🐛 Pest & Disease Guide

Pest & Disease Identification

Visual guide to common pests and diseases affecting crops and livestock in Region 7 — with symptoms, prevention, and treatment.

🔍 Quick Identification

Click a category below to find the pest or disease. Use the visual symptoms to match what you see in your field.

🌾 Rice 6 pests 🌽 Corn 4 pests 🥬 Vegetables 5 pests 🐄 Livestock 6 diseases 🐟 Aquaculture 4 diseases
👁️ Visual Guide

How to Identify by Visual Symptoms

Match what you see in your field to find the right pest or disease.

🔴 Red/Brown Patches on Leaves

→ Rice Blast (diamond-shaped) → Corn Rust (circular pustules) → Early Blight (concentric rings)

🟡 Yellowing/Wilting Plants

→ BPH (bottom-up yellowing) → Stem Borer (dead heart) → FMD (weight loss)

🟢 Holes/Damage on Leaves

→ Fall Armyworm (large holes) → Fruit Borer (bore holes) → Aphids (curled leaves)

🟣 Skin/Legion Symptoms (Livestock)

→ ASF (red skin patches) → FMD (mouth blisters) → HS (swollen jaw)
🌾 Rice

Rice Pests & Diseases

Brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens) on rice stemPhoto: Wikimedia Commons CC BY 3.0
🐛

Brown Planthopper (BPH) High Risk

Nilaparvata lugens

Symptoms
  • Small brown insects on stem base
  • "Hopper burn" — plants turn brown and dry
  • Yellowing of leaves from bottom up
  • Viral disease transmission (RSV, GRV)
Prevention & Treatment
  • Scout weekly — check 10 random spots
  • Plant resistant varieties (NSIC Rc 480)
  • Avoid excessive nitrogen fertilizer
  • Spray: Pymetrozine if >10 hills infested
  • Encourage natural predators (spiders, beetles)
Rice blast disease showing diamond-shaped lesions on leavesPhoto: Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0
🦠

Rice Blast High Risk

Magnaporthe oryzae

Symptoms
  • Diamond-shaped lesions on leaves
  • Grey center with brown borders
  • Lesions on neck (neck blast) — most destructive
  • Can destroy entire panicle
Prevention & Treatment
  • Use resistant varieties (IR64, NSIC Rc 222)
  • Avoid excessive nitrogen
  • Maintain proper plant spacing
  • Spray: Tricyclazole at first sign
  • Remove infected plant debris after harvest
Rice stem borer damage on stemPhoto: Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
🪱

Stem Borer Medium Risk

Chilo suppressalis

Symptoms
  • "White heads" — empty panicles
  • Bore holes in stem
  • Dead heart — central shoot dies
  • Larvae visible inside stem when split
Prevention & Treatment
  • Use pheromone traps (10/ha)
  • Release Trichogramma parasites
  • Remove stubble after harvest
  • Plant early to avoid peak population
  • Spray: Chlorpyrifos at egg-hatching stage
🌽 Corn

Corn Pests & Diseases

Fall armyworm larva feeding on corn stalkPhoto: Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
🐛

Fall Armyworm (FAW) High Risk

Spodoptera frugiperda

Symptoms
  • Large holes in leaves (window-pane damage)
  • Feces (frass) in whorl
  • Larvae feed on young leaves and whorl
  • Can destroy entire plant if not controlled
Prevention & Treatment
  • Scout weekly — check whorls
  • Early planting to avoid peak season
  • Spray: Bt-based pesticides (Delfin, DiPel)
  • Intercrop with non-host plants
  • Release Trichogramma parasites
Common corn rust showing orange-brown pustules on leavesPhoto: Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
🦠

Corn Rust Medium Risk

Puccinia sorghi

Symptoms
  • Small, circular orange-brown pustules
  • On both leaf surfaces
  • Leaves turn yellow and dry prematurely
  • Reduced grain filling and yield
Prevention & Treatment
  • Plant resistant hybrids
  • Proper spacing for air circulation
  • Spray: Mancozeb if severe
  • Remove infected debris after harvest
🥬 Vegetables

Vegetable Pests & Diseases

Fruit and shoot borer moth (Leucinodes orbonalis)Photo: Wikimedia Commons CC BY 4.0
🐛

Fruit & Shoot Borer High Risk

Leucinodes orbonalis

Symptoms
  • Bore holes in fruits (eggplant, tomato)
  • Frass visible at entry points
  • Shoots wilt and die
  • Most destructive pest of eggplant
Prevention & Treatment
  • Pick and destroy infested fruits
  • Use pheromone traps
  • Spray: Chlorantraniliprole
  • Intercrop with repellent plants (marigold)
  • Practice crop rotation
Early blight dark spots on tomato leavesPhoto: Wikimedia Commons CC BY 2.0
🦠

Early Blight Medium Risk

Alternaria solani

Symptoms
  • Dark brown spots with concentric rings
  • Lower leaves affected first
  • Spots enlarge and leaves yellow
  • Affects tomato, eggplant, potato
Prevention & Treatment
  • Mulch to prevent soil splash
  • Avoid overhead watering
  • Remove infected leaves immediately
  • Spray: Mancozeb or copper-based fungicide
  • Rotate crops every season
Cotton/melon aphids (Aphis gossypii) clustering on leafPhoto: Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 2.0
🐛

Aphids Low-Medium

Aphis gossypii

Symptoms
  • Small green/black insects on leaf undersides
  • Curling and yellowing of leaves
  • Sticky honeydew on leaves
  • Transmits viral diseases
Prevention & Treatment
  • Encourage ladybugs and lacewings
  • Spray: Neem oil or insecticidal soap
  • Remove weeds that harbor aphids
  • Use reflective mulch to repel
  • Strong spray: Imidacloprid if severe
🐄 Livestock

Livestock Diseases

African Swine Fever: reddened ears in infected pigPhoto: Wikimedia Commons PD-USGov
🐷

ASF (African Swine Fever) Critical

No vaccine, no treatment — 100% mortality

Symptoms
  • High fever (>40°C)
  • Loss of appetite
  • Skin hemorrhages (red/bluish patches)
  • Bloody diarrhea
  • Sudden death — 100% mortality
Prevention
  • Strict biosecurity — no visitors to piggery
  • Disinfect all equipment and footwear
  • Do NOT feed kitchen scraps
  • Report to BAI: (02) 8928-1171
  • No treatment available — prevention is critical
Foot-and-mouth disease ruptured vesicle in cow mouthPhoto: Wikimedia Commons PD-USGov
🐄

FMD (Foot-and-Mouth Disease) High Risk

Highly contagious — vaccination available

Symptoms
  • Fever, loss of appetite
  • Blisters on mouth, feet, teats
  • Lameness
  • Excessive drooling
  • Weight loss, reduced milk production
Prevention & Treatment
  • Annual vaccination (January campaign)
  • Isolate sick animals immediately
  • Disinfect premises
  • Report to BAI
  • Supportive care: soft food, clean water
Newcastle disease: sick poultry showing respiratory symptomsPhoto: CSIRO ScienceImage CC BY 3.0
🐔

Newcastle Disease High Risk

Paramyxovirus — vaccination critical

Symptoms
  • Respiratory distress (gasping, coughing)
  • Greenish diarrhea
  • Neck twisting, paralysis
  • Sudden death in young birds
  • Drop in egg production
Prevention & Treatment
  • Vaccinate: La Sota strain at 1 month
  • Booster every 3 months
  • Backyard: spray or drinking water method
  • Isolate sick birds
  • No treatment — prevention only
Submandibular swelling

Illustration: Submandibular edema ("bottlejaw") — key HS symptom

🐄

Hemorrhagic Septicemia (HS) High Risk

Pasteurella multocida — wet season outbreaks

Symptoms
  • High fever (40-42°C)
  • Swelling under jaw (submandibular)
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Sudden death — often before symptoms appear
  • Wet season outbreaks (Aug-Nov)
Prevention & Treatment
  • Annual vaccination (June — before rainy season)
  • Free via BAI program
  • Report immediately if suspected
  • Antibiotics may help if caught early
  • Most deaths occur before treatment is possible
🛡️ IPM

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

The smart approach: prevent first, then manage with minimal chemicals.

🛡️ IPM Principles for Region 7

1. Prevention First
  • Use resistant varieties
  • Practice crop rotation
  • Maintain field sanitation
  • Proper spacing for air circulation
  • Balanced fertilization
2. Monitor & Scout
  • Check fields weekly
  • Use pheromone traps (10/ha)
  • Record pest populations
  • Know economic thresholds
  • Scout at dawn or dusk
3. Biological Control
  • Encourage natural predators
  • Release Trichogramma for borers
  • Use Bt-based pesticides
  • Maintain habitat for beneficial insects
  • Avoid broad-spectrum chemicals
4. Chemical Control (Last Resort)
  • Use only when economic threshold reached
  • Choose targeted, low-toxicity products
  • Follow label instructions exactly
  • Observe pre-harvest intervals
  • Rotate chemical classes