Flea beetles on pepper plants

Disease name: Pepper flea beetles

The scientific name: Alticini

Type of disease: insect

Disease family: Chrysomelidae

(Infection of pepper plants with flea beetles)

• The causes of disease:

Flea beetles are a common seedling pest, with older plants being more tolerant of the disease while pepper seedlings and young seedlings do not tolerate flea beetle damage well.

• Symptoms of the disease:

Adult flea beetles feed on the undersides of leaves, leaving small pits or irregularly shaped holes on the leaves. Most flea beetle larvae feed on the roots, and bumps can appear on the tubers.

• Disease development cycle:

The larvae live in the soil, where they are pale yellow to white in colour, with short legs and hard, dark heads in the grass. They are active in the spring and can have four generations per year.

• Conditions suitable for the spread of the disease:

The severity of infestation increases when the weather is hot and dry, which are the conditions that beetles prefer to attack crops and where the damage is usually greatest to seedlings.

(Image showing flea beetles)

• Losses resulting from the spread of the disease:

Beetles are not usually an economic concern in pepper, but when infestations become severe, seedlings become weak and can die.

• Control:

1. Removing harmful weeds such as cruciferous weeds, canola in the field and the remains of infected plants.
2. Use an insecticide that contains pyrethrin or acetamiprid.
3. Use of agricultural soap.

• preventive measures:

1. Monitor newly emerged seedlings to detect flea mites.
2. Installing a good irrigation and soil drainage system.
3. Good soil fertilization.
4. Getting rid of weeds and harmful plants around the field.
5. Use insect traps.

• Sources:
• https://ipm.ucanr.edu/agriculture/peppers/flea-beetles/
• https://plantix.net/ar/library/plant-diseases/600020/flea-beetles/