Pest and disease control of milk thistle

Diseases

The first disease is called "root rot," which usually occurs between June and August and primarily affects the young plants. If it occurs during the rainy season, the disease will cause greater harm, meaning that the root rot will be more severe, and the plant can even be pulled out with a slight tug. To prevent and treat this disease, we must first use pesticides. We can choose 50% thiophanate-methyl and spray it at 600 to 1,000 times. Secondly, we should pay attention to choosing a place with good drainage when planting.

The second disease is called "leaf blight". We can infer from the name of this disease that it mainly attacks the leaves of the plant. The symptoms in the early stage of the disease are not very obvious. Some yellow-brown spots will grow on the leaves. The spots are grayish white in the middle and slowly spread to the edges to turn green. If the symptoms continue to develop, the entire leaves will die. To deal with this disease, we must first cut off all the diseased leaves, and then spray Bordeaux solution once every week or so, for two to three consecutive times. Secondly, we should also pay attention to cleaning up dead branches and leaves in time in winter.

Pests

The main insect that causes damage is called the leopard wood borer. This pest will eat into the branches and trunk of the plant, causing them to become hollow. In severe cases, it can even cause the entire plant to wither. To eliminate this pest, we can kill them with a mixture of quicklime and sulfur powder mixed with water in early June before the pest lays eggs. For bugs that have already invaded the tree trunk, we can kill them with a cotton swab dipped in insecticide.