Our
rooftop garden is in two parts. First are the waterlilies. In each tub there
are two different coloured ones. The second part is Adeniums. With more than
eighty different colours just sprouting to life, they should be in full bloom
by May.
I do
a customary visit to the rooftop garden every evening. Water has to be topped
up. Fish have to be fed and a cursory inspection around helps. Minor issues can
be sorted out immediately. Fish and birds wait for me. Fish for their daily
meal and birds enjoy a drink and pose for me.
Yesterday,
after clicking some birds, one Bulbul was most excited and kept following me
from tub to tub. I thought, probably she was looking for insects or sometimes
an odd dead fish floats to the surface which these girl relish. I left her to
hop around and took a nice closeup of hers.
When
I downloaded the photo, it came as a shock to me that there were blisters on
that waterlily leaf. It could be an insect attack, was the second thought.
I was right. ‘Aphids’, a kind of insect, had infested it. Soon they would drill
through the leaves making small holes leaving it pockmarked and suck out all
the juice from the leaves. This I had experienced last year but then the
infestation had cleared off on its own. Why did they attack this waterlily was
a matter of concern?
Waterlilies
are flowering now. I dream that one day all colours would bloom simultaneously.
That would be the day. But having these weird insects around on their delicate
leaves would spoil the fun.
A
thought passed through my mind that could these birds who come to eat insects
be carrying ‘aphid eggs’ from some other plant or place. Do aphids fly in on
their own? How do they know which leaf to attack and gnaw? All these questions
were eating me.
I
prepared my home-made concoction to spray on these insects. I brew a mild
emulsion of liquid hand-wash, Dettol and some Lizol (used for cleaning the
floor). ‘Handwash’ actually covers their skin from where these insects breathe.
Dettol enters the skin of both mealy bugs and aphids and kills them. Any insect
still surviving are executed by Lizol. Lizol claims to kill 99% germs of the
floor, so it has to be effective with these teeny-weeny mites. It works for me
for other plants too. Chemicals are only used when the infestation is beyond
control.
Having
filled the contents in a cold drink bottle and attached a spray nozzle, I was
on the pigs back. There was a little feeling of vengeance within. How could
they invade my garden?
When
I reached the roof, the first thing I did was to feed the fish. They wait
desperately. Otherwise, they have enough algae to eat. To start with, I
inspected the tub where I had photographed the bulbul last evening. I couldn’t
find any aphids. I carried out a thorough scan but just could not find them.
They couldn’t have migrated overnight.
I
was worried about the fish after spraying these chemicals. Though in aerosol
form, still some portions could mix with water and be inhaled by the fish. I
saved myself the guilt of harming the fish. Then I realised that it was my
friend Bulbul and her friends who must have enjoyed the juicy meal. By evening,
not a single aphid was visible.
Why
do Aphids attack such soft and delicate leaves? The reason is the nitrogen
content in the leaves. Aphids love to suck out the sap from them. Manuring,
which I had done while repotting in Feb as the water lilies were showing signs
of growth was the main reason. Nitrogen rich mixture of vermicompost, leaf
compost with a little bit of mustard and neem cake had done wonders for plant
growth. That is why the waterlilies became vulnerable to an aphid attack. A
point to note.
Once
they come, they infest the neighbouring tubs also. I would have to keep a close
watch on their activity. Lady bugs, also munch on aphids and mites. They are
yet to appear on the scene. Till then, I have lots of bulbuls friends who have
promised to take care of all such infestations. They helped me avoid spraying
on the plants. I thank them for that.
Aphids
form a dense cluster which is a form of defence for them. But a bird
understands their behaviour and picks them up one by one. Aphid attacks lead to
curling and drying of leaves and sometimes stunted growth of plants. Now that
they are gone, it doesn’t mean I should become complacent.
Have
your plants been infested by Aphids anytime? I wonder!!!!!!!!
JAI HIND
© ® NOEL ELLIS
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