How does one control Helopeltis Bug in Organic Farming? especially on a Tea Estate?
Helopeltis Bug is a menace on Tea Estates in North East India. Though inorganic controls are available, how does one control this pest in an Organic Environment?
You might want to check out bio dynamic pest control. For insects:
you collect about 50 specimens of the bug,
burn them to ash at the right time of year (depends which phase of insect development you wish to discourage),
then dynamise the ash,
potentise it (same as homeopathy),
then spray during the last quarter of the moon.
Abstract Despite continuous use of synthetic insecticides during last two decades, the tea mosquito bug, Helopeltis theivora Waterhouse (Miridae: Heteroptera), has become the most destructive sucking pest of tea in North East India. In order to reduce the load of the synthetic chemicals in tea vis-à-vis their deleterious effect, integration of biopesticide, synthetic pesticides along with effective spraying strategies, have been attempted. The anti-insect property of “neem”, Azadirachta indica A. Juss. (Meliaceae), has been used to solve many pest problems. In this study, different azadirachtin concentrations were evaluated at different doses against the H. theivora to find out their controlling efficacy. At 50,000 ppm azadirachtin concentration 65% control of infestation could be attained, whereas at 3,000 and 10,000 ppm, gave 30–43% reduction and 300 and 1,500 ppm <30% control was possible. Further in case of 3,000 and 10,000 ppm, azadirachtin concentration 30–43% reduction was registered. Therefore, azadirachtin concentration and its dilutions are the major criteria for getting desired bioactivity. Treatments with combined formulations viz. “neem + endosulfan” or “neem + deltamethrin” recorded significant reduction in H. theivora incidence even at reduced doses, as compared to sole application of neem or synthetic insecticide at recommended doses. Effective combinations and dose of the insecticides along with their formulations in controlling H. theivora have been presented and discussed.
References :
buy some chickens or use raid
References :
You might want to check out bio dynamic pest control. For insects:
you collect about 50 specimens of the bug,
burn them to ash at the right time of year (depends which phase of insect development you wish to discourage),
then dynamise the ash,
potentise it (same as homeopathy),
then spray during the last quarter of the moon.
References :
Did this for fly-strike bugs on sheep, seems to have worked a treat.