Controlling pests in plants is a great way to ensure that you produce sufficient yield for crops and they are not destroyed by pests in farmland.
Crop protection is a good way to keep plants healthy and also provide a rich harvest.
There are different pests of plants like diseases, fungi, bacteria, insects, rodents or even weeds and plants have to be protected from all these. Farmers lose an estimated average of 50% or more of their crops to pests annually if not treated properly.
This is why good crop management is essential. There are different ways to manage pests in the farmland and you can do that by practicing plant timing, crop rotation, using chemical pesticides, and so on.
Good agricultural practices are very important in preserving the environment and also producing high-quality food for consumption, this is why every farmer should know the advantages of controlling pests in their farmland.
Benefits of controlling pests in plants
- There would be an increase in crop production in smaller pieces of land where pests are properly controlled. This is because when pests attack small farmlands, they multiply easily and cause a lot of damage to plants.
- There would be the preservation of stored food as pests would not be able to attack or damage the foods stored in the barns.
- A reduced number of pesticide poisoning would occur when the plants in the farmland are properly controlled. When there are fewer pests, then pesticides would not be used.
- Higher yield and rich quality food would be gotten when there is an absence or reduction of pests
How Do Farmers Control Pests in Plants?
Below are some of the few ways that farmers control pests in their farmland. These pests are vulnerable and when the right methods of controlling pests are implemented, it would be very easy to get rid of them.
1. Protection using chemical pesticides
The usage of pesticides to kill pests is one of the most common methods of controlling pests in the farmland.
It is also very cost-effective and works swiftly in getting rid of pests that are around farmlands. There are different kinds of chemical pesticides that can be used to control pests in plants. They are:
- Herbicides – these pesticides deal mainly with plants and are mostly used to control weeds that are growing around the farmland and stealing the nutrients of the other crops. They are mostly used to kill activity growing weeds.
- Fungicides – these are used to kill or control disease-causing fungal organisms in the farmland. It is also used for food products that are stored so that it doesn’t get ridden by fungus. When the fungi are gotten rid of, harvest is plentiful.
- Insecticides – one of the most commonly used pesticides which are used to control insects. There are so many insecticides available for use on the farmland and you should get the one that would best control the pests on your farm.
2. Weed Management
Weeds are one of the major enemies of plants as they compete with them for major resources on the farmland.
When weeds are growing on the same row as young plants, they sometimes kill them or stunt their growth just to rake over their nutrients. You can get rid of weeds by using herbicides to kill weeds in the farmland, culture rotation, tillage, hand pulling and so much more.
Getting rid of weeds in your farmland would surely lead to more growth and yield of crops and more nutrients to round all the crops. When you notice weeds on your farm, get rid of them immediately to prevent the continuous growth of pests.
3. Encourage natural pest enemies
This is one of the best ways to control pests around your farmland. When you notice that a particular pest is causing so much damage to your crops, you can introduce natural enemies of said pest to get rid of them.
These natural enemies can either be predators, microbes, pathogens, nematodes, and so on. Predators would eat their prey and completely get rid of them if they exist in the same environment as they do.
Like cats would get rid of most rodents like rats, or certain birds to get rid of the worms that are burrowing into the root of your crops. Encouraging natural pest enemies is a great way to keep the insect and animal pests situation around your farmland at a minimum.
4. Crop rotation
Crop rotation is another way of controlling pests in plants as you can always switch where you plant your crops each season. When you do this, whenever the pest comes out of hibernation to feed on a certain crop and they find that another one has been planted in its place, this would leave them vulnerable. Before they can find another patch of crops to feed on, they might die of starvation.
5. Proper hygiene measures
Ensuring good hygiene around your farmland is a great way to control or even prevent pest activities on the farm.
Sometimes, animal pests are drawn to filth and if your farmland or the area around your farmland is filthy then it is more likely that there might be pests around. Do not leave dirty water stagnant, or waste lying around.
Make sure you clean and maintain proper sanitation and hygiene. This is a great way to avoid inviting pests and rodents to the farmland.
Conclusion
All the above are ways to control pests in your farmland or get rid of them permanently. Make sure you implement the following measures when you’re trying to control the pests in your plants.