Gardening can be an immensely pleasurable and rewarding experience. However, there can be challenges when it comes to harmful insects, diseases, and other issues that may affect your plants. We’ve put together this guide with photos, remedies, and links to help you have a successful crop and manage some of the most common issues gardeners and growers face. We encourage you to talk to a local expert, Master Gardener or Horticultural Society or local ministry if you can’t find what you’re looking for here.
Common Plant Diseases
Mosaic Virus
Early/Late Blight
Powdery Mildew/Downy Mildew
Blossom End Rot
Leaf Spot
Scab
Bacterial Wilt
Rust
Black Spot
Splitting
Verticillium Wilt
Fusarium Wilt
List of Beneficial Insects
Ladybugs
Lacewing
Parasitic Wasps
Native Bees
Praying Mantis
List of Harmful Insects
Slugs/Snails
Leafminers
Aphids
Eelworms
Striped/Spotted Cucumber Beetle
Grasshoppers
Cabbage Looper Caterpillar
Thrips
Weevils
Spider Mites
Flea Beetles
Whiteflies
Sowbugs/Pillbugs
Earwigs
Cutworms
Boxelder bug
Coddling Moth
Fungus Gnat
Japanese Beetles
Leaf Hopper
Mealybugs
Squash Vine Borer
Tomato Hornworm / Tobacco Hornworm
Natural Pest Control Products
Insecticidal Soap
Diatomaceous Earth
BTI
Nutrients and Deficiency Symptoms
Phosphate: Deficiency symptoms include stunted growth. Leaves are dark green developing toward red or purple. Leaves may have necrotic spotting and older leaves may turn brown
Nitrogen: Deficiency symptoms include yellow of light coloring, starting with lower leaves. Drying and shedding of older leaves. Growth is stunted, stems are spindly, and yields are severely depressed
Potash: Stunted growth, tendency to wilt, weak stems. Older leaves may have bleached spots; margins may appear tscorched. Leaves may curl
Magnesium: Bleaching between the veins of older leaves. Leaves tmay be stiff and brittle or may appear withered
Calcium: Soft growth, deformed young leaves. Decreased growth of leaf and root tips
Sulfur: Stems are thin and brittle. Young leaves are pale or yellow. Slow, limited growtht
Copper: Leaf tips bleached, twisted, or curled. Leaves may turn dark blue-green, wilt, and drop. Plant appears withered tand seed stalk may wilt
Iron: Bleached or yellow new growth. Leaf tips and margins tappear dry
Manganese: Bleaching between the veins, dead spots at the base of young leaves. Young leaves may drop
Molybdenum: Stunted growth. Leaves are pale or yellow, withered, and may have dead spots or rolled margins. Begins with middle leaves, then moves to older leaves
Zinc: Bleaching between the veins along the midrib and leaf margin beginning with older leaves. Leaves may be thickened, and premature leaf death can occur. Sometimes short internodes are present, and bud formation may be decreased. This is the most common mineral deficiency