2.3 Crop Pest and Disease Control

• Identifying vegetable crops attacked by pests: punctured leaves, cut-off seedlings, curling leaves
• Common sites where vegetable pests are found
• Identifying vegetable crops affected by disease: wilting, black and brown spots, rotting of plant parts
• Controlling pests by handpicking, removing affected parts, uprooting heavily affected crops, and applying natural pesticides such as ash
• Controlling diseases by removing affected parts and uprooting heavily affected crops
• Importance of controlling crop pests and diseases in vegetable production

• identify vegetable crops attacked by pests and diseases
• control pests and diseases on vegetable crops
• acknowledge importance of controlling pests and diseases in vegetable production

“How can we identify vegetable crops attacked by pests and diseases?”

“How can we control pests and diseases affecting crops?”

The titles are open to everyone. Reading a lesson needs an account — sign in or create one.

1. Why pests and diseases matter
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Pests and diseases reduce food from a kitchen or backyard garden. Identifying them early protects seed, labour and the next crop.
2. Punctured leaves
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Holes in vegetable leaves are a pest sign. Turn the leaf over and search the plant heart; beetles and caterpillars are often still feeding.
3. Cut-off seedlings
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Seedlings lying as if cut with a knife at soil level often mean cutworms. Search the soil beside the stem in the morning.
4. Curling leaves
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Young leaves that curl, yellow or feel sticky often mean sucking pests such as aphids on the underside and growing tip.
5. Where pests are found
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Pests hide on undersides, growing tips, in plant hearts, in soil at the stem, and in crop remains. A field excursion searches those sites on purpose.
6. Wilting as a disease sign
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   A vegetable that stays limp in moist soil may be diseased. Compare it with neighbours and do not assume thirst first if the bed is wet.
7. Spots and rotting
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Black or brown spots and soft rotting of plant parts are disease signs on vegetables. Record the crop and the part affected.
8. Handpicking and removing plants
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Control pests by handpicking, cutting badly affected parts, and uprooting plants that cannot recover. Dispose of them off the bed.
9. Ash and natural pesticides
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Cool sieved wood ash and simple plant mixes can deter some vegetable pests. They support handpicking; they are not shop chemical sprays.
10. Controlling diseases and why it matters
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Remove diseased parts and uproot heavily affected vegetables so wilt, spots and rot do not become an outbreak. Present why this protects food, money and neighbours.