Red Ants infesting Ridge Gourd crop

Farm Questions
1

I have one month old ridge gourd saplings, and i see red ants (the one’s we see at home) infesting them.
Any remedy please advise.

Also i have few bitter gourd, which are dying with roots becoming yellow. These are month old saplings too.
Unable to load pics this time,but the roots become yellow and plant starts drying up.
Please need help on this too

Thanks,
Rakesh

2

[quote=rakesht6]
I have one month old ridge gourd saplings, and i see red ants (the one’s we see at home) infesting them.
Any remedy please advise.[/quote]
Are the ants puncturing the fruits or are they coming for small insects called aphids that supply them honeydew? A close look should tell you that.
Any regular insecticide spray or neem oil if organic should address them.

[quote=rakesht6]
Also i have few bitter gourd, which are dying with roots becoming yellow. These are month old saplings too.
Unable to load pics this time,but the roots become yellow and plant starts drying up.
Please need help on this too[/quote]
This must be some wilt or insect damage.
Do you have lots of cucurbit beetles flying around? their larvae eat up the roots - check for white larvae clinging to the roots. If there are none, it could be bacterial wilt.
Post back the details or pics if possible.

Thanks,
Rakesh

3

Thanks chandra for the reply.Attaching the pics, this will show the exact issue

IMG_20161125_084444970.jpg449×800 171 KB


IMG_20161127_093228689.jpg449×800 151 KB

4

Hard to make out from the pics, but I realized the plants are just 1 month old and are not in fruiting yet.

It is highly likely you have aphids, so neem oil or any systemic insecticide should address that.

On the second issue, you will have to determine if it is cucumber beetles and control them.

Check these threads:
farmnest.com/forum/pests-disease … -identify/
farmnest.com/forum/farm-equipmen … tric-bat!/

5

Hi Rakesh ,
start Jivamrut at once to your plants(Your plants are inviting pests due to certain deficiencies in the soil .Pl study ZBNF(zero budget natural farming,these will be provided by Jivamrut) by watching youtube/purchasing the books on the subject Authored by Subhash palekar this is short term and long term sustainable solution for your problem,also attend his work shop to get fully equipped for farming any crop on this earth. There are some very good Homeopathic meds also to fight various problems in farming but since the problem is not very clear you can opt for the solution suggested.