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Pests on Mediterranean Plants

Now is the time when we will start to see an accumulation of pests and diseases hidden in our gardens, either they have been dormant over the winter months, or we simply find that new pests appear this year because of several factors. The major reason why we have an abundance of pests and diseases, more so in Cyprus than the UK, for instance, is because of the much higher temperatures, beginning from mid April and carrying through the summer into late December. Plant pests and diseases love to find shelter in dense perennial plants, shrubs or climbers, the ones that do not get a lot of aeration through the plant. They breed more quickly if there is not sufficient wind or rain to blow the pests away. And once they start to get inside the foliage and reproduce they breed ten times quicker if there is nothing to get rid of them. This is why it is so vital that at this time of year you really start to take notice of your plants. Try to spend at least 10 minutes in your garden and try to get down close to the plant to study the leaves, underneath as well as above. There are particular signs with each plant pest and disease that you can look for to try to identify and diagnose the problem. For instance, at this time (mid to end of April) a particular pest, commonly known as cuckoo spit is found. (We can see this pest in the UK quite often). It is a small pest known as froghopper. It encircles itself with something that can only be described as something that looks like spit. The symptoms that you will see with this pest are severe distortion of the leaves causing them to curl up and become deformed, sometimes even, before they have had chance to develop into a full leaf. There is no good chemical control for this pest but the best and safest method to get rid of them is to spray the infected plant with a hosepipe. However you must do this in the evening when the weather is cooler or the sun will scorch the leaf once the plant gets wet. The other major problem that occurs now and can be controlled now before the pest accumulates is the Leafminer. This is usually seen on Citrus trees a bit later in the year but it will damage the blossom of Citrus trees if you don’t start to control it before it can take hold. The symptoms are a small mining line through the leaf which eventually causes the leaf to become distorted. You can tell this is leafminer (Phyllognistis) because it creates this distinct mining effect, just like someone has drawn a thin uneven line through the leaf. To prevent this occurring and damaging the new blossom and leaf growth for the new spring season try to use a systemic insecticide called Confidor, found in good pesticide shops in Paphos. Lamprou & Zorlakkis Ltd, opposite the petrol station near the big Papantonious in town will sell this, or try to contact qualified Cyprus landscapers who should be able to give you these chemicals. There are many Paphos garden services available but remember, try to use registered pafos landscapers or any Cyprus garden services in order to get the best advice. Another very important pest that occurs on orange trees, deforming the fruit, is the Mediterranean Fruit Fly, (Ceratitis Capitata). The fly lays their eggs in the fruit and then the eggs hatch into the larvae. The symptoms can be seen on the face of the oranges showing small black dots. The fruit then drops into the soil, the larvae then creates a new generation of fly. It can reproduce up to 6-8 generations per year therefore your fruit is always under threat. The best biological control for this is sticky traps, found, again at pesticide shops in Paphos.

We are carrying on the same theme of pest problems on plants this month merely because, as mentioned last month if the problems are caught early before the summer heat arrives and before the pests take hold, then it is much easier to prevent permanent damage to your plants. The longer you leave pest problems sometimes you will find you will need to replace the plants if the damage is too severe. Going back to the reason why we accumulate more pests in Cyprus, it is simply because of the abundance of high heat levels, coupled with less aeration through plants. Any dense-foliaged plants will be a pleasure for any new pests arriving to find a nice home, therefore allowing them to breed 10 times quicker than they would, say in the UK. One of the most consistent problems, especially in protected and sheltered gardens is the red spider mite (tetranychus urticae). This is a very tiny red spider, so small it cannot be seen with a naked eye. You need to get a microscope to diagnose the problem. The obvious signs, is the mottling effect that can be seen on the upper side of the leaves. The leaves will turn from a lovely green colour to a milky, faded grey colour. This is because the damage from the spiders sucking the sap is so small it is like thousands of tiny pin-pricks all over the leaf and when the leaf is full of these pin-pricks it looks like the colour of the leaf has faded. However, if the damage is too severe, it can eventually kill your plants. The other, very obvious sign is the microscopic mass webbing on the plant. If you have a plant with dense foliage i.e. mostly conifers and flowering shrubs etc. then look closely into the foliage and you will see a matt of dense webbing, similar to the webbing found on larger spiders webs. If the webbing is quite dense then you need to act quickly. There are two methods, first to prevent this getting any worse you need a contact insecticide, there is one found in any pesticide shops called Tortrafol or Torque, which will kill the pest, but to prevent its reoccurrence you need a systemic insecticide called Vertimec. Try to contact qualified Cyprus landscapers who should be able to give you these chemicals. There are many Paphos garden services available but remember, try to use registered pafos landscapers or any Cyprus garden services in order to get the best advice. If you are going to use this method as a long term cure, you must be aware that red spider mite is becoming resistant to these chemicals, therefore using this on a long term basis is not recommended. There is a second method which is a more safe prevention which is biological control using another, safe spider mite called phytoseiulus persimilis. If this spider mite is placed with the pest spider mite it will devour the pest spider mite and obviously breed at the same time, so therefore reducing the possibility of the pest reoccurring. The biological method is the safest option, if anyone is interested you can acquire this control from the UK, call Loukia’s Landscapes 99102470 and we will be happy to give you this information. Finally, if you would like to have an instant relief from this pest problem, try hosing your plants with a fine rose spray to remove the pest. Spray late at night, when it is cooler. However, my own method to prevent this pest from breeding, and should be used as a method to remove all pest and disease problems in the summer months is to cut all of the flowering plants on a regular basis, prune all flowering shrubs hard back to the last green tips every 3 months, and again if you do this, because plants grow 10 times quicker in Cyprus it is also a means of keeping your plants healthy and happy and flowering for many more years to come.