Whiteflies

Twice a month, check the tips of new shoots. White cottony patches on the stems mean mealybug — wash off with soapy water or treat. Tiny white flies that fly up when you shake the plant carry the mosaic virus from plant to plant — control them quickly. Pull up and burn any plants showing yellow patches.

Check the seedlings every day for the first 2 weeks. Plants cut off at the base = cutworms come out at night. Plants wilting at soil level = a soil disease (damping-off) — pull and burn them. Tiny white flies under the leaves carry a bad virus that yellows and curls leaves; treat fast.

Twice a week, turn over leaves and look underneath. Tiny white flies or green/black bugs in groups = aphids/whitefly. Fine spider-web on the leaves and silver-bronze leaf colour = spider mites (worse in dry weather). Curly white winding lines on leaves = leaf miners eating inside.

Tiny insects in the flowers cause them to curl and twist — that's thrips, and they also carry a virus. If lots of flowers fall off but you don't see bugs, the heat or your watering is the problem — not pests.

Twice a week, look under the leaves. Tiny insects in groups = aphids or whitefly. Silvery scars on leaves = thrips. Webbing or bronze leaves (worse in dry weather) = spider mites. White flies are the dangerous ones — they spread a yellow-vein virus.

Twice a week, look at the leaves. Many small holes = flea beetles. Bugs in groups under leaves = aphids. Tiny white flies that fly up when you touch the plant are the dangerous ones — they spread the leaf-curl virus. Reflective mulch and neem help.

When flowers appear, keep checking twice a week. Whiteflies and aphids spread virus and weaken the plant. Reflective mulch under the plants confuses the flies; neem and soapy sprays knock them back.

Every 3 days while picking, check the leaves and new pods. Curled, distorted young leaves = the leaf-curl virus spread by whiteflies — pull badly affected plants out. Keep flea beetles and aphids in check with neem.