Thrips

Now we have left the worst till last. in our opinion, thrips are the worst of the worst sap suckers. These are the ultimate nemesis to the chilli grower. Thrips are tiny sap sucking insects that are just visible to the naked eye. But just visible. They are tiny. They look like tiny green rice grain shaped objects on the leaves and growth points of your plant. These sucking insects will multiply unbelievably fast. Often, there are multiple generations in an infestation with Thrips at different developmental stages. They are also incredible fast and can fly from plant to plant. Nothing but bad news with these guys... they congregate inside the flowers of chilli plants where they feed on the flowers. Here they are difficult to spray. At best, damage to flowers will result in deformities and scarring, but mostly flowers will drop. Flower damage results in flowers failing to pollinate and as with all other sap sucking insects, Thrips are vectors for infection (bacterial, fungal & viral). The fact that they congregate around flower points, means infections are direct to the fruit, resulting in failed pollination, failed fruiting, flower drop and damaged, scarred and infected pods. Nasty!

We recommend the use of BioGrow BioNeem™. It interferes with the insects breeding, feeding and growth cycle. It needs to be applied over and under leaf after sunset and may require several treatments as it takes longer to take effect... but it will. Harsher non organic insecticides will kill everything on site, but we strongly advocate the use of gentler organic insecticides that are specifically formulated to target the insects in question and not the good ones. Pyrol™ & Neudosan™ are alternate options from BioGrow, but these are contact insecticides which are more suited to flying insects.

Always read the product instructions and follow them exactly as given by the manufacturer.

Failing this, we will make an exception to our Organic stance and advise going for the hard tack. Spraying needs to be incredibly thorough and regimental at specific intervals without relent.

Tips:

• Most sprays contain carrier oils designed to cling to the plant surface. The sun will burn leaves coated in oils. We strongly advise that any spraying be done after sunset. This allows the spray to dry before sunrise the next morning and will safeguard your plants from frying in the sun.
• Invest in a good sprayer that can be adjusted to give a fine spray if needed. Go for a sprayer that can take 5 litres and has a pump action and long spray nozzle. These are not too expensive and well worth the investment.
• When spraying, use a very fine spray setting and mist the plant from a distance to catch flying insects and then spray the entire plant ensuring to cover over and under leaf as well as growth points thoroughly.
• Repeat the spraying after 5 minutes to ensure the plant is thoroughly covered and any returning flying insects are caught second time around.
• When using a organic insecticide, repeat any treatments regularly (every 3 or 7 days) until signs of infestation disappear.