PESTS AND DISEASES

This is such a large and complex subject that the best we can hope for is to give a brief summary of the main points. Just because we grow the plants in containers it dont mean that they wont suffer from any of the pests and diseases,when you consider that the majority of them come from countries with different climates to our own, its hardly surprising they surcome. If you catch the problem in its early stages, the remedy is usually easily delt with useing environmentally friendly measures. One way to limit the pest attacks is by companion planting(planting alongside suitable neighbours) and in the ideal situation for the plant (dont put sunlovers in the shade) or visa versa. You should only resort to the use of chemicals as a last resort. It is now recognised that chemical treatments kill as many benificial insects as they do pests. Some of the diseases you may find among your plants are listed below with the symptoms and treatments.

VIRAL DISEASES	SYMPTOM	TREATMENT
mosaic disease	Leaves specled with yellow.then distorted growth disorders	No treatment available.Destroy the plant
	FUNGAL DISEASES
Powdery mildew white coating on leaves,flowers,buds,&branches	stunted growth and deformed leaves	remove affected parts. spray with field horsetailbroth. fugicides
Rust. litlle yellow or brown postules on leaves	leaves fall prematurely,growth weakend	remove leaves. dont use on compost heap. fungacides
Sooty mould. sticky black sooty coating on leaves	leaves turn yellow and drop prematurely and plant weakens	collect and destroy leaves. fungicides
Stem/root rot. rot begines in roots tubers and rhizomes	poor show of blooms then plant dies off.	destroy affected plants,improve soil, fundicides
Grey mould. grey velvety coating on leaves and flowers	plant rots and wilts, buds fail to open.	remove diceased parts, improve ventilation,reduce watering,avoid nitrogen rich feeds.
	PESTS
Aphids. green,grey,or black sucking insects	puckered leaves,shoot tips die off,plant weakens,sooty moulds form.	extract of wormwood,pyretyrum spray,insecticides
Leafbugs. not all are pests	leaves have holes and deformed,flowers deformed	pick off by hand. insecticides
Leaf miners. caterpillars of leaf mining moth	misshapen passages eaten through leaves	remove affected leaves.
Red spider mites. small usually red-coloured mites	leaves drop as sap is drawn off.	put plant in shade and sprinkle with warm water, insecticides
Whitefly, tiny mothlike insects on underside of leaves.	damage to leaves from sap removal, sooty moulds tend to form.	hard to treat,sticky insect sheets, insecticides
Thunderfly/thrips. small black flying insects	white flecks on leaves and flowers	pyrethrum spray if attack is severe.