One of the most significant difficulties of farming, especially crop farming, is pests. Once you have flourishing crops, pests are not far away. Different pests pose a danger to plants, and some wild animals and rodents try to eat plants. Weeds grow and suffocate your crops. Insects and pests eat and damage the leaves of the plants, etc.
In this article, we will be exploring various ways you can protect your farm from pests. There are numerous ways to protect your farm from pests, but we will be looking at five of the most effective methods. These methods are all-encompassing and protect from all types of pests, rodents, and insects.
5 Ways to Protect your Farm from Pests
1. Pesticides
Pesticides can be anything from insecticides, herbicides to fungicides. They protect plants from all insects and pests and weeds. Here is a breakdown of the properties of each type of pesticide:
Herbicides:
They are also called weed killers. Herbicides are materials used for weed control. There are two types of herbicides; selective herbicides and non-selective herbicides. Selective herbicides target particular weed species without harming the crops unharmed. While non - selective herbicides kill all plants that they touch.
Insecticides:
Insecticides are pesticides that kill insects that attack crops. There are two types of insecticides; ovicides and larvicides. Ovicides attack and kill insect eggs while larvicides kill insect larvae.
Fungicides:
Fungi are very harmful to crops and can result in yield loss, which is why fungicides are very important. They protect plants from fungus and their spores without harming the plants. Fungicides also protect plants against oomycetes.
2. Crop rotation or inter-cropping
For farms that grow the same crops all the time, crop rotation is an excellent way to protect crops from pests. Different crops attract different pests and diseases. They also require different nutrients. If you keep planting the same crops in the same place, the plant’s growth becomes stunted, and pests diseases take advantage of this to attack. Crop rotation reduces inoculum.
3. Farm fences
Fences like wood fences, plastic fences, and electrical fences help protect plants from wild animals. Each farm needs to have secure fences around plants and animals to keep them protected from rodents and wild animals. Constructing electric fences is a safe way to keep wild animals and rodents out and protect your farm.
4. Animal psychology
They are also referred to as comparative psychology studies, the behavior patterns of animals, birds, and insects. This study helps to identify the most effective strategies to keep animals and insects away from a particular area. An effective method to protect your farm from birds is to construct bird scarers like scarecrows, etc.
5. Natural repellers
Natural repellers like smoke, chili pepper, beehive fencing, fish and garlic emulsions, lavender, etc. work wonders in protecting plants from wild animals, plants, insects, and birds. Smoke protects plants from all types of animals, insects, and birds. The sound of bees scares most wild animals away because they don’t want to be stung These non-humans see the smoke and are tricked into believing there is a fire at the farm. These natural repellants are very effective and don’t affect the environment negatively.
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