How to Differentiate: Pest Attack,

Deficiency or Disease?

Anoop Kumar C P
 Introduction
Gardening Issues:
• External Conditions
• Animals, Birds, Insects
• Micro organisms
• Lack of essential nutrients and minerals
essential for the proper functioning of the
plant’s metabolism.
 What is a Pest?
• An organism which causes damage by harming
agriculture through feeding on crops or is a
parasite on livestock.
• Pest attacks start small but when ignored,
spread quickly and become a massive disaster.
• Pests multiply quickly and damage our plants
very badly.
 Why do Pests Proliferate?
• Because we cause disharmony between the various
species in Nature by:

• Removing many key players active in controlling the

unnatural growth of another
• Following monoculture, providing unlimited food for a
particular organism in a small area thus attracting pests and
supporting their proliferation
• Killing natural insect-eaters (frogs, birds, etc) directly
through the use of chemicals, and also indirectly by killing
their food through the use of chemicals
• Altering the physical and chemical nature of the soil
thereby making it unhealthy for plants, making them weak
and vulnerable
 Natural Pest Control
• Science has proved that when there is excessive
pest attack on plants, they release Plant
Volatiles which are signals for predatory insects
to save them, and also for other plants to
prepare photochemicals which will discourage
the pests from attacking healthy plants.
• BUT we may often be preventing this response
from kicking in by stopping the pests from
reaching threshhold levels!!
Common Pests on Vegetable Plants
Sap suckers:
Aphids, Mealy Bugs, Spider Mites, Thrips, Lalab Bugs
(Megacopta cribraria), Squash bugs
Mealy Bugs
Spider Mites
Thrips
Lalab Bug (Megacopta Cribraria)
Squash Bug
White flies and scale insects
Leaf miners
Red Pumpkin Beetle
Mexican Beetle (Life-cycle)
Cut Worms
Beet Leaf Caterpillar
Tomato Hornworm Caterpillar
Stem borers
Fruit borers
Fruit ovipositors
 Nutrient in Plants
• Macro nutrients: Nitrogen, Phosphorus
Potassium
• Micro-nutrients: Required in small quantities
but of very great importance for proper
metabolism and growth
• If there is any imbalance or shortage of any
one of the required mineral or nutrients, the
plant will not be able to be healthy and this
will show in external symptoms
Deficiency Symptoms
 Nutritional Deficiency Symptoms

• Crops fail after germination and seedlings die out

• Plants grow in a stunted way
• Unseasonal colour changes in the leaves
• Leaves look leathery as if withered
• Abnormal delay in maturing and fruiting
• Poor yield without or with expressing leaf
symptoms.
• Inferior quality of produce with no nutrient value
 Micronutrients

The most essential micronutrients are:

• Boron
• Calcium
• Iron
• Magnesium
• Manganese
 Boron
Required for vegetative
reproduction, growth of
plants.
Its deficiency prevents
cell growth, cell-wall
formation and leads to
death of growing buds
of affected plants. This
affects fertilization and
fruit-setting, causing
crop loss.
 Calcium
Required for growth and new tissue
development.
Its deficiency leads to localized
tissue necrosis and thereby stunted
plant growth. The young leaf
margins will be necrotic and the
leaves curl. The terminal buds and
root tips become necrotic and die
off. Generally, this deficiency affects
the growing ends and not the
mature tissues. The tomato blossom
end rot is one example of this
deficiency. Older tissues are good
and newly forming ends will be
dead.
 Iron (Fe)
• Very important - required for making
chlorophyll. Iron is present in plenty
in most soils but may not be available
for absorption if the soil is alkaline or
waterlogged.
• Lack of Iron causes chlorosis.
• Excess of lime can also cause
chlorosis – this is called “lime-
induced chlorosis". Not only calcium
but excess of other elements like
copper, manganese, phosphorus or
zinc, also can induce chlorosis by
making iron unavailable to plants.
• External symptom: Leaf margins turn
yellow / brown and the areas
between the veins may remain
green. New tender leaves look
bleached while developing. Poor
yield will be the result.
 Magnesium
• Important ingredient of
Chlorophyll. This deficiency is
seen in very acidic soil, or well
drained sandy soils from which
Magnesium is leached out and
washed away. If the soil has
excess of Potassium,
Magnesium will not be freely
available for plants
• Magnesium deficiency
expresses as chlorosis or
yellowing between leaf veins.
Here veins will be dark green,
so the leaves will have a
marbled look. Plants starved of
magnesium produce small
woody fruits.
 Manganese (Mn)
• Manganese deficiency causes a
plant disorder similar to Iron
deficiency. This happens usually in
waterlogged soils, which are rich in
organic matter. If the soil is very
alkaline, Manganese will not be
available for plants.
• “Chequered leaves” look is the
predominant symptom and the
leaves turn yellow. The veins of
young leaves will be green. New
leaves will be seemingly unaffected.
Severely affected leaves will
become brown and die. Leaves will
have brown spots.
 Macronutrients
N – Nitrogen, P- Phosphorus K -Kalium (Potassium)
Nitrogen:
• Essential for the growth of plants
• Not easily available for plants as
microorganisms use available
nitrogen to break down carbon.
This affects all plants except
leguminous plants which have a
symbiotic relation with nitrogen-
fixing bacteria in their roots.
• Nitrogen deficiency causes poor
growth, light greenish-yellow
leaves
• It shows in older leaves first as
plant moves chlorophyll from them
to younger ones
• Caution: Pale leaves may be caused
by many other factors, so one
cannot finalize the cause unless
soil test /lab test is done
 Macronutrients
Phosphorus
• Essential for proper growth of plants
• Deficiency leads to a plant metabolic disorder
where it cannot produce its basic genetic
molecules.
• Deficiency Symptoms: Poor growth, stiff leaves,
older leaves turn blue-green, and leaf yellowing
will not be in the order of age
• Unlike N deficiency, the underside of the
leaves, veins and stem will have a purple
shade, especially in tomatoes.
Phosphorus Deficiency
 Macronutrients
Potassium
• Essential for the healthy growth of plants.
(Maintaining ionic balance and forming a
strong cell-wall)
• Very easily soluble in water, gets washed
away in rains and moving water. So, plants
growing in light sandy soil, less clayey soil
and chalky soils show its deficiency.
• Deficiency leads to imbalance and
malfunctioning of various vital activities
• Main symptom of potassium deficiency is
chlorosis between leaf veins, curled leaf
tips, scorched brown spots on leaves,
purple spots under the leaves, reduced
growth of shoot and roots. Older leaves
show the symptoms early and then the
problem is spread to other leaves.
 Common Plant Diseases

• Blight
• Wilt
• Canker
• Rust
• Damping off
• Mildew
• Nematodes
• Viruses
Blights
• Blights cause sudden withering of leaves or branches. The
branches stop growing and die, then start rotting. This can
be caused by bacteria or fungus

Fungal Blight:

• Alternaria Blight or Early blight: This is a fungal blight which

infect plants . On tomatoes and potatoes, the leaves show
brown or black spots which grow in size in concentric
circles. When the spots grow and join together and cover
the leaves, the leaf dies. The lower leaves are affected first.
Phytophthora Blight Or Late blight:
• The lower leaves show water-soaked spots initially.
These spots enlarge and the underside of the leaf
shows white fungal mycelium. If the season is wet, the
plant will rot and die. It is best to keep the stem and
leaves to reduce the infections.
• Bacterial blight:
Bacterial blight disease shows water-soaked spots on
foliage which dry and drop off. The stems there will be
long and have dark lesions . Bacterial slime may ooze
from some spots.
Blights
Cankers
• Canker disease is seen on woody stems which may be
cracks, pits or raised areas of dead or knotted tissue
proliferations which ooze sticky liquids at times. This
affection can go around the stem and everything above
the canker will wilt and die.
• Cytospora Canker: This fungal disease attacks poplars,
spruces, and stone fruits. The cankers are circular,
discolored areas on the bark. To control, plant resistant
trees, and cut out branches or trees with cankers.
Cankers
Rusts
• Rusts are a specific type of fungal disease.
Many of them require two different plant
species as hosts to complete their life cycle.
Identifying and removing the alternate hosts
in the area can control outbreaks. Typical rust
symptoms include a powdery tan-to-rust-
colored coating. Applying neem oil can help
prevent rust by killing spores on the leaves.
Rust
Wilts
• Normal plants wilt when there is no sufficient
water. When fungi or bacteria infect them and
block their water conducting system the water
flow is stopped permanently and this leads to
wilting disease and death of the whole plant
or the affected part.
Wilt
• Damping-off:
• Damping-off is a common disease which we all come
across. This is caused by a variety of soil fungi. The
Seeds start rotting before germinating or the sprouted
seedlings start rotting just above the soil surface and
fall off. This happens if the soil is waterlogged or has
too much un-composted organic matter in the growing
beds. If there is good air circulation in the soil, this will
not happen. Watering the soil with solution containing
Trichoderma harzianum before sowing or planting can
prevent Damping off.
 Downy mildew
• Downy mildews or Powdery Mildews are
fungal diseases that attack many plants. The
main symptom is a white or purplish white,
downy or powdery growth on affected leaves
and stems. This turns black as days pass. The
spores remain viable in the soil for several
years. Spraying baking soda solution can be
effective in controlling this disease.
Mildew
• Nematodes:
• Nematodes are multicellular animals in the group Ecdysozoa.
• Nematodes feed on all parts of the plant, including roots, stems,
leaves, flowers and seeds. Symptoms of nematode attack
include reduced growth, wilting, and lack of vigor.
• Some nematodes cause excessive branching of roots, rotted
roots, and enlarged lumps on roots. Other nematodes attack
leaves, causing triangular wedges of dead tissue. Root knot
nematodes attack a variety of plant root systems, including most
vegetable and ornamental crops.
• To prevent nematodes from invading our plants, the soil has to
be solarized. Crop rotation can be done for susceptible crops.
Dipping roots/bulbs in hot water before planting can eradicate
nematodes .
Root knot nematodes
 Viruses
Viruses infect plants often and reduce growth and
yield. The affected leaves may cup or twist, and
develop mottling, streaking, or ring-shaped spots.
Eliminating all other similar symptoms of deficiency
diseases can help us in the identification viral
diseases.
Controlling the insects that spread viruses is
essential.
Removing and burning all plants with viral disease
helps prevent the disease from spreading.
Virus Infections
 Thank you…

I thank you all for your presence and attention….