Cereal Leaf Beetle

Cereal leaf beetle is one of the insects infesting wheat and leading to the destruction of the crops. It causes a disease named Fusarium Head Blight (scab) which worsens and results in the wastage of freshly grown wheat. It has been reported that this fungal scab keeps growing and on maturation releases mycotoxins. Vomitoxins are the most prevalent of those mycotoxins as they inflict so much damage to wheat that farmers cannot even market it. This is why farmers should be extra active to prevent their crops from cereal leaf beetle attack. Here is what some experts suggest regarding taking care of your wheat crop to prevent it from scab.

To prevent the formation and release of Vomitoxins you need to take measures to keep cereal leaf beetle away from your crops. Fusarium Head Blight keeps returning every year due to the migrating colonies of cereal leaf beetle. The best organic protection against them is the use of copper. You can use copper in any form, but at the end of the day, it will prevent an attack of cereal leaf beetle.

The use of fungicides surely kills Fusarium Head Blight, but it contaminates the soil and water. The harmful chemicals present in the fungicides also penetrate into wheat and lead to growth problems and other diseases when consumed by humans. That’s why fungicides are a big no as they are injurious to our health and harm the environment too. Along with this, fungicides and insecticides kill useful fungal and insect species too which aid the growth of crops.

This leaves only one option for the treatment of Fusarium Head Blight and that is the use of copper. You need to keep another fact in mind that too much copper can also kill beneficial insects. So, use copper for some time, take a break and then start using copper again.