In our homes when we want to establish orchards we have to consider that there are many factors that can influence the good growth and development of crops, starting with the use of the type of soil in which we are planting, because, if it does not have the appropriate physical-chemical and nutritional characteristics the crops will not express their maximum potential, in the same way during the entire crop cycle the Arvense plants that appear on the surface and that compete with the crops for space, water, light and nutrients, for this, if not very large areas, manual control can be implemented, which turns out to be more economical and ecological, in addition to this, there are also other biological factors that influence crops known as pest insects, which can cause physical injuries to plants or suck and inject certain toxins into plants causing the progressive degradation of plants throughout the garden.
In this publication, as the name suggests, we want to show you how to make an ecological homemade insecticide, because as in the production units of agricultural production in home gardens, growers go to commercial houses in search of advice and a product that can solve the attack of certain insects on their plants, surely the product that the agricultural inputs marketer will provide you is of synthetic origin because its effect may be faster on the pest; without realizing it, you are taking toxic products to your house and spreading them in the garden and with it, you will begin to cause an imbalance in the soil and the risk that a family member has contact with such substances.
In this same vein, we can say that the type of crop that is most grown at home are vegetables, at least that is what we can observe in our area of residence, some of these plants are attacked by insects such as aphids, whitefly among other pest insects. For this reason, in search of economic and environmentally safe solutions, local waste began to be used to control pests, of which avocado seed began to be used, we all know the potential of this fruit and its seed for its presence of fatty acids and its use in pharmacology, likewise some reports mention that avocado seed also contains a high amount of tannins, which have the ability to have a repellent effect on insects, according to Mint and Hart (2003), the main function performed by tannins in plants is in the defense against mammalian herbivores or insects that feed on plants, decreasing the absorption of nutrients in the predator or generating a repellency effect.
Next, we share with you a simple way to make an ecological insecticide using avocado seed as a raw material, without further ado let's get started.
- Buy or harvest two avocados and after consuming them use their seeds.
- To make the most of it, the seeds are grated.
- Then 1 liter of water is brought to a boil to add the grated material.
- It begins with a kind of maceration leaving the grated material submerged for a period of six hours, with the intention that they release some substances.
- After the aforementioned period has elapsed, it is poured, passed through a sieve to filter it in a 5 liter container of water and let it stand for at least 6 more hours and it will be ready to apply it to the plants.
For its application it is recommended to spray it on the beam and the underside of the leaves with the intention that the plant is completely moistened with the product, these types of alternatives are preventive, therefore, apply it before it is known about the appearance period of insects to keep them away and avoid high infestation of crops and having to resort to synthetic alternatives.
| Final considerations |
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Dear readers, as we mentioned at the beginning of the article commercial insecticides are traditionally more used for the control of insect pests in our crops, however, their frequent use can cause high costs and that the pests become resistant and that it also affects insects that have an important function in agriculture such as pollination. For this reason, the trend of searching for natural compounds that can be potentially useful for the control of insect pests has begun. That's why avocado seed insecticide is a natural alternative to safeguard your plants from harmful pests.
| Bibliographic references |
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- Min B. R.; Hart S. P. (2003). Taninos para la supresión de parásitos internos. J. Anim. Sci. (E. Suppl. 2). 81,102.
Thank you for reading our content, until a next installment.
