Pesticides:

Why are pesticides required for the plant?

Pesticides are used to control various pests and disease carriers, such as mosquitoes, ticks, rats, mice and other types of insects that are harmful to plant growth. Pesticides are used in large quantities in  agriculture to control weeds, insect infestation and diseases. They are formulations prepared using chemicals. At times, the chemical composition of the components used in pesticides  are harmful to plant as well as human beings, if not used cautiously. Usage of pesticides leads to  reduction of plant diseases and thus increases food production capability. If  a garden has many commercial crops pesticides would help with higher yield and thereby a higher revenue.

It is known that, Insects, mice, fungi and microorganisms (viruses and bacteria) damage the plants completely if not controlled on time. Pesticides are formulated  to prevent these plant infections and stop all of these pests.These are used with Herbicides – these destroy unwanted vegetation and weeds- and Fungicides – these stop the spread of mold and mildew. It is important to understand that the right usage  of pesticides is crucial for healthy growth of the plant. It may otherwise cause potential harm by volatilization. Volatilization occurs when a pesticide turns into a gas or vapor after it has been sprayed, allowing it to travel through the air and spread to different locations.

These are some of the practices that may reduce the need for, or substantially reduce the amount  of or type of pesticides that you may want to consider for your plants.. Alternatively, organic or homemade pesticides are not very harmful for the plants. It can be easily adopted to your plants.

Type of pesticides useful for the plants

• Insecticides – insects.
• Herbicides – plants.
• Rodenticides – rodents (rats and mice)
• Bactericides – bacteria.
• Fungicides – fungi.
• Larvicides – larvae.

Peppers and eggplants are plants that need complete sunlight all summer long and should not be overshadowed by neighboring plants.

In the beginning, tomato plants are small and don’t create much shade; radishes or lettuce can be grown nearby and will be harvested before the tomatoes reach maturity. Later, tomatoes will  create shade and nearby plants may sprawl over them if they’re not supported by ladders or cages.Lettuce and other leafy greens (such as basil) can tolerate some afternoon shade, so they will do fine near tomato plants.

Marigolds, garlic and onions are thought by some to repel pests. There certainly is no harm in growing these plants in several locations in the garden.

Radishes tend to attract flea beetles, so some people plant them near broccoli, eggplants and turnips as a trap crop (flea beetles may eat the radish leaves in preference to the crop you are trying to protect). An alternative, of course, is to cover your eggplants or other plants with garden cover to keep the pests off the plant