Welcome to our blog on Common Anthurium plant pests and control! This article will explore the causal organisms, damage symptoms, spread, treatment options, prevention strategies, and management techniques for these pests. Join us and learn how to protect your anthurium plants and ensure a good yield. Let’s begin, then.
Common Anthurium Pests
Anthurium is a perennial flowering herb in the Araceae family, native to Central and South America. Anthurium is a beautiful tropical plant renowned for its strikingly vibrant and uniquely shaped flowers. They possess glossy, heart-shaped leaves with prominent veins, providing an attractive backdrop for their showy inflorescences. The flowers are composed of a brightly colored spathe, often red, pink, or white, which encloses the tiny true flowers called spadix, which aids in attracting pollinators.
| Pest | Characteristic Symptoms |
| Aphids | Feed on plant sap, honeydew, sooty mold, chlorosis, & distortion. |
| Thrips | Feed on upper leaf surfaces, scrape chlorophyll, & scarring. |
| Red Spider Mites | Webbings, bronzing, stippling, curling, and premature leaf drop. |
| Mealybugs | Cottony white structures, chlorosis, & reduced vigor. |
| Soft Brown Scale Insect | Scale-like bumps, chlorosis, wilting, distortion, & reduced vigor. |
| Anthurium Leaf Miner | Serpentine mines or tunnels and blister-like swellings. |
| Armyworms | Leaf skeletonization, silken threads, and stem dieback. |
| Broad Mites | Leaf curling & twisting, puckered appearance, & silvered leaves. |
| Eriophyid Mites | Silver or bronze discoloration of leaves, blistering, & puckering. |
| Anthurium Whitefly | Feed on plant sap, curling, reduced flowering, and vigor. |
Aphids Pest Control in Anthurium
- Causal Organism: Myzus circumflexus.
- Symptoms: They feed on the plant sap, excrete a sticky, sugary substance called honeydew, and promote the growth of black sooty mold. Infested plants show leaf curling, chlorosis, distortion, and reduced plant vigor.
- Favorable Conditions: They prefer mild to warm and moist conditions of 20-30 °C, succulent foliage, dense plantings, and stressed plants for feeding, reproduction, and survival.
- Treatment: Spray potassium salts of fatty acids, neem oil, imidacloprid, or acetamiprid. Practice pruning, sanitation, and companion planting with marigolds or chives. Use high-pressure water spray and yellow sticky traps to monitor and control aphids.
Thrips Pest Control in Anthurium
- Causal Organism: Chaetanaphothrips orchidii.
- Symptoms: Thrips feed on the upper leaf surfaces, scraping away chlorophyll and leaving behind a silvered or faded appearance. Infested plants show leaf deformation, frass droppings, and leaf and flower scarring.
- Favorable Conditions: They prefer mildly warm and humid weather of 25-30 °C, tender plant tissues, stressed plants, and crowded plantations.
- Treatment: Spray neem oil, bifenthrin, permethrin, imidacloprid, or acephate. Practice pruning, reflective barriers, jet spray, sanitation, and regular monitoring. Use predatory mites or minute pirate bugs.
Red Spider Mite Pest Control in Anthurium
- Causal Organism: Tetranychus cinnabarinus.
- Symptoms: The most noticeable symptom is their webbings that act as protective structures. Infested leaves show chlorosis, bronzing, distortion, stippling, curling, premature leaf drop, and reduced vigor.
- Favorable Conditions: They prefer warm and dry weather conditions of 27-32 °C and < 50% humidity, crowded plantations, poor airflow, and weeds.
- Treatment: Spray abamectin, pyrethroids, spiromesifen, etoxazole, and fenazaquin. Practice regular monitoring, pruning, and sanitation. Use high-pressure water spray, increase humidity, and predatory mites, ladybugs, or lacewings.
Mealybug Pest Control in Anthurium
- Causal Organism: Pseudococcus spp.
- Symptoms: Mealybugs are identified by their white, cottony, or waxy defense or moisture-retaining structures. Infested plants show leaf chlorosis, distortion, honeydew accumulation, sooty mold, and reduced plant vigor.
- Favorable Conditions: They prefer warm and humid environments of 24-32 °C and > 70% humidity, tender foliage, infested plant debris, and overcrowded plantations for reproduction.
- Treatment: Spray potassium salts of fatty acids, imidacloprid, or acetamiprid. Practice regular monitoring, pruning, sanitation, and manual removal using a soft brush dipped in rubbing alcohol or soapy water. Use jet spray, ladybugs, or lacewings.
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