Pests in farms and their control measures:

In a view for educating farmers to be aware of the pests that prevail in farms this content has been developed:

Insects:

A few harmful insects are:

• Cabbage Butterfly - This butterfly in the larva stage feeds on Cabbage leaves and causes heavy loss in the cabbage gardens.

• Colorado potato beetle - Initially this type of beetle is fed on the buffalo bur plant, and then it migrates to the potato field and damages the crops.

• Tomato Horn worms - These types of worms feed only on solanaceous plants (Night shading plants) like Tomato.

• Corn borers - Corn fields and belts are facing a menace of this kind of pest.

• Sugarcane borers - Sugarcane stem is dented by drilling holes on the stalk of the plant.

Measures: Regular spraying of Bio-pesticides like Neem oil in the farms can control the above mentioned insects up to an extent. Neem oil in the form cakes or pellets is preferred for the field soils to avoid the growth of such insects.

Mollusks:

Snail and slugs which belong to the mollusks family are considered to be the vital field spoiler in cabbage belts and lettuce farms.

Measures: Tea seed powder can be mixed in the soil to avoid the migration of snail and slugs into the farms thereby controlling their part of damage.

Mammals:

Mammals are frustrating kind of field pests for the farmers because they completely destroy the farms by making burrows and pits between the crops which make the insufficiency for the plants in taking the essential nutrients. Mammal pests include rats, armadillos, rabbits, raccoons, voles, squirrels, moles, mice, etc. Herbivore mammals like deer, elephants, bison, etc. are also considered as a menace in farms depending upon their behavior. They cause heavy damages in farms when in comparison to insects and other tiny pests.

Measures: Proper fencing and compound structures around the field can reduce the invasion of larger mammals. With a view of smaller mammals, use of poisoning cake powder mixed with the eatables will surely work out against the rats and mice kind of pests. Avoid dumping wastages near the fields which serves to be their generating point.

Birds:

Birds too come under the consideration of farm pests as some birds like crows, pigeons, sparrows, gulls, etc. feed on grain fields. There are some birds, which also help in controlling few farm pests. So they are referred to be a boon as well as bane for a farmer.

Measures:

Use of nets and Gas guns in the fields can keep them out of the farms.