Leaf footed plant bug
Young fruits show dark spots where the bugs fed, unripe fruits fall, and in bad cases the vines wilt.
Crops it attacks
Where the damage shows
When to act
Check the young fruits and vine tips of 20 plants twice a week in the morning. Act when you find more than 1 bug in every 5 plants on the fruit, after handpicking.
What to spray
Active ingredients only, never brands. The IRAC group tells how it works: switch to a different group next time, so the pest does not learn to survive it. Spray only when the damage is worth the cost, and only with products registered with the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority for your crop. Follow the label. The Shopee and Lazada links only show who sells something with that active ingredient, not a recommendation of any seller or product.
No spray is advised for it. Collect the bugs, remove infested vines after harvest, rotate crops and dust wood ash on the leaves.
How to prevent it
- Collect the bugs and their rows of brown eggs by hand in the cool morning, and drop them in soapy water.
- Remove old vines right after harvest. The bugs gather and breed on them.
- Rotate cucurbits with other crops, and keep wild cucurbit and passion fruit vines away from the field.
- Dust wood ash on the leaves where bugs gather. It makes the plants less inviting.
Natural enemies and biological help
- Egg wasps, assassin bugs, spiders and ants attack the eggs and nymphs.
Not sure it is this one?
Many pests look alike. Send a photo to Anee, the smart farm technician in anee.io. She reads it with your crop, its age and the weather, and tells you what it most likely is and what to do first. In Tagalog or English.