The Devastating Effects of Aphids and Spider Mites

Aphids and spider mites are both tiny, sap-sucking herbivore arthropods that harm plants directly by feeding on their tissues and indirectly by transmitting plant diseases. 

Feeding Behavior and Damages

Aphids are fed by sucking plant sap and excrete honeydew [1], which attracts ants and promotes sooty mold, weakening plants further. Aphids reproduce rapidly, often asexually through parthenogenesis. As their population continues to grow, they transfer from plant to plant and start a new colony. They are known to transmit plant viruses leading to stunted growth, yellowing, wilting, distorted leaves and shoots, gall formation and reduced crop yields. [2]

Spider mites are also fed on by piercing plant cells and sucking out the contents from phloem. This feeding disrupts the plant’s ability to photosynthesize, causing small light color spots, yellowing or browning leaves, distorted leaves and slow growth of the plant. Despite their small size, spider mites have developed survival mechanisms, making them highly adaptable to environments typically in hot and dry conditions and resistant to many common pesticides. [3,4] 

Management Strategies

1. Cultural: Good sanitation, practice crop rotation/intercropping and provide adequate water.
2. Biological: Introduce natural predators or entomophatogenic fungi i.e green lacewing and Bauverria bassiana
3. Physical/Mechanical: Prune infested parts to physically remove them or use yellow sticky traps.

In case of severe infestations, insecticides may be necessary. However, the use of chemicals should be a last resort. Insecticidal soaps sparingly may also be an alternative solution to prevent resistance and chemical use.

NutriHydro is committed to stopping the use of chemical fertilizers to combat aphids and mites, focusing instead on bio control products that protect crops and promote environmental health without relying on harmful chemicals.

References:

1. Charles-Antoine Dedryver, Anne Le Ralec, Frédéric Fabre (2010),The conflicting relationships between aphids and men: A review of aphid damage and control strategies, Comptes Rendus Biologies, Volume 333, Issues 6–7, Pages 539-553, ISSN 1631-0691, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crvi.2010.03.009.
2. Muhammad Sarwar, Chapter 20 – Mite (Acari Acarina) vectors involved in transmission of plant viruses, Editor(s): L.P. Awasthi, Applied Plant Virology, Academic Press (2020) Pages 257-273, ISBN 9780128186541, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-818654-1.00020-7.
3. Miller, G. L., & Foottit, R. G. (2017). The taxonomy of crop pests: the aphids. Insect Biodiversity: Science and Society, 627-639.
4. Agut, Blas, Victoria Pastor, Josep A. Jaques, and Victor Flors. 2018. “Can Plant Defence Mechanisms Provide New Approaches for the Sustainable Control of the Two-Spotted Spider Mite Tetranychus urticae?” International Journal of Molecular Sciences 19, no. 2: 614. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19020614