How to get rid of potato aphids. Aphids that haunt plants, how to deal with it

Currently, chemical and biological preparations of a wide spectrum of action are offered, simultaneously destroying many species of insects at different stages of their development. When using chemicals, remember that often pests quickly adapt to the active substance of the drug and do not die under its influence.

The most dangerous pests for potatoes are the Colorado potato beetles. These are bugs that eat potato leaves, and without leaves, the potato itself does not grow. The fastest and effective method is chemistry, especially Prestige. But it is so poisonous that you can poison yourself. So, in order to have less chemistry in our lives, we process potatoes with tinctures of wormwood, and various infusions of herbs that have a strong smell.

The fight against aphids should be given Special attention. Plants affected by aphids suffer from malnutrition. Usually aphids are located on the underside of the leaves. It secretes a sticky, honey-like secretion that coats the leaves in a glittering mass on which black fungus can develop. In warm, dry weather, aphids can multiply very quickly. However, if there is a ladybug, lacewing on your site and you have attracted birds to the garden, then the number of aphids in a week can decrease several times.

spider mite

The spider mite is one of the most dangerous pests. This is a tiny greenish-yellow spider, barely visible to the naked eye, with dark spots on the sides. Spider mites are fairly small animals. The largest specimens (adult females) are about 1 mm long and have an oval body, with 2 red eyespots near the head section of the body. Spider mites live in colonies on the underside of leaves, each colony can contain hundreds of individuals. Larvae and adults suck the juices of the plant. The development of one generation of ticks takes 12-23 days, depending on temperature and humidity.

At the first signs of the appearance of a tick, it is necessary to increase the humidity of the air in places where crops affected by the pest are planted. Relative air humidity above 80% is unfavorable for the development of this pest. Carefully collect the affected leaves in a bucket, burn or bury deep in the ground. Against the tick, karbofos is also used (20-40 g per 10 liters of water). Spraying of plants is carried out once a week. In this case, it is necessary to moisten the lower surface of the leaves with a solution very well.

mouse rodents

Voles can cause great harm to potatoes, which damage potatoes during the growing season, and rats and mice during storage. Especially great harm cause common vole and rat. During the autumn, a few rats can destroy the entire potato crop. The rat takes small potatoes to its hole, and eats large ones on the spot. The rat doesn't like Fresh air and seeks to close the beginning of the course with his nose. Therefore, if you open a passage and place a rat trap near it, then it, trying to close the passage, can fall into it.

The gray vole gathers in potato storage areas and feeds on tubers all winter. The water vole damages potatoes during the formation of tubers, eats away a significant part of the pulp and undermines the roots. In storage, potatoes are also damaged by rats (black and gray). For the fight against rodents, I have long been using spiky burdock balls. When laying potatoes for storage in the basement, I sprinkle burdock on top of it.

If the rodents climb into the storage, a burdock thorn will stick firmly to their paws and body. They cannot remove the thorns stuck to their fur, they get very frightened and never visit a dangerous place again. And I also shift the potatoes with red elderberry branches. The smoke of sulfur checkers helps well against rodents. To do this, you will have to remove the potatoes from the storage and move them to another place for three days. A sulfur checker will not only protect the room from the appearance of rodents, but also destroy the entire infection.

It is difficult to find a garden plot in Russia where potatoes would not be grown. This vegetable has long and firmly taken pride of place in our diet. However, for some reason, most gardeners believe that tubers can simply be thrown into the ground in spring and forgotten about for several months. At the same time, there are many diseases and pests that are quite capable of destroying the entire future potato crop, if nothing is done. From some viruses, fungi and bacteria, breeders have learned to protect the culture, but with harmful insects With very few exceptions, nothing has been done so far. Therefore, you need to be able to recognize the alarming symptoms in time, indicating the appearance of a particular pest, and know how to deal with it.

You need to start fighting for the future harvest as soon as the first shoots of potatoes appear. Plants are regularly examined for the presence of characteristic symptoms, at the first suspicious signs, appropriate measures are taken.

A mandatory procedure is weeding the beds. Many weeds are "home" for most insects. Mulching row-spacings with freshly cut grass, straw, peat chips, and humus will help save time on weeding. Do not use sawdust for this purpose - they strongly acidify the soil, which potatoes do not like very much.

In autumn, the garden bed must be cleaned of all plant residues and dug deep. This will help destroy eggs and insect larvae.

The only pest that breeders managed to protect potatoes from is the golden nematode. Varieties Zhukovsky early, Zavorovsky, Rozhdestvensky, Pushkinets, Latona, Sante, Symphony, Fresco have resistance to it.

An almost universal folk remedy is sifted wood ash. Tubers (and especially their parts) are dusted with it during planting, as well as adult plants. Ideally, this should be done every time it rains. Colloidal sulfur has a similar effect, but it is used less frequently, about once a month.

When using insecticides, it should be remembered that the use of drugs of biological origin is stopped 5-7 days before the expected harvest. Chemicals - in 20-25 days. The latter is highly undesirable to use during flowering. Solutions are prepared in strict accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. The approximate consumption rate is 8–10 l / m². The smaller the drops, the more evenly they cover the plant. Therefore, it is advisable to use special sprayers.

When choosing a pest control agent in each case, a reasonable balance should be struck. It is unlikely that folk "old-fashioned" methods will help with a massive pest invasion. But the "heavy artillery" should not be rolled out, having found several insects.

Typical potato pests

Potatoes are attacked by many pests. Both the aerial part of the plant and the tubers suffer from them. The following are most often found in garden plots.

Potato flea

Adults of the potato flea, resembling small (2-3 mm long) bugs, feed on potato tops, the larvae gnaw the roots. Most often, their appearance can be observed in a hot dry summer, especially if the tubers were planted quite late. On the leaves and shoots appear small depressed areas of brown-beige.

For prevention, you can use pieces of thick cardboard smeared with honey or jam, as well as a special adhesive tape for catching flies. The traps are changed about once every 10–12 days. Those who do not trust folk remedies use Taboo or Phosphamide (0.2% solution). They are sprayed with potatoes every 10-15 days from the moment of germination. If there are few bugs or a small area, an infusion of chamomile flowers helps or dusting the leaves with a mixture of sifted wood ash and powdered dry tobacco leaves (1:1).

potato scoop

The potato scoop looks like a moth. The small moths of a grayish-brown color themselves do not cause much harm to potato plantings. But with their larvae will have to wage a serious fight. The pest is unpretentious, but prefers shade and high humidity. Scoop eggs hibernate in plant debris in the garden, in spring the larvae penetrate the stems of young plants, gnawing them from the inside. Not only potatoes, but also any plants from the Solanaceae family can suffer from them.

A good prevention of the appearance of potato scoops is special pheromone traps for adults. Also, do not forget about the regular weeding of the beds and cleaning it from dried tops, weeds, and other debris in the fall. Against the larvae, insecticides are used (Inta-Vir, Aktar, Calypso), as well as infusions of marigolds, calendula, and wormwood. Plants are sprayed with chemicals every 15–20 days, folk remedies- every 5-7 days or even more often if it rains constantly.

golden potato nematode

The nematode is practically the only pest that breeders have learned to protect potatoes from. But so far, not all varieties can boast of having immunity against it. It is almost impossible to see small, almost filamentous worms with the naked eye. To accurately verify the presence of a nematode, you will have to dig out the entire bush. On the roots, spherical thickenings with a diameter of 1-3 mm will be clearly visible.

Alarming signs that you need to pay attention to are yellowing leaves (starting from the bottom), slowing down the growth of the bush, a general decrease in its tone, poor flowering. Tubers on such plants are formed very small or not formed at all. In the presence of potatoes, the pest also passes to them - the skin becomes covered with grayish dents, cracks, the flesh in these places softens and turns brown.

Nematode eggs remain viable for 8–10 years, gradually accumulating in the soil. That's why the best prevention- compliance with crop rotation. In the same place, potatoes can be grown for a maximum of 3-4 years, then you need to look for another bed for it, on which its “relatives” from the Solanaceae family have not grown before. They suffer from the same diseases and pests.

It is useful to pre-sow the selected area with green manure plants. They not only improve the quality of the soil and saturate it with useful macronutrients. Flax, clover, lupine, mustard leaf repel nematodes. In the spring, 15–20 days before planting potatoes, special preparations of a similar effect can be added to the garden bed - Nematicide, Nemabakt. Tubers for planting for the next season are carefully selected and washed in running water the skin is brushed. The latter also applies to planting material purchased in the store.

In the event of a massive infestation by nematodes last season, the soil is deeply dug up in the fall and sprayed with insecticides - Carbation, Heterophos, Thiazon. In the spring, the soil is loosened, the treatment is repeated, distributing the preparations in dry form over the surface of the beds 25–30 days before the proposed planting of potatoes.

Video: nematode control in the garden

potato moth

It is quite difficult for a non-professional to distinguish an adult potato moth from the potato scoop described above. The similarity is also in the fact that caterpillars mainly harm plantings. At the same time, they destroy foliage, stems and tubers of potatoes not only in summer. Caterpillars are quite capable of surviving at temperatures of 10–12°C. Therefore, if the tubers are stored incorrectly, during the winter they can deprive the gardener of most of the crop. They pollute the pulp of potatoes with excrement, it is no longer possible to eat it.

To prevent the appearance of potato moths, care must be taken to ensure that the storage conditions for potatoes are optimal or close to them. The temperature in the room should not exceed 3–5°С, low air humidity and good ventilation are required. In the spring, all potatoes intended for planting are carefully examined, those on which the slightest suspicious traces are visible are immediately rejected.

To combat adults, drugs Lepidocid, Bitoxibacillin are used. They are sprayed with emerging shoots from the end of May to the end of July with an interval of 7–12 days. Give a good effect and homemade traps- shallow containers filled with something sweet (sugar syrup, diluted honey, jam).

Caterpillars are destroyed by digging up the soil in spring and autumn, deeply loosening the aisles every time after rain. During the season, high hilling is carried out 2-3 times. Experienced gardeners recommend cutting 1.5–2 weeks before the expected harvest potato tops. In the event of a massive pest invasion, any broad-spectrum insecticides are used to spray the leaves - Inta-Vir, Tanrek, Fury, Mospilan, Aktellik. "Heavy artillery" - 10% solution of Karbofos.

Medvedka

Medvedka is a large insect that lives in the soil. It moves along independently dug passages and in the process of movement it may well gnaw through the roots or damage potato tubers.

Good prevention - special preparations of biological origin (Medvetoks, Thunder, Prestige). The granules are distributed around the perimeter of the beds or brought into the aisles, then the soil is watered abundantly. Their validity period is 20–25 days. Some gardeners advise surrounding a potato bed with onions or garlic, the pungent smell of which supposedly scares away the bear, but this method does not always work.

If there are few insects, holes dug in the ground filled with bait - fermented yeast, beer, millet, corn or barley porridge with the addition of any vegetable oil and 2–3% Metaphos solution (25 ml/l). It is best to do everything necessary 3-5 days before planting potatoes. Then you can repeat when the first shoots appear, spreading the porridge between the rows. Boiling water or the same vegetable oil is poured into the discovered holes.

Cases of mass invasion of bears are quite rare. Karbofos can help here. Plants are watered under the root with a 10% solution, spending 60–80 liters per hundred square meters. In autumn, several holes are dug in the garden, filling them fresh manure. When it gets colder, they scatter it around the site, destroying the bears who gathered to spend the winter in the warmth.

leafhopper

Cicadas are very small, almost indistinguishable insects with the naked eye, resembling aphids or fleas. They settle on the leaves and feed on the sap of the plant. The leaves affected by their invasion are covered with small pale green or beige dots, gradually dry and die. The cicada is dangerous not only in itself, but also as a carrier of pathogenic viruses. And through the “punctures” left by it in the outer shell of the leaf, spores of fungi and bacteria penetrate inside.

To prevent the appearance of cicadas, tubers are sprayed 3-5 days before planting with a solution of Tabu, Karate, Cruiser preparations. The treatment is repeated when the first shoots appear and immediately after flowering. It is necessary to pay attention not only to the potato bed, but also to the neighboring ones. The cicada does not disdain eggplants, peppers, pumpkins, zucchini.

How to deal with the Colorado potato beetle

The Colorado potato beetle is a familiar pest "imported" to Europe from the United States after the First World War. It is capable, if not dealt with, of destroying almost all potato leaves, leaving only stems and veins. In this case, the yield drops by 50% or more. Adults are yellowish in color with longitudinal black stripes on the shell, larvae have a reddish-brick hue and black dots.

Photo gallery: what the Colorado potato beetle looks like

female eggs colorado potato beetle most often hidden under a leaf
The larvae of the Colorado potato beetle are able to devour a potato bush in a matter of days, leaving only the stems and veins between the leaves.
Adults of the Colorado potato beetle do not eat potatoes, but they also need to be fought.

The most common way to deal with it is to pick up the larvae from the bushes by hand. In this case, you can’t just shake them off to the ground. But there are also less time-consuming, more effective methods.

• Bitoxibacillin. The maximum number of treatments per season is four. The first is carried out immediately after flowering, the next - with an interval of 10-12 days. The dosage of the drug is 50–70 g per 10 liters of water. The day should be dry and cloudy, the air temperature should be 18°C ​​and above. Individuals emerging from exposed larvae are sterile and can infect other adult beetles, causing an epidemic.
• Colorado. Bushes are sprayed after flowering and after another 5-7 days. For 10 liters of water take about 150 g of the drug. Infected larvae cannot eat, quickly die.
• Bicol. Three treatments are carried out, spraying seedlings and plants after flowering. The last treatment is 7–10 days after the second. Dosage - 15-20 g of the drug per 10 liters of water.
• Fitoverm. It is used when the first individuals are found. The drug penetrates into the body of the larvae through the outer shell, reaching the intestines, paralyzes it. After 3-6 days, the larvae die. The solution is prepared according to the instructions. The treatment must be repeated after 12-15 days, since the drug does not affect the eggs of the Colorado potato beetle. The day for the procedure is chosen dry, clear and warm (18 ° C and above).
• Agravertin. The mechanism of action and scheme of application is the same as that of Fitoverm. But it can also be used for more low temperatures, up to 12°С.
• Boverin. In a bucket of water, dilute 100-200 g of the drug. Consumption is very small, only about 4 liters per hundred square meters. The first time the potatoes are processed after flowering, then twice more with an interval of 12-14 days.

If time has already been lost, and the pest has bred en masse, potent chemicals are used. There are quite a few of them, Aktara, Konfidor, Regent, Mospilan, Tsimbush are most often used. The scheme of application is approximately the same, but you must first read the instructions. For processing, choose a warm, clear, calm day. Best time for the procedure - until 10 am or after 18 pm. Leaves must be dry. Do not forget about yourself - take care of gloves, a respirator, goggles. Usually 3-4 treatments at intervals of 10-14 days are sufficient. It is advisable to change drugs, the Colorado potato beetle has the ability to quickly develop immunity to many poisons.

There are many alternative means of pest control that do not involve the use of chemicals. The easiest way is to build traps by breaking deep containers into the ground in a garden bed so that their upper edge is flush with the ground surface. They are filled with bait - pieces of chopped potatoes soaked in a 10% urea solution for 3-5 hours. The bait needs to be changed every 2-3 days.

Other popular folk remedies against the Colorado potato beetle:

• Wood ash. It is sieved and used to dust the tubers and their parts before planting. It is also sprinkled with leaves of flowering potatoes. It is also useful to use ash as a potassium-phosphorus fertilizer in the process autumn digging beds. An infusion is also made from it - a two-liter jar for 10 liters of water. Ready for use in a day. To make it better "stick" to the leaves, add a little shavings of green potash or laundry soap. Enough 2-3 sprayings with an interval of a week.
• Roots and leaves of burdock, wormwood. Fresh raw materials are finely chopped, filling them with about a third of a 10-liter bucket, the rest is topped up with boiling water. After 3-4 days, the infusion is ready. It is filtered before use.
• Tobacco leaves. It is advisable to grow them yourself. About 500 g of dry leaves are crushed into powder, pour 10 liters of water, insist for two days. Before use, the infusion is filtered.
• Birch tar. The solution is prepared in the proportion of 100 g of tar per 10 liters of water.
• Celandine, horsetail, dandelion leaves. The components are mixed in any proportion so that the total mass reaches approximately 3 liters. They are crushed, placed in a bucket, filled with water and boiled for 15–20 minutes. The finished broth is filtered, diluted with water in a ratio of 1:20 before use.
• Mustard powder. 15–20 g is diluted in 10 liters of water. 6-9% table vinegar (about 100 ml) will help enhance the effect.
• Tops of tomatoes. About 1 kg of raw materials are crushed, poured into 10 liters warm water. The infusion is ready for use in 5-8 hours.
• Vinegar essence. Take one glass per 10 liters, add about 100 g of soda. Freshly prepared solution is most effective.
• Colorado beetles themselves. The infusion is prepared only from adults, and you need to collect at least liter jar. Its contents are poured into 20 liters of water and left for a week in a dark place. Before spraying, the infusion is filtered, diluted with water 1: 3. The remedy must be used as soon as possible.

Video: folk remedies for the fight against the Colorado potato beetle

Methods for the destruction of a wireworm dangerous to the crop

The wireworm (officially the larva of the click beetle) is a thin “worm” pest of a bright yellow-orange color, 2–3 cm long, which is quite difficult to crush. Larvae gnaw through passages in potato tubers, which become "gates" for all kinds of infections. It also has a very negative effect on the keeping quality of tubers.

To avoid the appearance of a wireworm, a potato bed must be weeded, paying special attention to the fight against wheatgrass. Do not abuse rotted (and even more so fresh) manure - it has the ability to acidify the soil.

To prevent the appearance of a wireworm, several granules of superphosphate are placed in each well when planting potatoes, previously treated with the following insecticide solution (Karate, Aktellik or Decis) - 15 ml, acetone - 200 ml, water - 80–100 ml, or onion peel, dry mustard, hot pepper. You can also disinfect the wells by spilling a bright pink solution of potassium permanganate (about 0.5 liters each).

Effective in the fight against wireworm nitrogen-containing fertilizers - urea, ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate. Potato seedlings are watered with a solution (15–25 g per 10 l of water). But they can only be used before flowering - they stimulate plants to intensively build up green mass to the detriment of tuber formation.

You can also prepare traps, the same as for the Colorado potato beetle. Only as a bait in this case, beets, carrots, rotted straw are used. Once every 2-3 days, the bait is changed, the collected larvae are destroyed (they are destroyed, and not thrown somewhere in the far corner of the site).

Experienced gardeners note that the common wireworm is very effective in controlling the pest. salt. But it is possible to treat the surface of the beds with it no more than once every 7 years.

Other folk remedies:

• Eggshell. It must be ground into a powder and sprinkled regularly during the season between the rows.
• Corn and oats. Seeds are soaked in a solution of any suitable insecticide for a day, then sown on a potato bed about a month before planting. The method is good, but only suitable for warm southern regions.
• Dolomite flour. It reduces the acidity of the soil, which the wireworm does not like very much. Norm 1 m² - 250-300 g.
• Nettle, celandine, dandelion, coltsfoot. The crushed raw materials are mixed in a ratio of 5:1:2:2, poured with water for 12–15 hours. The bed is shed with a filtered solution.
• Pine needles. In principle, branches of any coniferous plants. They cover holes or furrows with potatoes immediately after planting.

In especially severe cases, only potent chemicals can help - Bazudin, Metarizin, Kapkan, Diazinon, Provotox. They are also toxic to humans, so precautions must be taken when processing.

Video: how to get rid of a wireworm

Is it necessary to fight the ground beetle

Not all insects are equally harmful. Ground beetles (small black bugs with a golden-bronze tint) bring undoubted benefits to the garden plot, being natural enemies of many common pests. The only exception to the rule is the bread beetle, which can be distinguished by its shorter stalks and an almost matte black carapace. Despite the name, she does not disdain other plants, eating out tubers from the inside and “grinding” potato stalks.

To combat it, the drugs Volaton, Bazudin, Nurell-D are used. They are used 8–10 days after the end of flowering, cultivating the soil. For prevention, you can spray the solution and tubers before planting.

Plants that repel pests from potatoes

As practice shows, the proximity of plants on garden plot may be successful or unsuccessful. certain flowers and herbs, most often with a sharp, strong smell, have the ability to repel certain pests. Therefore, they are surrounded by potato beds, planted in the aisles, sprayed with infusions and decoctions of the leaves.

Calendula, marigolds and chicory will help in the fight against the nematode. For some reason, it is also believed that this insect does not tolerate the aroma of parsley, but this is not always confirmed by practice.

Wormwood, tansy, elderberry scare away many flying insects, as if disorienting them. They will be useful in the fight against potato moth, scoop, cicadas.

In order to avoid the appearance of the Colorado potato beetle, onions and garlic are planted between the rows and along the perimeter of the potato bed. A little husk can be added directly to the hole along with the tuber. Or, during the summer, periodically dig cloves and cut heads into the garden. This pest also does not like nasturtium, tansy, marigolds, coriander, thyme, horseradish, peppermint. Phacelia is also useful in the fight against it, at the same time attracting many bees to the site.

The wireworm is most effectively repelled by beans, beans, peas, and other plants from the Legume family, especially if they are planted regularly in the garden. Also, for some reason, he does not tolerate the aroma of dahlias. The latter are also useful in that they oppress the wheatgrass growing nearby.

Well helps in the fight against the larvae of the click beetle and mustard leaf. Cut and embedded in the soil during digging, the greens highlight specific essential oils with a strong aroma. It can be planted twice during the year.

The first time mustard is sown at the end of summer or autumn, immediately after harvest. Before frost, it will have time to grow up to 50–70 cm. By spring, the leaves and stems will turn into straw. Without removing it from the garden, potatoes are planted. After the second hilling, the aisles are sown with mustard again. She will not interfere with potatoes, but she will take a place that is usually occupied by weeds.

An alternative option is to sow mustard on a potato bed in March or April. When the time comes to plant potatoes, the greens are cut and planted in a garden bed. The second time the green manure is planted in the aisles towards the end of summer.

Potatoes planted in the garden plot are threatened by many pests that can leave the gardener without a crop at all or without most of it. To avoid this, you need to regularly devote time to simple preventive measures. When the first suspicious signs are found, pest control begins immediately. The use of both folk remedies and modern chemicals has its advantages. The specific method is determined by each gardener individually, depending on the situation.

Foreword

Most of the land is allocated for planting this vegetable, because no one wants to be left without a "second bread" on the table, but the development of the disease in the planted potatoes jeopardizes all plans. The crop is small or completely unusable. In order not to be left without potatoes for the winter, we will learn how to identify signs of vegetable infection in time, fight diseases, as well as pests that love to eat tubers and tops of this crop.

Non-compliance with crop rotation, the introduction of a large amount of nitrogenous fertilizers, sudden changes in temperature lead to the development of fungal diseases. According to the number of lesions, there are three main diseases of tubers and tops. The first place is occupied by late blight. This disease affects all parts of the culture. External signs visible on the leaves - dark brown spots arranged in a chaotic manner. After a while, the spots increase in size, blacken and completely dry out. If you do not fight the fungus, then it penetrates deep into the soil, forming depressed dark spots with a brown border on the tubers.

The most common potato disease is late blight.

You can fight late blight with both chemical and folk remedies. Choosing the first option, use copper-containing preparations: Bordeaux liquid, blue vitriol, Ridomil Gold, Oxyhom. Processing is carried out once every two weeks in dry weather, and in the season of heavy rains - once a week. As a preventative and early stages diseases, we recommend using whey. We dilute it with water in proportions of 1: 1 and water the plant. The leaves are covered with a film that limits the penetration of phytophthora fungus. Remember, the serum is quickly washed off, so carry out the procedure as often as possible, and preferably daily, starting in July. Spraying with infusion of garlic is a good prophylactic. This safe method control of pathogenic fungus from the beginning to the end of the flowering period, which is carried out with a break of 8-10 days. Choose late blight-resistant potatoes: , Luck, Lugovskoy, Blueberry, Nida.

We give second place to Fusarium or dry rot. The fungus infects the plant at any stage of growth, actively develops during flowering. The leaves of the tops acquire a light purple color, roll up into a tube, the stem dries up and rots. Fusarium wilt is faster than late blight. In just a couple of days, the plant can completely dry out and die. On tubers infected with Fusarium, depressed gray-brown spots with voids appear. The fight against this fungal disease is also underway copper-containing preparations. To minimize the infection of potato tubers with Fusarium, we recommend dressing them before planting Fitosporin-M or Baktofit. There are no varieties completely resistant to Fusarium, so the fight and prevention of the fungus must be approached responsibly.

In third place, you can safely put alternariosis. The active period of development of the fungus occurs 15–20 days before flowering. Concentrated dark brown spots appear on the leaves, the leaf plates completely dry out, as after a fire, form dangling brushes. The stalk of the tops is covered with elongated spots. Depressed spots with a wrinkled structure are formed on the peel of the tubers, located in a circle. When cut on a potato, circular areas with black-brown dry rot are visible. For pickling tubers before planting, we use an already familiar biological product Baktofit, Maxim. We spray infected plants with copper-containing preparations ( Ridomil Gold, Tsikhom, Kuprikol, Ordan).

Of particular danger in the garden are bacterial diseases potatoes. This group includes: black leg, bacterial, ring and wet rot. The black leg appears at the initial stage of crop growth, affecting all organs of the plant. The leaves turn yellow and dry, the stem at the base turns black (rots), the tops are easily pulled out of the soil. The conducting paths are clogged, the tubers do not receive nutrients. The infection accumulates inside the tubers, has a latent form, which manifests itself during storage.

Of particular danger in the garden are bacterial diseases of potatoes.

Ring rot is characterized by rotting inside the pulp. When pressing on the rot, a foamy mass is released with bad smell. During the storage of potatoes, the inside of the tuber is completely filled with light, viscous mucus. Wet rot appears at low temperatures (0 ° C and below). With such indicators, watery spots form on the tuber, which lead to rotting of the entire potato.

Along with bacteria, viral diseases of potatoes also pose a great danger. This group includes viruses that change the color of the leaves, lead to their deformation (twisting, the appearance of tubercles, growths, seals), as well as dwarfism. Potato is affected by the common, wrinkled, striated mosaic virus, leaf curl. The main carriers of the virus are insect pests (aphids, cicadas, bugs), infected planting material. Bushes sick with the virus are dug up and burned, and the ground is thoroughly disinfected with fungicides.

Unfortunately, to fight bacterial and viral diseases impossible, but can be prevented:

• use healthy planting material by purchasing it from trusted garden centers;
• timely remove diseased bushes with tubers;
• observe crop rotation, returning potatoes to the previous planting site no earlier than after 3-4 years;
• thoroughly dry the tubers before storing, sorting diseased specimens from healthy ones, harvest in dry weather;
• maintain optimal conditions for long-term storage potatoes - 2–3 °С and air humidity 85–90%;
• disinfect storage containers, greenhouses and garden tools, pickle tubers before planting with biological products.

The Colorado potato beetle is the first to open the six dangerous potato pests. An insect that all gardeners know by its striped color. Large colonies of the Colorado potato beetle are able to completely destroy the tops, leaving potatoes without food. During the season, one female of this pest is capable of producing up to 1000 eggs. On the suburban area it is preferable to deal with this pest manually, collecting larvae and adults in a separate container with strong saline or kerosene, dust the bushes with ash. If the Colorado potato beetle massively attacked the fields, use insecticides - Corado, Bankol, Decis extra, Confidor, spraying the tops with an interval of 6-8 days.

Medvedka loves to eat tubers

Medvedka (earth cancer) loves to eat tubers and young shoots of potatoes. Breaking through numerous passages in the ground, the bear leaves a large number of eggs. The pest settles on sunny beds and well-warmed soil. There are many, one of them is poisonous porridge. For 500 g of buckwheat or oatmeal, add a tablespoon of unrefined oil, preferably homemade, and an ampoule Regent. In the passages left by the insects, add half a teaspoon of the mixture, sprinkle the hole with earth.

Marigolds, mint, garlic, and other plants with a pungent odor repel insect pests. Therefore, we recommend planting them around beds with potatoes.

The potato nematode is a small golden worm that infects root system and potato tubers. Signs of its defeat are yellowing of the leaves, small tubers, thinning of the stem, the appearance of adventitious roots. Most often, the nematode settles in soil with non-compliance with crop rotation, depleted of mineral and organic fertilizers. We fight pests with Bazudin and Nemabakt.

Outwardly similar to a potato nematode, another worm with a golden color is a wireworm. He settles in damp soil and shady areas, where the rules of loosening and weeding from weeds are neglected. For prevention, pour into each hole before planting ground eggshell, a handful of ash or chalk. Such activities help reduce the acidity of the soil, creating an unfavorable environment for the life of the wireworm. We use drugs to control pests Actellik, Karate, Decis.

Scoop caterpillars infect potato tops and tubers, making numerous moves in it. These pests are the main causative agents of bacterial diseases, in particular dry and wet rot. Damaged bushes are deformed, the leaves dry and break. Effective drugs to fight the owl - Tsimbush and Decis.

The six is ​​completed by potato moth, which belongs to the group of quarantine pests.. This light gray butterfly infects tubers, forming passages in it under the skin and inside the pulp, damages the conductive tissue of plants, clogs blood vessels, and partial or complete death of the stem occurs. Biological preparations are used to combat potato moth: Bitoxibacillin, Lepidocid, Dendrobacillin or Entobacterin. Thanks to special bacteria, they reduce the fertility of insects, neutralize larvae and inhibit the development of adults.

Pests reproduce by parthenogenesis (without mating and fertilization). The female lays up to 100 eggs. Depending on the weather, 5-15 generations of aphids can develop per season. Some insects do not have wings, but in summer, in hot weather, winged individuals hatch from eggs. Eggs overwinter on plant debris, often females end up in storage along with tubers.

One aphid sucks out very little juice. But if a colony of pests settles on the tops - the leaves and flowers begin to deform, discolor, dry out, the plant's immunity weakens. Aphids leave sugary secretions on the surface of the leaves that attract other pests. In a sticky, sweet mass, spores of a soot fungus develop.

The peak of the invasion of aphids falls on the second half growing season. Ants feed on the "milk" of pests. They "graze" and protect aphids. The natural enemies of aphids are larvae and adults. ladybug, larvae of hover flies and lacewings.

Folk methods of dealing with aphids

For spraying small plots you can prepare one of the infusions:

• Pour 1.2 kg of chopped potato tops with a bucket of water, insist for a day, add 40 g of laundry soap dissolved in a small amount of water before use;
• Pour 400 g of tobacco into 2 liters of water, boil for 10 minutes, insist for a day, strain before use, add water to 10 liters and add 40 g of laundry soap;
• Pour 4 kg of tomato tops into 3 liters of water, boil for 10 minutes. After 5–6 hours, strain the broth, add water to 10 liters, add 40 g of laundry soap;
• pour half a bucket of marigolds with a bucket of water, leave for 2 days, add laundry soap;
• dissolve 2 tablespoons in a bucket of water ammonia and 40 g of laundry soap.

thrips

Not all thrips are herbivores. There is a predatory species whose representatives feed on spider mite eggs.

Thrips on potatoes hide under the leaves and in the cups of the flowers. The life span of the female is 20–25 days, during which she manages to lay up to 100 eggs under the skin of the leaf (on the inside).

The optimum temperature for thrips is from +25 to +30 °C. They are considered the scourge of greenhouses, where they manage to give 6-8 generations per season. IN open field 1-2 generations are born per season. Pests overwinter in the soil, at a depth of 6–8 cm.

Signs of damage to the tops of thrips: yellow spots with clearly defined boundaries that occur long before the end of the growing season. Over time, the spots acquire a silver tint, black dots appear on them.

Folk remedy for thrips

Thrips cannot stand the smell of garlic. It is necessary to pour 150–200 g of garlic arrows or cloves (old ones) into 1 liter of water, insist for 5 days and strain. For spraying, 60 ml of garlic infusion and 40 g of laundry soap are dissolved in a bucket of water.

leafhoppers

About 1300 species of cicadas live on the territory of Russia. Insects love warmth, so most of them are in the southern regions. Vegetable gardens in Krasnodar and Stavropol are more likely to suffer from white leafhoppers. Closer to the Center there are bindweed and green leafhoppers. Depending on the species, insects can be colored yellow-green, turquoise, White color. Pests are as small as aphids, but differ from them in well-developed hind legs adapted for jumping. Thanks to their wings, leafhoppers fly very quickly between bushes 3–5 m apart from each other.

Pest larvae hatch from eggs in May, adults appear in July-August, they lay eggs (in the root zone of weeds) from late August to early November. Cicadas live in anthills, they go out to "fish" at night, under the protection of ants. Pests are polyphages. They fly to potato tops from weeds (bindweed, manna), therefore, unweeded areas are at risk.

The insect drinks not so much juice. But when fed, it pierces the leaf, and pathogenic microorganisms enter the wound. According to research data, 10-15% of individuals are infected with a dangerous mycoplasmal disease - potato stolbur.

To combat cicadas on potatoes, the tops are sprayed with a weak solution of ammonia (2 tablespoons per bucket of water). 40 g of laundry soap is added to the solution. It is best to destroy pests before adults appear, that is, from May to early July.

Spider mites

The spider mite is one of the most enduring potato pests. Its body is up to 0.6 mm long and has an oval shape. The color of adults is yellow-green, females become red or orange in winter and spring.

The insect does not tolerate direct sunlight, coolness and high humidity. It hides on the back of the leaves. Optimal conditions for him - air humidity up to 55% and temperature from +25 to +30 ° С. In open areas, pests appear in June, and leave for wintering in August. But in greenhouses where early and seed potatoes are grown, the tick is able to give up to 5 generations per season, and in heated greenhouses - up to 20 per year. Eggs remain in the soil for up to 5 years.

The presence of mites on potatoes is evidenced by a barely noticeable cobweb on the reverse side. sheet plate. Sometimes several leaves or flowers are braided with cobwebs. The leaves are covered with small yellow specks, which gradually turn red. The tops damaged by insects are dehydrated and dry out prematurely.

The same helps against ticks garlic infusion, which is against aphids.

Pesticides against aphids, thrips, leafhoppers and spider mites

A potato plantation is rarely attacked by only one type of pest. In order not to oversaturate the plants with pesticides, you need to choose for spraying universal means or prepare tank mixes.

With aphids, thrips and cicadas, everything is simple: most modern drugs against the Colorado potato beetle help well with them. Imidacloprid-based systemic insecticides have proven themselves well: Prestige, Colorado, Confidor, Commander and others.

To destroy the Colorado potato beetle, aphids, cicadas and thrips, agents based on:

• thiamethoxam ("Aktara", Kruizer", "Tiara", "Ephoria");
• organophosphorus compounds ("Aktellik", active substance- pyrimiphos-methyl);
• pyrethroids ("Ivanhoe", "Tsunami", "Alfashance", the active substance is alpha-cypermethrin);
• aversectin-S ("Fitoverm");
• clothianidin ("Apache");
• bensultapa ("Bankol").

The problem is that not all of the listed remedies help against a tick: for example, thiamethoxam, which is effective against other insects, is powerless here. If attacked by potatoes spider mite, best option- insectoacaricide based on imidacloprid, organophosphorus compounds ("Aktellik") or pyrethroids.

But these substances decompose for a long time. If plantings need to be sprayed after flowering, it is best to use Bankol, which decomposes within 2 weeks, or Fitoverm (you can harvest 2-3 days after applying the product).