cape gooseberry pest control

[iskhan]

Hi
My cape gooseberry plant giving its 1st group of fruits but it attack by different pests
1)whiteflies
[url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Weisse-Fliege.jpg[/url]
2)Sooty mold
[url]https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/O&T/specificplants/note136/cotma1.jpg[/url]

What should I do to get rid off these pest?

[rainbowgardener]

Well if you get rid of the whiteflies, you will likely get rid of the sooty mold as well. The whiteflies secrete a sweet sticky exudate called honeydew. The honeydew is a perfect growth medium for the sooty mold.

Against the whiteflies, you can use Neem oil, or make your own oil spray by mixing 1 tablespoon dishwashing liquid detergent with 1 cup of cooking oil; add 1 to 2.5 teaspoons of this solution to 1 cup of water and spray it.

You can also use a garlic-pepper spray on them. Type that into Search the Forum and you will get lots of recipes.

Once the whiteflies are gone, spray your plants down well, just with water or water with a little bit of soap (not detergent this time) to get the honeydew off and that should take care of the black mold.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Whiteflies are a resurgent pest that is becoming more resistant than ever to chemicals.

However there are more and more[url=https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/gh-whitefly.html]biologicals[/url]to deal with this insect that are very effective. I have seen amazing control with Eretemocerus, but you will need to find the one that works best for your area. Consulting a local agricultural station may be of great benefit there.

Good luck!

HG

[rainbowgardener]

interesting.... this thread from 2011 came back even though no new posts were added. I see the fine hand of the mods in this!