for humanity. They are natural pollinators;
without them, many crops could not be produced. They serve as food to birds, fishes, and other higher animals, even
to man. They have products with commercial uses, like honey, wax, silk, etc. They also help clean surroundings as
scavengers and sometimes help check harmful animals being predators or parasites. However, they also cause
enormous losses to crops and other products if uncontrolled.

•What is the life cycle of insects? By the nature of their life cycle, insects generally feed on crops. Different stages
of development affect crops in various forms. According to their life cycle, there are two classes of insects: simple
and complete metamorphosis. Those with simple changes undergo the egg, nymph, and adult stages. Grasshoppers,
rice bugs, and cotton stainers fall under this type. Most insects under complete metamorphosis include four stages:
egg, larva, pupa, and adult.
➢ Damage Caused by Insects to Crops

Insects damage or destroy crops in various ways:

1. Chewing leaves, buds, stems, bark, and fruits. Adults and nymphs of grasshoppers and larvae of
Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) caused this damage.

1. Sucking the sap from leaves, buds, stems, and fruits. Aphids, plant lice, and cotton stainers have
the habit of sucking juice.

1. Boring or tunneling in the bark, stem, twig, fruits, nuts, or seeds. Borers, worms, and weevils

1. Causing cancerous growth on the part within which they feed or live.

1. Attacking roots and underground stems in any way mentioned above.

1. Moth and cutworms Laying eggs in some parts.

1. Ants were taking parts of plants to construct nests or shelters.

➢ Methods of Insect Control

Insects, as mentioned, are both valuable and harmful to crops and

humanity. So, caution must be observed in controlling them to minimize
the damage they cause to crops. The main concern of controlling insects
should not be to eradicate them but to reduce their density in an area.
Otherwise, the ecological imbalance will happen.

Rule of thumb says: the best time to apply control measures in insects’ is
before it readies the economic threshold levels, the density at which control
measures should be used to prevent the increasing population from reaching
economic injury level.
 Knowledge of adequately identifying insects is also necessary to
effectively control them. Two methods are determined to control insects:
the applied and natural or biological.

1. Applied method. This involves using chemicals like insecticides and

pesticides and physical and mechanical control measures. Physical
and mechanical control uses gadgets or designed machines to help
control insect pests. An excellent example is trapping, hand picking,
and destroying eggs, larvae, nymphs, pupae, and adults.
Another physical control measure is cultural methods or
management like crop rotation, planting trap crops, pruning or
thinning, weeding, and using resistant varieties.

Insecticides and pesticides of various brands are widely

available. However, proper care must be observed in using
these agents. Correct dosage must be followed with
appropriate handling; otherwise, public health and safety will
be at stake.
2. Natural or biological method. This involves
introducing natural enemies, predators, and
parasites to a specific population of insects to
check on certain species.
. Anexample is the introduction of the ladybird
beetle (Hippodamia convergens) to bean aphids
and Trichograma (borer-eating insect) to corn
attacked by corn borers.
 Major Insect Pests of Vegetables
Crops/Insects Appearance/Damage

Brassica (pechay, radish,

cabbage, cauliflower, mustard)

Tiny brown adult moth(7-9mm) w/ yellowish

▪ Diamond back moth white stripes w/ 3 lobes along inner margins
of the forewings when at rest. Females lay
tiny ovoid eggs singly on the leaves and
petioles, which are pale yellow later orange
turning darker until hatched. "Newly hatched
larvae are green to yellowish green in color.
After 7 –10 days, the larvae form a silken
cocoon on the leaves for pupation and adult
emerge 3-6 days after pupation.
▪ Cabbage moth Larvae damage at early vegetative stage of
the crop results to perforation on the leaves,
heads in cabbage not formed, and
cellophane-like outer epidermis of lower
surface of leaves are formed.

Rusty or brownish-gray forewings, semi-

hyaline to pale yellow hindwings w/ 2
minute white pots on the wing disc on
forewings. Larva is green to yellow green w/ 3
white parallel lines running along the back
and two others along each side. Damage is
non-head formation on cabbage, perforation
on leaves, and presence of holes on cabbage
heads.
Cucurbits (upo, squash, Injurious during dry season, both
ampalaya, chayote, adult has opaque white forewings
condol, cucumber,patola, bordered by shiny dark brown bands. Eggs
watermelon) are laid singly on under surface of leaves,
takes 3-5 days to hatch. Newly hatched eggs
feed on under surface of young leaves- Most
▪ Ampalaya leaf folder injurious are on the 4th -5th instars which spin
thin silken webs used to fold the leaves.
Larval stage takes 10-20 days and mature
larva is greenish w/ a pair of parallel white
stripes at the back- Pupation takes place in
the folded leaf
▪ Melon fruit fly Damage is mostly on fruits but

sometimes observed in roots, stems, leaves,

and flowers. Adult is yellowish to orange.
Female lays eggs by inserting the lustrous white
ellipsoidal eggs into the fruits, Incubation
ranges from 4-5 days.

Maggots or larva make tunnels into fruits

feeding on the pulp and seeds. Infested fruits
turned yellow and fall. Larval stage is 5-7 days
w/ full-grown maggots fall down to the soil to
pupate. Adult comes out after 7-11 days.
Legumes (beans, cowpea, bush It makes egg punctures on leaves
sitao)
near the base of leaf, maggots bore holes into
leaves and stem. Adult is small black fly.
Larval stage is 4-5 days and pupae are found
▪ Bean fly inside mined parts.
• Black bean aphid
This infests on almost all legumes, it
harms by sucking the sap and
transmitting diseases in the
process. It is shiny black soft-
bodied, wingless and reproduced
w/out fertilization. Adult is 2-3mm
in length, usually leaves
symbiotically with ants- Infested
plant is stunted w/ mottling and
curling of leaves and yield is much
reduced.
• Black bean aphid This infests on almost all legumes, it harms by
sucking the sap and transmitting diseases in
the process. It is shiny black soft-bodied,
wingless and reproduced w/out fertilization.
Adult is 2-3mm in length, usually leaves
symbiotically with ants- Infested plant is
stunted w/ mottling and curling of leaves and
yield is much reduced.
• Common cutworm Adults are brown w/ forewings marked w/ white
and brown streaks. Eggs are laid in clusters of
35-500 on leaf tip and on central leaf surfaces,
covered w/ short brownish yellow hairs and
hatch in 3-4 days. Full-grown larva is greenish-
brown. Larval stage is completed 14-18 days,
adult emerges 8-11 days after pupation.
Larvae are voracious leaf feeders at night,
during daytime they are buried shallow in the
ground. Damage plants have irregular holes
on the leaves and may not have any leaf at all.
• Bean pod borer Adult moth has pale brown forewings w/ dark
brown patch on the middle. Oval greenish-
white eggs are laid singly or in groups of 2-10
in the blossoms. Larval stage is completed 10
days after laid; pupation takes place in the
ground and adult emerges after 6 days. Larvae
feed on flower buds and young pods, so yield
is much reduced.
▪ Bean leaf folder Adult moth is brownish-orange in color. Minute
circular eggs are laid singly or in groups on
leaves. Larva is lustrous green w/ brown head
and spins silky webs and folds on leaves
where it feeds and pupates. Folded leaves
characterized the damage so yield is much
affected.
Solanaceous crops (eggplant, Adult moth is 18-28mm in length w/ wing
pepper, tomato) expanse of 40.37mm. has forewings, light
grayish, olive-green or greenish, light yellow-
▪ Tomato fruitworm brown fading to light straw w/ greenish brown
shade variably marked w/ black, brown, gray
pink of brick red. Dome-shaped grayish-yellow
eggs w/ flattened basal portion are laid

singly on stem, leaves, and flower buds, hatch

w/in 3-5 days. Newly hatched larvae crawl to
young leaves and feed voraciously on tissues.
Larvae also attack fruits. Larval period ranges
from 17-25 days. Pupate in the soil for 12-14
days. Cut tissues on the stem, shoot, and
leaves and discolored holes result from tomato
fruitworm infestation; yield is much affected.
Most destructive on tomato.
• 28-spotted ladybird beetle Small brownish-yellow beetle, ovoid in outline
w/ 28 spots in the homy forewings that feed on
leaves of tomato and eggplant. Attacks 2-3
weeks after transplanting so it affects

the growth of the plant. Lays orange spindle-

shaped eggs in batches of 9-55 eggs/mass.
Eggs hatch w/in 3-5 days, larvae are dark
yellow/black spine-like structures and feed on
undersurface of leaves. Larval period is 16-23
days, pupation occurs on stem and leaf
surfaces, adults emerge 2-7 days after. Adult
and larva scrape lower side of leaves, extreme
cases leaves are skeletonized.
Sweet potato Adult is lemon-colored w/ 9 black spots on
each forewing and 4 black bars on outer
margins. Eggs are laid on lower surface of
leaves and stems, hatch in 9-10 days, larvae
• Tortoise beetle w/ 34 black and straight spines, voracious
young leaf feeders usually arrange themselves
close together in a row along margin or leaves
while resting. Presence of irregular holes on
leaves on the leaves results from beetle attack.
• Potato weevil This infests potato after tuber formation. Adult
weevil is 6mm long and 1.5mm wide w/ head
drawn into a small snout; compact, and has
metallic forewings. Eggs are laid on main stem
or directly into the tuber. In 6-9 days minute
white and legless grubs appear and feed and
bore into the vines of tubers. Larval stage is
completed in 16-25 days, pupation occurs in 4-
10 days inside the larval tunnel. Both adults
and grubs injure the plant by feeding on stem
or tuber giving sites for microorganisms

infection which gives tomato tuber foul odor

and bitter taste. Eating quality and yield is
much reduced.
Thank you!