Farmers face a number of problems throughout the year. Indeed, when no measures are taken to protect trees, fruit and vegetables, these plants can be affected by various types of pests. Parasitic fungi, insects, weeds: there are many things that can affect your crops. Depending on the type of pest you need to combat, the solutions you employ may be different. Here’s how to protect your crops from insects and other pests.
Use fungicides and herbicides to protect your crops from pests
If you’re a farmer, it’s important to know that fungicides are one of the most effective solutions to one of your biggest problems: fungal diseases. Indeed, one of the peculiarities of this sector of activity lies in the fact that you have to deal with very changeable weather conditions to manage your crops. These include high temperatures, thunderstorms, rain, etc. Particularly in certain regions of France, these factors lead to the emergence of various diseases that are a scourge for crops. Fungal diseases include botrytis, fusariosis, septoria and sclerotinia. Fungicides are highly effective, ensuring excellent production in terms of both quantity and quality.
Herbicides, meanwhile, are also among the various essential phytosanitary products you need for good crop production. As the name suggests, these products enable you to protect your crops by eliminating plants that are harmful to their development. Also known as weed killers, herbicides are mainly used to control weeds. There are several herbicide families, two in particular. These are mineral and organic weed killers.
Whichever solution you decide to use to protect your crops, there are two treatment options: preventive and curative. To avoid losing even the smallest part of your crops, don’t hesitate to adopt preventive treatment from the outset.
Use insecticides and slug pellets to protect your crops
Wherever you are in the world, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll have to deal with insects. Insecticides are among the most widely used crop protection products. Highly effective, they target a number of insect categories that are particularly harmful to crops. Insecticides have several modes of action, and are generally manufactured using synthetic active ingredients.
Depending on its components, the product can be either highly or moderately toxic. We recommend that you opt for less toxic products to ensure healthy crops. As for use, it is imperative to comply with a specific dosage, generally indicated by the brand name. For safety reasons, it is advisable to take care when handling insecticides.
Slugs, like most other insects, are a major threat to crops. Solutions must therefore be found to alleviate the problem. While many remedies have long been proposed, garden centers now offer a highly effective solution: slug pellets. These will put an immediate end to the damage caused by these pests. There are two categories of slug pellets: chemical and organic. While both are effective, you need to understand that they are not suitable for all crops.
In fact, for an organic crop, for example, you can only use an organic slug pest control product, which is highly recommended. However, for non-organic growers, chemical slug pellets may be a good solution.
Other solutions for protecting crops from pests
The solutions listed above are extremely effective and should be used in pest control. That said, there are other options available too. These include the plant protection products used to control Colorado potato beetles. These are insects that invade crops in spring and summer. While you can get rid of them by hand, there are products specially designed to combat this pest. You’ll find them in garden centers or on a plant protection website. Finally, trace elements, regulators and adjuvants are other solutions for protecting your crops.
In short, there’s no shortage of pest control solutions. Your choice will depend on your location, and in particular on the problems you regularly face.
