By Felix Ochieng Akech 

Nyamira tea farmer Antony Odhiambo cut miticide costs by about Sh8,000 in one season and stopped repeat mite outbreaks by changing spray timing to match the red spider mite life cycle, rather than spraying based on visible damage.

Antony had suffered repeated and worsening red spider mite outbreaks on his tea farm in Nyamira County, until he realised the problem was how he was spraying.

“I realised it last season during the dry spell. I sprayed Omite and within three days the mites reduced, but after one week they were back sometimes even worse. At first I thought the chemical was fake. But when I checked closely, I noticed they did go, but then tiny red dots appeared again on new leaves in five to seven days. That’s when I realised the spray was killing the adults but not solving the problem,” said Antony.

“My mistake was spraying once and stopping. I thought one spray was enough. I didn’t know mite eggs hatch after about three to five days. So I was killing the adults, leaving the eggs, and by the time they hatched, I had a fresh infestation. I was unknowingly helping the mites complete their life cycle,” he said.

“Before, I sprayed once every two or three weeks, depending on how bad the infestation looked. After getting advice, I changed to a double-spray system, first spray to kill adults, second spray after five days to kill newly hatched nymphs before they laid eggs. That timing changed everything,” he said.

“I was using Omite (propargite). It works fast but does not kill eggs. The change was not switching chemicals it was changing how I used it. I sprayed Omite, then followed with a second miticide from a different mode of action after five days. That second spray wiped out the hatchlings.”

KTDA extension advisories also note that red spider mite control in tea needs a follow-up applications when products do not control eggs.

“That’s when I saw real control. After the second spray, the leaves stayed clean for more than two weeks. The webbing disappeared, and new flushes came out healthy. Before, I was spraying almost weekly. Now I spray once as a double cycle and stop,” he said.

“It reduced my costs a lot. Before, I was buying chemicals every two weeks. Last season, I spent about Sh18,000 on miticides. This season, with correct timing, I spent around Sh10,000 and my yields improved.”.

Antony said he also now checks whether the control has worked instead of assuming it has.

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“After the second spray, I check the underside of the leaves. If I don’t see fresh reddish dots or silvery speckling after seven to ten days, I know the eggs didn’t survive. Earlier, I would see new damage within days.”.

But he said misunderstanding of the extension advice had also contributed to his control failure.

“We are told ‘rotate chemicals’ but not why or how. No one explained that pyrethroids don’t kill eggs, or that Omite doesn’t kill eggs either. So farmers think the chemical has failed, when actually the spraying strategy failed,” said Antony.

Using general insecticides, like pyrethroids, also can make the problem worse, by killing mites’ natural predators. “It’s important to use proper miticides, and leave the other insects intact as these are what prevents them building up again.

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