Main camellia pests and their control

Aphid pests

The damage caused by aphids

There are two types of aphids: winged aphids and wingless aphids. Aphids will gather on the tender shoots of camellia to suck sap, causing the buds and leaves of the affected camellia to shrink and seriously affecting their growth. At the same time, aphid excrement can also cause sooty mold.

Prevention and treatment methods

① In the early stage of aphid damage, you can spray the camellia plants with 2000 times diluted 50% phosphamidon emulsion or 50% dimethoate emulsion every 3 to 5 days. Generally, aphids can be eliminated in about 3 times.

② Use 0.5 kg of tobacco tendons and 0.25 kg of quicklime, add water (about 10-15 liters), soak for a day and night, filter out the residue and spray for prevention and control.

Scale insect pests

The harm caused by scale insects

There are many types of scale insects, among which the three that seriously harm camellia are the cottony scale, the red wax scale, and the bran-flaky shield scale.

Scale insects lay a large number of eggs, with each female insect laying up to a thousand eggs, and can lay eggs 3 to 5 times a year. Therefore, in serious cases, the branches and leaves are covered with scale insects that suck leaf sap. The affected leaves turn from green to gray-green and finally to yellow, causing the entire plant to wither and die. Its secretions can also induce sooty disease.

Prevention and treatment methods

① Manual control: Because most of these insects are concentrated, they are easier to find. When the number is small in the early stage, the insects can be killed directly on the branches and leaves.

② Chemical control: We must grasp the characteristics of newly hatched nymphs’ weak resistance to drugs and grasp the period of pesticide application. (The adult insects have waxy bodies, so spraying is less effective.)

③ Frequent sunlight and ventilation

Stem borer pests

Stem borer damage

It harms the branches of camellia, causing them to wither and die. The damage is generally severe in March and April, and August and September.

Prevention and treatment methods

① Cut off and burn the branches infested with stem borers.

② Use light to lure and kill adult insects.

③ During the peak period of adult emergence, 500 times diluted 20% dimethoate emulsion or 1,000 times diluted 90% trichlorfon can be sprayed; during the larval stage, 500 times diluted 90% trichlorfon can also be sprayed.

Black spiny whitefly pest

Blackthorn whitefly damage

The secretions of insects that suck the juice from the leaves and harm the camellia leaves can also cause a large number of sooty mold outbreaks, seriously affecting the normal photosynthesis of the camellia. In severe cases, it can cause a large number of flowers to fall off.

Prevention and treatment methods

① In winter or early spring, cut off the insect-infested branches and leaves and burn them in a concentrated manner.

② During the peak period of nymph hatching, you can use phosmet, malathion, or dimethoate to spray once every 7 days for effective prevention and control.