Archive for October, 2011

Keep Your Tomato Plants Disease Free

October 17th, 2011

Tomato plants’ diseases are a problem for all gardeners, even those old pros who have been growing tomatoes for years. Fungi and bacteria can cause disease in easy grown tomato plants. The good news about these problems is that you can prevent and easily cure them. It is easiest to minimize plant distress by early detection. Good gardeners must always keep a close watch on their garden to monitor that their plants are healthy and thriving. As soon as any problem is spotted, the issue needs to be dealt with as soon as possible to keep the disease contained and to lessen plant suffering.

It is always a good idea to stay a step ahead of tomato disease while planting your garden. Choosing the type of tomato to plant is the first step in disease prevention. Hybrids are a good option because many are specially bred to be resistant to certain diseases. It is a good idea to be aware of common diseases in your area and then choose a plant that is resistant to that sickness. The bad news is that many heirlooms are vulnerable to disease, therefore a variety of tomato types should be planted, just in case disease strikes. Always remember that varying the types of plants in your garden will help keep diseases at bay, and you will be able to enjoy an assortment of flavors all summer long!

» Read more: Keep Your Tomato Plants Disease Free

Larvicidal activity of the weed plant Parthenium hysterophous L (compositae) against Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus

October 17th, 2011

    Mosquitoes are responsible for more diseases than any other group of arthropods. It is observed at the elevations of 5500 meters and minus situated at depth of 1250 meters below the sea level. Two important vector species of mosquitoes such as Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus are selected for the present study. A. aegypti is the principal vector of Dengue fever and dengue haemorrhagic fever and it is reported to infect more than 100 million people every year in more than 110 countries in the tropics (Halstead, 2000). C. quinquefasciatus is the vector of West Nile Virus which causes encephalitis and meningities which is known to affect the brain tissues, finally resulting in permanent neurological damage. The most suitable remedy for the problems is to control their population and ever increasing use of chemicals to control mosquitoes was found to accumulate in the food chain, residual effect, high cost, environmental pollution and can also cause serious toxic hazards to humans, animals and other non-target creatures and developing resistance to conventional insecticides in many mosquito species have reviewed great interest in exploiting the vector control potential of natural origins. Pesticide exposure among humans has been linked to immune dysfunction, various forms of cancer and birth defects (Bounias, 2003). All these factors led to search for safer and more compatible alternatives to combat these problems, among which natural products, especially plant derived called botanicals are now emerging as a viable component of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) (Jeyabalan et al, 2003). Apart from neem, various other plant species have also shown promising pest controlling properties. These categories of pesticides are known as biopesticides (Mulla, 1994).

 P. hysterophous is known as congress weed, carrot weed, star weed, feverweed, white top, chatak chandani, bitter weed, ramphool, garghsas. Parthenium is also reported as promising remedy against hepatic amoebiasis (Sharma & Bhutani, 1988). In the present study, an attempt has been made to record the larvicidal activity of leaf extracts of P.hysterophous L (Compositae) against A. aegypti and C. quinquefasciatus.

» Read more: Larvicidal activity of the weed plant Parthenium hysterophous L (compositae) against Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus