The document discusses gardening challenges during excessive rain periods such as soil erosion, nutrient leaching, root damage from saturation, disease issues from poor drainage, and decreased sunlight. It provides 10 tips for the rainy season including improving drainage, limiting watering, using well-drained soils, allowing beneficial animals like earthworms and frogs, adjusting fertilizer use, and avoiding pruning and pesticide use during rains. Common pests and diseases seen in the rainy season are also outlined along with organic pesticide and biopesticide options for control.

1. Gardening In Excessive Rain
1-Soil erosion: Heavy rains can wash away essential soil, leaving roots exposed and
damaged.
2-Leaches Nitrogen and Potassium out of the Soil
3-Roots reduces translocation due to saturation conditions, leads to nutrient deficiencies
4-Puddling & Standing Water: Can lead to diseases like root rot due to a lack of airflow to
plant root systems.
5-Inadequate Sunlight: Cloudy summer days with excessive rain tend to block essential
sunlight from gardens.
6-Plant Breakage or Collapse: Storms and heavy rain can break stems, knock over plants.
7-Fungal diseases: Molds love damp conditions, and once they start, they’re hard to stop.
However ,Powdery mildew get washed during rains but flourish after rains, vigorously.
8-Increase in Slug Population: and beer traps,putting salts do not work during rains.-
spread mint leaves.
9-Lack of Gardeners’ Keen Eye on the Garden
10-Cracked Fruits: Too much garden rain all at once can result in split tomatoes that
burst at the seams.

2. 10 simple tips to follow during rainy season:
1-improve the drainage system: This is a very important in rainy season because stagnant water
2- Watering: Do not water the plants during the monsoon season unless the soil has turned dry or
the leaves have started wilting.
3-Well drained soils- When you thoroughly water your container, it should drain out from the
drainage hole in about 1 to 2 minutes, neither quicker nor too late.
4-Earthworms: the gardener’s best friends and also called as Robots of Garden. This is the time
when they are found maximum and if you find them concentrated at one container,
5-Protect Young Plants like Saplings and seedlings from Rain.
6-Frogs and toads: These animals should be allowed in the garden during the monsoon.
7-Pruning and deadheading should be avoided.
8-The fertilizer requirement increases during this season, firsty because this is a growth season for
most plants. Then secondly, because of rain, there is frequent wash out of applied fertilizers.
9-For ground gardening, preparing raised beds is so beneficial, water will never stagnate
10- Pesticides: Spraying pesticides should be done during the monsoon immediately after fresh
shoots start appearing after the pruning process

3. Know your pest and disease
A-Insects
 Sucking pests.-Aphid ,Jassids, Mites and White fly
 Leaf feeders-Earwigs, Thrips, Caterpillars and Cut worms
 Burrowing insects- fruit / shoot(
 Nematodes-Roots
 Others-Ants, snails and sludges
B-Disease-
 Root rot/wilt ( at sowing /Transplanting)
 leaf spots,
 powdery mildew, Downey mildew.
 Virus
 deficiency of nutrients

4. Organic pesticides
1-Neen Leaf Extract (NLE)
Strip fresh leaves from tree>Chopped the leaves> immerse in water(one kg leave in five litre
water) for three days, then remove the leaves and spray at 7 days interval .
This preparation can be enriched by adding 50g chopped garlic or cow urine.
2-Neem Seed Kernel Extract(NSKE) -
Crush 40-50 g Neem kernel and> immerse in water in one lire for three days extract and >
add khadi soap/shampoo with no detergent.
3-Neem oil- Mix 5ml neem oil+2 ml of liquid soap and 1lt.water.stir well ,
4-Cow Urine -@100-200ml/Litre water act as effective pesticide, fungicide & growth
enhancer
Make sensitivity test on few leaves and watch for one day ,if it does not harm plant then follow
spray as the strength of organic based pesticides are unpredictable (How old, how much sour
and their source)

5. Sucking pests.- Aphid ,Jassids, Thrips, Mites white mealy bugs and White fly
THRIPS
Mites
WHITE FLY
JASSIDS
MEALY BUGS
APHIDS

6. Control of Sucking pests.- bugs and
White fly
Aphid ,Jassids, Thrips and white fly
 Use yellow/ blue sticky card to attract
aphids and Jassids.
 Use Organic pesticides ,with the
appearance of these insects.
 Cow urine, Neem leaves Garlic and
tobacco extracts were found more
effective in repelling these insects.
 Broadcast ash

7. Control of Mealy bugs-
Common in tomatoes, chillies and ladies fingure
1-Remove the infested leaves loaded with mealy bugs
2-Wash them with a steady stream of water.
3-Spray with weak soap solution.
4-Spray of neem oil + soft soap(shampoo)/ Aritha
5- Use swab or spray of isopropyl alcohol(Sanitizer)
6- Dust Epsom salt near root surface for further infestation.
7-Apply some white grease or Vaseline on the lower stem
8-Wrap the plastic ribbon or tape around the hard shoot,
Myth-Spray sugar solution to invite ants to eat mealy bugs
 This is not true,-the first sign of mealy bugs appearance is the crawling of small and big
ants on plant shoots.
 Actually, The ants are attracted to feed the excreta of mealy bug not the mealy bug
itself

8. New bio pesticides formulations available in market-
MYCO JAAL
India’s first oil-based, eco-friendly Myco-Pesticide
(Beneficial Fungus)
Also effective against sucking pests such as Aphids
and Mites.
Does not lose efficacy after sun exposure.

9. SPIDER MITES
REMEDY
• In dry weather
Flour preparations
• Mix flour/ Kaoline (multani
mitti) in water.
• Apply in the morning
taking care to spray
underside of leaves.
As the heat of the sun
increases, the mixture dries
out and the insects are left
encrusted in flour, shrivel and
die.
• Spray Wettable Sulphur@ 1
Tsp per litre water
Mites are not
insects. They are
related to spiders
and ticks

10. Verticillium Lecanii (Mycotal)
It is considered to control ,spider mites, whitefly and several aphid species.
Dose : 5ml/litre
Cost – Rs. 350-500/litre
**Spraying effect is better before 10:00 A M or after 4:00 P M
TSF

11. Leaf feeders-Earwigs, caterpillars, grass hoppers and cut worms.
Grass hoppers
Flea beetles
Caterpillars
Cutworms

12.  Control by organic pesticides
 Use Organic pesticides ,with the appearance of these insects.
 Cow urine, Neem leaves Garlic and tobacco extracts were
found more effective in repelling these insects.
 Broadcast ash
 Keep weed free conditions.
 Only regular spray at 5-7 days can control entries of caterpillars
in fruits or shoots.
 Once they enters in shoot or fruit ,organic pesticide will not
work
Control of Leaf feeders-
(Earwigs, caterpillars, grass hoppers and cut worms grass hoppers and beetles)

13. Some new generation Biopesticides
(Useful fungi)
Beauveria bassiana-
• It is an entomo-pathogenic fungi that
causes white muscadine disease in a range
of insects including-mealy bugs
, whiteflies, aphids, thrips, grasshoppers an
d certain types of beetles. Cures leaf curl in
tomato and chillies.
• It is sprayed after appearance of insect.
Dose : 5ml /litre
Cost -- Rs350-500/litre
**Spraying effect is better before 10:00 A M or after 4:00 P M

14. Control of Cucurbit fruit fly
(Adult fly punctures the early tender fruit tissues and lays its eggs.
The maggots feed on the contents of fruits and cause premature
dropping of fruits.)
 Only preventive measures are applicable in case of organic control
by spraying neem oil based pesticides on fertilized female flower
as cover.
 Grow ridge gourd as trap crop.
 Collect and destroy infested fruits such as fallen, deformed and
stunted fruits.
 Use traps citronella oil, eucalyptus oil, vinegar(acetic acid) and
jaggary to trap flies.
 Prepare a food bait to control the flies. Take yellow crushed ripened
pumpkin and mix drops of Malathion / 4-5 granules of phorate and
keep it in different places on the ground near the crop.
 Cover young fruits with newspapers or waste clothes initially if
cultivating a small area or in a kitchen garden.
 Soil application of carbofuran or phorate @ 10 kg /ha or
Cypermethrin@ 0.3%

15. Bio nematicides
(Paecilomyces Lilacinus
It works against all type of Root knot
Nematodes in various crops.
• Using repellent pesticides like neem cake and marigold,
coriander will be successful in land only ,as they will
have a place to escape away.
• But in containers if we have nematodes then we have to
kill them by Bio nematicides
Dose-
• 5g/ litre water drenching in pot mix
• 1.0kg/ 20 kg manure and broadcast
thoroughly
Cost -Approx.Rs.380/ 950G

16. ANTS
• An Ants seldom feed directly on plants, but they can sometimes damage plants in other ways.
• Kills Earthworm
• it disturbs the roots and deprives the plants of water.
• Ants feed off the honeydew excreted by various insects such as mealybugs, scale insects and aphids.
BENEFIT
 Help in pollinations.
 Bring fertile soils from bottom to top soil
 Indicate infestation from mealy bugs as they climbs on plant to eat sweet excreta of mealy bugs
 Kills snails and sludges
HOW TO DETER THEM
 Coffee grounds are a great way to naturally deter ants without harming them.
 Ants hate the strong scent of pepper or black pepper.
 Peppermint oil and mint leaves also deter.
 white vinegar and water on areas around the home and garden.
 Spread turmeric, boric powder, cinnamon .
 Keep cotton soaked with sugar and boric powder near ant hill or burrows.
 Drench neem oil +soap + water in pots

17. Slugs and snails-
Slugs can be described as snails without shells.Slugs are slimy and
soft bodied, without any legs.They are generally brownish or grayish.
 Slugs feed on a variety of ornamental plants that grow in part to full
shade as well as fruits and vegetables.
 Generally, slugs do not bother plants that grow in full sun.
 Every slug can injure plants, especially seedlings.
 Pests chew foliage and damage to seedlings.
 Use salt solution or spread boric powder on soil surface.
 Use some plants that hates it. eg. Ferns, Geranium & Euphorbias etc.
 Shallow pans of stale beer sunk into the soil can also be used. The
yeast in the beer attracts these pests, which fall in and drown.

18. Bhendi fruit borer
• Damage symptoms:
Terminal shoots wither and droop.
Presence of holes on the fruits.
deformed fruits indicate the incidence of
the pest.
Pest of Bhendi
• Management:
• Collection and destruction of affected fruits.
• Application of NSKE 5%/NLE

19. White Fly
 Spreads virus disease
Set up yellow sticky traps for white fly etc.
Give two to three sprays of NSKE @ 5%
alternating with sprays of cow urine at 5-7
days interval.

20. Pollination in cucurbits
 -Pollen fertility is considerable up to 7- 10AM
 Later on the fertility is greatly reduced and is
negligible by the evening.
 Stigmatic receptivity is very short duration &
pollination should be carried out within 2 hrs
after anthesis.
Manual
pollination are
suggested in
morning upto
fore noon
FEMALE FLOWER
MALE FLOWER

21. Poor fruit setting in cucurbits(FAQ}
Q1-Vine is growing long ,but no flowering or fruit setting?
Answer-
- More rains , promotes vegetative growth due to regular irrigations.
Flowering and fruit setting will be initiated when weather becomes mild
and favourable.
Q2- Lot of Male flowers are coming but no female flowers?
Answer-
1-Hot weather discourages female flowering.
2-Recurrent rains wets pollens or washed down

22. Q3- Both are flowering but now fruit setting?
Answer-
This may be due to poor pollination, in the absence of
natural pollinators like Bees, wasp, butterfly ,
 Manual pollination is recommended in forenoon. /late
evening
Q4- Fertilized fruit falls down?
Answer-
1-Either female flower was no fertilized.
2- it might have damaged by fruit fly.
Therefore regular spray of organic pesticides at 3-5 days interval is desirable.
3-cover the fruit with paper bag against fruit fly.

23. Drying and drooping of shoot and holes on fruit
LEAF ROLLER Tomato fruit borer
Insect and pest of Solanaceous vegetables(Tomatoes,Brinjal
&chillies etc

24. CONTROL
1-Regular clipping and burning of withered dead shoots and
leaves
2-Spray of Cow urine/ Neem oil/ neem leaf extract at 10 days
interval from imitation of flowering till maturity.
4-Handpick caterpillars and place them in a container of
soapy/pesticidal water .

25. Plant protection measures
1-Preventive- (General treatment-Prior to infestation)
A weekly schedule is to prepare-fix one day for each week-
For Example –Saturday is fixed
1st- –Cow urine
2nd –Neem based pesticides.
3rd
– Tobacco leave based
4
th - Butter milk based
2-Control measures ( Specific treatment on the Appearance of insect or disease)
A-Insects
 Sucking pests.-Aphid ,Jassids and White fly-
 Leaf feeders-Earwigs, Thrips, caterpillars and cut worms
 Burrowing insects- fruit / shoot borer-No organic treatment will be applicable. either remove
or use systemic chemical to kill the hidden enemy.
B-Disease-
 Root rot/wilt ( at sowing /Transplanting) as Preventive measure.
 leaf spots, powdery mildew, deficiency of nutrients ( Specific)
ABOVE ALL- KEEP WEED FREE SITUATION TO ALLOW THEM AS HOST FOR THEM

26. Daily monitoring of each and every plants solve 75% of your pest and
disease issues.

27. General practices for all vegetables
1- Seeds treatment- Bavistin, Cinnamon, Soaking in sea weed extract @ 1
ml/litre
2-Root treatment before transplanting-
1-Use Asprin/ Disprin @ 2 tab /ltr.water for 20 minutes
2- Dipping in sea weed extract @ 1 ml/litre or bioenzyme
3-Grow weed free crop ,as they compete for nutrients, light and invites insects
and disease.
4- Give minimum irrigation to reduce vegetative growth and induce reproductive
phase.
5- Spray organic pesticides at regular interval as a preventive and control
measure.
6- Remove diseased and damaged leaves.
7-Thinned out the closely growing vegetables to avoid competition between
plants for nutrients, light and space.
9-Never use diseased and infested plant part for composting

28. Use of Vector net is
effective to control many
migrating insects.
For kitchen garden purpose-
Mosquito net can serve our
purpose to large extent for self
pollinated crops

29. Common diseases management
Modes of pathogen spread
•-Soil born
•-Seed born
•-Insect and nematode vectors born
•-Wind born
Disease Control Methods
1-Cultivar Selection
2-Disease-Free Planting Material
3-Rotation
4-Cultural Management Practices -
• Growing Season -early, normal and delayed
season

30. Diseases
1- Powdery Mildew- white powdery mass on leaves and buds
 Wash with steady stream of water
 Spray of wettable sulphur @ ½ Tsp/Litre water (Recognised as of
organic origin)
 1 Tsp Baking soda +1 TSp vegetable oil+ 1 ml liquid
soap/Shampoo in 5 litre Water.
2-Stem rot-Infected stems look water soaked. A white fungal
growth encircle the base of the stem.
 Use Trichoderma in future crops
 Reduce watering and increase ventilation by removing weed
and other plants nearby.
 Do not grow again on same place in next season.

31. 3-Leaf spot disease (blights, anthracnose etc.) Spray Dithane Z-78
or Mancozeb or blitox @ 0.2% (1/2 TSp/litre water)
4-Verticillium/Fusarium Wilt – plant dies slowly after wilting
symptoms.
 There is no cure once it is find , It’s best to remove and destroy
infected plants to prevent it from spreading.
 Use Neem oil cake or Trichoderma prior to plantation.
 Do not grow same vegetable of same family at same place.
5-Virus (Mosaic, leaf curl)–
Transmitted by insect vectors, only preventive measures ,
Remove and burn the infected plants to avoid transmission

32. Virus Diseases in Vegetables
 There is no control measures of virus diseases.
 Only preventive measures are to avoid carriers(Vectors)
Pathogen is transmitted by insect vectors
1-seed born-seed treatment with Bavistin
2-Preventive sprays of organic pesticides to avoid spread of Vectors ( Aphids
and beetles)
3-Remove infected plants
Mosaic Little leaf in brinjal LEAF CURL in tomato

33. Blossom-end rot In tomato & capsicum
This is a physiological disorder/ deficiency of
calcium
. Brown discoloration appears at the fruit end.
Control—
 Spray calcium chloride (0.5%) at the time of fruit
development .
 Spray water solution of edible lime
( two tube/ litre water) available at betel vender.
 Maintain sufficient moisture in root zone.
 Add Gypsum or bone meal at the time in
planting.
 Dissolve 20 g Gypsum in one lite water and
drench near root surface

34. Powdery Mildew- white
powdery mass on leaves and
buds
 Wash with steady stream of
water
 Spray of wettable sulphur @
½ TSp /Litre water
(Recognised as of organic
origin)
 Spray -1 TSp Baking soda +1 TSp
vegetable oil+ 1 ml liquid soap/Shampoo
in 5 litre Water at 7 days interval on initial
appearance.

35. Fungal disease (Early blight)
Caused by Alternaria solani
Early blight shows up assmall, irregular, brown, dead spots on lower, older leaves.
Control-
Bacterial spot disease
The spots usually brown and close to circular shape.
CONTROL-Bactericide: Strepto cycline with Dithane M -45
Spray DithaneM-45@ 5%
@1.0%At fruit Initiation at 15 days
interval

36.  TYLCV is transmitted exclusively by the
whitefly Bemisiatabaci.
 Leaflet are quite abnormal in shape
with small size and low
developments
 Young leaves are shrieked, old
leaves are abnormal in shape
Preventive measure to control-
Spray NSKE,NLE, Urine spray at 10 days interval
after transplanting

37. Bacterial wilt of cucurbits
It is transmitted by the striped beetle,
Control Measures:
Rogue diseased plants to prevent
secondary spread of the pathogen.
Control cucumber beetles with insecticides.
Anthracnose
circular lesions lined with dark fungal stroma
bearing masses of pink spores on leaves
Control
Apply Dithane M-45/blitox @3% fungicides to
the crop at regular intervals.

38. Nutritional deficiency during rainy season
 Deficiencies of nutrients are
common during regular rains
,because of saturated
conditions of soils and low
temperature.
 Plant roots stops
translocation of nutrients
from soil through roots .
 In such condition ,only foliar
sprays will provide nutrition
at earliest.

39. Use of NPK (water Soluble Fertilizer)
The requirements of nutrients changes as per life cycle
I-Vegetative phase –
Germination to pre flowering stages-Needs almost equal
amount of all the major nutrients.
Spray of NPK fertilizer having equal amount of NPK. like-
19:19:19 or 12:12:12
II-Reproductive phase-
Pre flowering to Flowering and fruiting (till maturity) , use
of NPK with Less or no nitrogen with more P &K like-
0:52:34.
Doses -1/2 TSF/Litre water for spray and 1TSF /litre for soil
application

40. sowing of winter flower seeds in India
Winter flowers like temperature between 10 – 25 degree Celsius. Therefore,
September to November is the ideal time for sowing seeds of winter flowering
plants.
Major flowers are--
• Salvia
• Cineraria
• Chrysanthemum
• Dog flowers
• Marigold
• Calendula
• Flox
• Cocks comb
• Calendula
• Dianthus and many more

41. WINTER SEASONAL FLOWERS(Sept-February)
Acroclinum, sweet pea, Antirrhinum, calendula, chrysanthemum ,cosmos,
dahalia. etc.
sweet pea ANTIRRHINUM
CARNATION
Chrysanthemum Coxcomb LILLY

42. Asters
ASTER GLDULUS
DAHALIA CALLENDULLA

43. CHRYSANTHEMUM SPP.
COSMOS
COREPOSIS
FRENCH MARIGOLD

44. WHAT CAN WE GROW DURING
WINTER?
Priority should be given to leafy vegetables,to get your chemical free salads and
veggies,palak,dhania,green mustard,green chana leaves, lettuce etc.

45. Nursery sown on 1st January 2021 Emergence as on 10th Jan.2021
Covered with polyethene

46. PLANT PROTECTION MEASURES IN NURSERY
Damping off & wilt
 Damping off seedlings and elongation
of seedlings are common in nursery seedlings.
 Seed treatment and proper light is desirable
LEAF MINERS
 A leaf miner is the larva of an insect that
lives in and eats the leaf tissue of plants.
 Spray Organic pesticides on the plants 7
days after emergence