Mango is one of Bangladesh's principal fruits, and a handful of pests take a large bite of the crop every year. Recognise them, and each can be managed.

Bores into the fruit, which rots and loses its value. Collect and destroy infested fruit; spray deltamethrin or cypermethrin at 2 ml per litre; hang pheromone traps.

Sucks the leaves, leaving white speckling, and checks growth. Collect and burn infested leaves; spray abamectin at 1 ml per litre; keep the soil moist.

Attacks the blossom and makes it drop; yield falls. Keep the base of the tree clean; spray imidacloprid at 2 ml per litre; avoid over-watering.

Tunnels the trunk and weakens the tree. Pour insecticide into the holes and seal them with mud; keep the orchard clean.

Eats the leaves inside a web, starving the tree. Collect and burn webbed leaves; use a Bt biological insecticide.

Sucks sap and grows sooty mould. Band the trunk with a sticky barrier; spray dimethoate at 2 ml per litre; encourage ladybird beetles.

Keep the orchard clean; remove fallen fruit and leaves; prefer biological control; use chemicals only when needed and at the recommended dose, with the right protective equipment.

Controlled well, the pests take little, and the fruit takes the price.

Photo: The mango leafhopper (Idioscopus) — arian.suresh from Chennai, India / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)