For the use of pesticides, it is essential to have adequate garden equipment. This is not only necessary to obtain satisfactory results, but is also a safety issue. In terms of safety precautions, you must bring your mask, protective goggles, gloves and rubber boots. Among the work equipment, you will need a watering can or a spray, a dispenser and a spatula.

Using herbicides allows you to fight against weeds and greatly reduces the work related to weeding. There are several types of herbicides grouped into two broad categories according to their specificities. The first category includes the selective herbicides that only remove weeds while sparing the other plants. Herbicide selectivity is useful to plants in the case of mixed crops. Make sure that there is at least one herbicide, among those used on your mixed crop plants, that is selective to each plant. Depending on the type of weeds, there exist different kinds of selective herbicides. For example, grass herbicides are not applied on the roots but on the leaves. Concerning total herbicides, the second category of weed killers, they can eliminate or prevent the growth of all plants indiscriminately. This type of herbicide can be applied at various times during the crop cycle and may also be used for spot or full treatment.

The action, the type of treatment and the timing of herbicide applications

Much like selective herbicides, the choice of product depends on the species to be eliminated. To destroy perennials for example, systemic herbicides such as glyphosate or sulfosate are to be taken into consideration. In the case of a vegetation consisting of annual plants, contact herbicides such as glufosinate ammonium are enough to destroy them. The different types of herbicides act differently depending on the desired outcome. There are, for example, root absorbed herbicides. This type of herbicide is applied on the ground and is absorbed by the roots, plantlets or seeds. In opposition to this kind of herbicide, foliage-absorbed herbicides enter the plant through the leaves and stems and are therefore directly applied to the foliage. However, contact herbicides become active on the plant’s tissues only after penetration. This variety of herbicide does not migrate from one plant organ to another. Similarly, systemic herbicides act after penetration and by migrating between the plant’s different organs. There are usually three methods of applying the different types of treatments. They can be applied to the entire plot to be cultivated or as spot treatment, in which case they are only applied on a selected portion of the plot. Finally, directed application is generally performed with a non selective herbicide. The herbicide varieties also differ depending on the time of treatment. Pre-plant incorporated herbicides are applied after having prepared the ground and before planting, while post-plant incorporated herbicides are applied just after sowing. As for pre-emergent herbicide, it is used before the crop emerges, whether it be weed or crop plant. On the other hand, post-emergent herbicides are applied once the crop has emerged. Regarding early post-emergent herbicide, it is chronologically applied between the emergence of weeds and that of crop plants. This type of treatment combines a pre-emergent herbicide with a post-emergent one.

Insecticides

Insecticides have been developed to eliminate the insects that can damage a crop. Several varieties of insecticides are available on the market and differ by their mode of operation. Among them, we can include, for example, systemic insecticides, contact insecticides or those that target the nervous system. They can be classified according to their action on insects. There are natural insecticides that are absorbed by the plant and circulate in the sap. Insects that suck sap from the treated plant will be immediately killed. As for direct action insecticides, they act directly on the insect. To be effective, every corner of the plant needs to be sprayed.

Using insecticides according to insect species

Some insecticides have a chemical composition specially developed according to the species of insects harmful to plants. In addition, these insecticides’ operating modes also differ depending on the species to be eliminated. For example, ant insecticide contains a substance that attracts them and acts as a poison once it is transported into the nest, thus eliminating the entire colony. You can either spray the product directly on the nest or spread it on the ants’ trail. Ants are harmful to plants in the sense that they ultimately lead aphids to the trees’ branches. To eliminate the slugs that eat the plants, one must opt ??for an insecticide that can withstand rain.

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Published in Products by Alexander on 06 Jul 2011