Who eats potatoes in the ground - directly gnaws, methods of combating parasites. How to detect potato pests: photo, description and treatment, useful tips for experienced and novice gardeners Who can eat young potatoes in the ground

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 active ingredient 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.

Potatoes are not for nothing called the second bread. Plantings of this plant can be found in almost every country or garden plot. It is all the more important to know which of the insect pests poses a particular threat to your favorite tubers.

As well as instructions on how to prevent the appearance of an "enemy" on potato beds with the help of preventive measures or on effective measures to combat flying and crawling tuber lovers. That is what our article today is about.

This native of distant America, unfortunately, is familiar to absolutely everyone who grows potatoes. The striped aggressor from the leaf beetle family really liked our climate. Beetles and larvae of the Colorado potato beetle feed on the leaves of nightshade representatives: potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, which makes them dangerous pests. Agriculture.

This insect goes for wintering deep into the soil, and in the spring it gets out and begins to actively devour the first greens. Even if you carefully monitor your site, your potatoes are in danger. This insect is actively moving, so it will not be difficult for him to overcome a hundred meters through the air from a neighboring infected garden to yours.

Plants damaged by the Colorado potato beetle eventually simply dry out, because. lose their ability to absorb moisture and nutrients from the soil.

During the season, the pest can give several generations (females lay eggs without interruption), and when not favorable conditions- even hibernate for up to three years.

Appearance and symptoms of the presence of the Colorado potato beetle

Outwardly, an adult insect is a classic "beetle" up to 12 mm long, with a yellow head, a rounded body and shiny convex elytra in a longitudinal strip. Its larvae are about the same size, bright orange with a black head and two rows of black dots on the sides of the body.

On a note! For a similar appearance harmful larvae of the Colorado potato beetle are often confused with larvae of exceptionally useful ladybug. Be careful - the latter are gray, "spiky" with orange spots.

Finding the Colorado potato beetle is easy, just look at the leaves of the potato. On them (most often along the edges) one can easily notice the characteristic traces of the presence of a beetle and its larvae: parts of the leaf are gnawed. The larvae feed by moving from the edge of the leaf to its center, gradually destroying the entire leaf blade. At the same time, if you turn over even whole leaves, you can see the egg-laying of the beetle from below (many orange eggs densely located to each other).

Control measures for the Colorado potato beetle

It is not easy to fight the Colorado potato beetle and its larvae - the pest shows high resistance to poisons and quickly develops immunity to them, and is also poisonous to most birds and animals.

Preventive measures include strict adherence to crop rotation, annual deep autumn digging of the site, planting wormwood, calendula, onion, and hemlock near beds with potatoes.

If insects have already appeared, you will have to try very hard and take comprehensive measures. This is a manual collection of beetles and larvae with their destruction outside the site, setting traps with potato peels, treatment of crops with folk remedies (a solution of birch tar, a mixture of soap and ash), as well as the use of chemical insecticides (Aktellik, Fitoverm, Aktara, Colorado, etc.).

This large omnivorous insect is sometimes popularly referred to as "earth cancer" for the shape and size of its front paws. Medvedka is dangerous for absolutely all plants in the garden and in the garden. This pest eats or damages roots, potatoes, roots and bulbs of flowers, shrubs and trees. Both adults and larvae are able to break through their burrows next to plant seedlings and drag them underground to eat.

An insect can enter the site either on its own or with imported fertilizer or soil. Medvedka leads an underground lifestyle, eating everything that she comes across in the way of breaking through her moves and holes. It also hibernates in the soil, in the spring it lays eggs in earthen chambers, and after a couple of weeks, larvae are born that will develop for several years.

Medvedka breeds rapidly, laying one and a half to two hundred eggs at a time, and quickly gets used to pesticides.

Appearance and symptoms of the presence of a bear

An adult bear is a large (up to 5 cm) big-eyed brown-brown insect with large front claws. She runs fast, actively moves underground, can fly and swim.

Medvedka larvae are similar to adults, only smaller and slower. In the process of growth, they feed on the same resources, increasing the trouble in the beds.

You can detect the appearance of a bear on the site by the sudden withering of seedlings and the surface of the soil, dotted with small holes and loose mounds that appear in the places of insect passages.

Preventive measures against the appearance of a bear include planting plants with a pungent odor (marigold, calendula), sifting the purchased soil and manure, as well as observing the rules of agricultural technology.

If insects have already appeared on the site, they will have to be fought - and, unfortunately, do this for a long time. Some generally believe that it is impossible to completely remove the bear from the garden.

You can place a variety of traps on the territory (containers with beer or honey, dung heaps). In the discovered holes made by bears in the ground, pour boiling water, infusion onion peel or soapy water, or calcium carbide is poured in (after rain, it will enter with water into chemical reaction, releasing acetylene gas, which is poisonous to insects).

Of the proven chemical insecticides against the bear, you can advise Medvetoks, Antimedvedka, Medvecid, Rembek, Boverin, Phenaksin plus, etc., which are laid out in holes during planting seedlings.

Click beetles, strictly speaking, there are many types. And not all of them are dangerous for your garden. But we will talk about the latter, which themselves feed on young tubers and potato leaves, and lay eggs from which real ones appear. dangerous pests agricultural crops - larvae, nicknamed wireworms for their appearance.

The beetles lay their eggs in the soil in early to mid-summer, and the hatching larvae, before pupating and turning into an adult insect, hibernate several times, becoming especially harmful to plants at an older age.

Appearance and symptoms of the presence of a wireworm

The beetles themselves are brown insects with an elongated body shape, clearly divided into the cephalothorax and abdomen. They got their name for the noticeable ability, being turned over on their back, to roll over on their own with a sharp click sound.

Beetle larvae are medium-sized, dense, yellow-white, darkening with age to orange-brown "worms" with a dark head and a hard chitinous cover. During the growth period, wireworms actively move in search of food and feed on the underground organs of plants.

To determine the infestation of the site with these larvae is quite simple by the presence of tubers damaged in this way.

Wireworm Control Measures

The fight against wireworm begins with prevention: do not thicken crops, observe crop rotation, remove weeds (especially wheatgrass) and plant residues in a timely manner, lime the soil, preventing it from acidifying and caking.

Biological methods of getting rid of the wireworm include mainly the installation of traps and baits based on natural products. Every day they need to be cleaned of accumulated larvae and “charged” with a new one, and this will have to be done all summer. You can also use folk remedies to repel pests - onion peel, mustard powder, needles, potassium permanganate, etc. A good result is the introduction of predatory ground beetles to the site, if possible.

If the amount of wireworm is too large, it is possible to treat the soil from pests with chemicals (Aktara, Bazudin). However, it is not recommended to plant something in the cultivated area for some time.

Potato moth (fluorimea)

The potato moth is a historical neighbor of the Colorado potato beetle. In its homeland in America, it (or rather its caterpillars) has long, since the time of the ancient Indian civilizations, damaged potato tubers placed in storage. And only in the 20th century did it “enter the world arena”.

This quarantine pest in adulthood is nocturnal. The moth lays its eggs on the underside of the leaves of plants (mainly from the Solanaceae family), larvae hatch from the eggs, which begin to actively gnaw on the leaf blades. When the tops of potatoes dry, the caterpillars descend into the tubers and literally make holes in them from the inside.

The pest hibernates outdoors in the form of adults or pupa under plant debris in upper layers soil, as well as in tuber stores - at all stages of development.

The main reservoir of potato moths is potato storages, where insects actively continue their development, damaging tubers and thereby contributing to their decay.

Appearance and symptoms of the presence of potato moth

An adult moth insect is a small butterfly of a nondescript brownish-gray color with long antennae and a wingspan of up to 15 mm. The period of activity is from April to October.

One female for her short life(only a few days) can lay up to 200 eggs, from which yellowish caterpillars emerge, reaching 13 mm in length in the last stages. Pupae are brown, enclosed in silver-gray cocoons.

In case of a massive defeat, it is not difficult to notice traces of the presence of potato moths - the plants on the beds have gnawed leaves, the tops droop, the stems and leaves are shrouded in a white “web” (mainly in the upper part), the tubers are deeply penetrated by winding passages.

Measures to combat potato moth

Prevention and biological control of potato moths include the use of only healthy planting material, destruction of weeds, timely high hilling of bushes, harvesting until the tops dry, storing only healthy intact tubers, as well as spraying vegetative plants with Entobacterin (50-100 g per 10 l of water) with an interval of 6-8 days.

Chemical measures - after the discovery of butterflies, urgent treatment of potato bushes with preparations Arrivo, Danadim, Decis, Zolon, Tsimbush, Sherpa, etc. The interval between treatments is 10-15 days.

This dangerous polyphagous pest is distributed throughout the world and harms agricultural plants everywhere - from vegetables and cereal crops before fruit trees.

The flight of adult insects begins in mid-May. Butterflies lay their eggs on the underside of the leaf blade or petioles of low-growing weeds, on dry plant debris, on the soil. Hatched larvae (caterpillars) and inflict the greatest harm plants, eating literally all their parts - scraping off the epidermis, gnawing out the flesh of the leaf, damaging the seeds and roots. Finding caterpillars is not easy: during the day they hide in the soil or at the base of the lower leaves, and come out to feed at night.

Caterpillars leave for wintering with the onset of cold weather - they hide in the ground to a depth of 15-30 cm. In spring, when the soil warms up, they rise to the upper layers of the soil, pupate and give rise to a new generation of butterflies.

Maliciousness winter cutworm exceptionally large - one caterpillar of the first generation in one night can destroy 10-15 small garden plants.

Appearance and symptoms of the presence of winter cutworms

An adult insect is a gray-brown butterfly with a wingspan of up to 45 mm. The front wings are covered with a clear spotty-striped pattern, the hind wings are light. Butterflies are very prolific and lay more than 1000 eggs. Caterpillars are earthy-gray in color, with shiny integuments, reach a length of 5 cm.

It is possible to detect the presence of winter scoops on the site by the presence of significant damage on plants, especially young ones - gnawed leaves and root crops.

Measures to combat the winter scoop

As a preventive measure for the appearance of this pest on the site, it is necessary to observe crop rotation and cultivation practices, fight weeds, remove dead plant remains, and regularly inspect crops for the presence of clutches, caterpillars and pupae.

Biological methods of control include manual collection and destruction of insects, attraction of birds to the site and release of the trichogram entomophage, treatment of plants with biological preparations (Fitoverm, Bitoxibacillin, Entobacterin, etc.) and insecticides (Aktellik, Nurell D, etc.). As folk remedies, infusions of pharmacy chamomile, onion peel, and tobacco leaves are often used.

Chemical - treatment with insecticides and pesticides (Kinfos, Fastkord, Fury, Cyperus).

As you can see, there are a lot of people who want to eat potato shoots and its tubers among insect pests. Therefore, if you do not want to give your harvest to flying and crawling "invaders", do not be lazy to observe agricultural technology and take preventive measures to prevent their appearance on potato beds.

Our readers sent a photo of a damaged potato and ask the question: who gnaws the tubers? Gardeners have different assumptions - a scoop, a bear, a water rat, beetles ...

We asked Irina IVANOVA, plant protection specialist, to comment on the photo. Here is what she said:

“Judging by the photograph provided, it can be said that insects do not damage like that. Sometimes slugs eat away the flesh of the tuber to such a depth, but then the edges near the cavity should then be more even. In this case, I assume that rodents worked, perhaps a water rat, if by that they mean a water vole (Arvicola terrestris), and not a muskrat. But this is just a guess. You can make sure if you find long underground passages with noticeable soil ejections. The ideal option is an ambush at night with a shovel, a hidden flashlight and a readiness to instantly tear up the ground. Although not everyone likes such adventurous diagnostics.”

Let's get to know each other better

The water vole - an animal with a short, blunt muzzle and small ears - is a distant relative of hamsters. The body, covered with dark brown hair with a red tinge, reaches a length of 20 cm, a pubescent tail - at least 10 cm.

The water vole is a massive pest of agricultural crops and pastures. Harms in gardens, vegetable gardens, in places where vegetables are stored. It usually settles along the banks of rivers, lakes, ponds, next to a swamp, but often it can be found far from water - in meadows, vegetable gardens, fields. Closer to autumn, voles move to vegetable gardens and orchards, where they build underground settlements for several families. Rodents are very voracious, they can forage from a depth of 40-60 cm. They do not hibernate in the winter, so they are forced to make very large food supplies.

Why are there more of them

All mouse-like rodents are characterized by sudden bursts of numbers, which is associated with their ability to reproduce. Some scientists believe that the increase in numbers coincides with the cycles of solar activity (according to various opinions, 11-year or 7-year ones). It is also believed that the reason is in the wrong management of agriculture. Favorable conditions for the life and reproduction of rodents are created with shallow tillage with flaws, careless harvesting, the presence of row spacing and wide roadsides covered with weeds. In such cases, rodents have more food in a small area of ​​​​habitat, less likely to die from predators.

Death from natural causes

The number of mouse-like rodents can naturally decrease with their mass death in winter during the period of sharp thaws with melting snow. Water entering the holes drives the animals out, while it freezes, clogging the exits. In nature, voles have many enemies - foxes, ferrets, weasels, as well as feathered predators. Domestic cats also help rid the garden of rodents. Reduce the number of mouse-like rodents and diseases in which they die by the thousands.

Control measures

Warning:

Elimination of wide borders, roadsides overgrown with weeds; careful digging of the earth; timely harvesting; constant collection of carrion of fruit trees; in orchards binding for the winter of trunks and skeletal branches of young trees with spruce branches (needles down), roofing material, nylon fabric, fine-mesh metal mesh; periodic compaction (trampling) of snow around trunks in winter; protection of useful birds of prey and animals.

Fighter:

Laying out permitted preparations in holes or other shelters, for example, GryzNet-Agro - 2 capsules per hole (in this case, you should follow safety measures, work with gloves, use special spoons or scoops, and also exclude access to the holes of other animals); the use of traps, which are usually set at the entrance to rodent burrows.

Potatoes can be safely called the most popular vegetable of Russians. Demand for tubers is high all year round, so many varieties have been bred by breeders. Unfortunately, the fruits of potatoes came to taste not only to humans, but also to insect pests. Every agronomist, breeder, and just a gardener who respects his work should know at least the minimum ways to deal with such insects.

The main pests of potatoes

Life cycle each insect is unique, which means that everyone destroys the crop in different ways. To deal with pests as effectively as possible, you need to determine what kind of insect you have to deal with, and select correct method.

Not yet invented universal remedy for potato pest control. Each insect needs a specific approach. Below are the main potato pests with photos, their descriptions, as well as methods for dealing with them.

Colorado beetle

Adult beetles are about a centimeter long, with an orange head and a light yellow body with black stripes. They overwinter in the soil and appear in late spring at about the same time when the first shoots of potatoes hatch, which the beetles eat. They lay small orange eggs on inside leaves.

Young larvae are red with black heads. In warm weather, the development of the pest larva occurs in just 10 days. In regions with long, hot summers, potato beetles may have two or more generations each year.

For potato beds, Colorado potato beetles are a real disaster, because they can leave a bush without foliage. Potato plants usually survive bush infestation early in the season. But damage is severe if it occurs when the potato tubers are actively growing, usually just after flowering.

Colorado potato beetles also feed on any plant related to the potato, including peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant. If this pest is found on the site, it is necessary to immediately start fighting it. Attempts to get rid of insects must be continued until they roll en masse upside down with their paws.

These are small and shiny beetles, but with large hind limbs. They lay their eggs at the base of plant stems in early summer, after a feeding period. The larvae feed on the roots, and the adult beetles feed on the foliage, producing chips.

Potato flea usually does not cause fatal damage to potato plants because the leaves are too large for it. The real danger is that these insects can spread bacterial diseases from plant to plant.

The people call them drotyanka - these are the larvae of the nutcracker beetles. They are a problem in many vegetable gardens, especially those that have recently been covered with grass. Wireworms grow up to 25 mm in length, have a thin yellowish-brown body.

Harmful insects feed on seedlings, roots and base of stems. The affected roots of an infected plant cease to perform their functions normally, but the main damage occurs on the tubers, in which they gnaw through many passages. The larval stage can take up to four years before the larvae pupate and develop into adult snap beetles.

Wireworms cause the most damage in freshly plowed, grass-free land, but become less numerous with regular cultivation because adult beetles prefer to lay their eggs in grassy soil.

This potato pest looks like aphids or moths. It feeds on plant sap, which means it spoils potato tops. In the place where the cicada begins to gnaw the leaf, damage is formed, and over time, the tissues die off. By itself, the cicada is not capable of causing great harm to the plant, but bacteria and harmful spores penetrate the plant through the places damaged by it, which can cause disease in the potato bush. Yes, and the insect itself is a carrier of diseases.

Outwardly, this pest looks like an ordinary domestic moth, but its target is a potato bush. Most often, the female insect lays eggs on potato leaves. When the larvae appear, they fall to the ground and burrow into it until they get to the potato tuber. The larvae bite into the tuber most often through the "eyes".

The maturation time of the potato moth population is from 17 to 125 days, depending on the temperature. This means that several populations can change during a hot year, making this insect a dangerous potato pest.

The potato armyworm is another insect that does most of the damage during the caterpillar stage. They appear in mid to late spring and initially feed on the leaves of wild grasses. Further under threat are already cultivated plants including potatoes.

The larva eats the stem of the plant and eats out the core. Often the caterpillar damages potato tubers. Damaged areas of the healthy flesh of the plant become covered with mucus and begin to rot.

Potato nematodes

The potato nematode is a serious potato pest and is subject to strict quarantine and regulatory procedures wherever it is found. Nematodes can lay eggs twice a year (up to 1200 pieces). When the bush is infected with nematodes, the potato tops wither, yellowing of the lower leaves occurs.

The following types of nematodes are distinguished:

• golden;
• stem;
• gallic.

gall nematode

How to deal with potato pests

Potato pests and their control actual problem for almost all gardeners. Effective measures to combat garden pests exist, they can be used. After planting potato bushes, it is necessary to constantly monitor, and as soon as traces of the presence of one of the pests are noticed, the necessary measures should be taken to prevent the spread.

Chemicals

To get rid of the Colorado potato beetle, it is best to use insecticides (Sonnet, Apaches, Confidor, Aktara, Mospilan). Funds must be applied at least three times. Stop processing at least 20 days before harvesting potatoes.

These same drugs are well suited for getting rid of potato moths. Against the wireworm, it is better to add Bazudin to the holes when planting potatoes. Chemical agents are desirable to use if other methods do not work.

Folk remedies

TO folk methods the fight against the Colorado potato beetle can be attributed to the mechanical collection and destruction of all insects, spraying potato bushes with infusions of celandine and basil. Poplar branches with foliage are also stuck between the rows of potatoes, in which case the beetle will not lay eggs.

Against the wireworm, the method of catching the pest on baits in the form of potatoes buried in the ground is used before planting the seed tubers. Soil treatment with urea or irrigation with chicken manure will help to repel the nematode. It is useful to alternate cultures on land plot, and treat the affected fruits with lime. TO successful methods preventing the appearance of beetles can also be attributed to watering small plots weak solution of potassium permanganate.

Agricultural practices

Subject to agricultural practices protection of potatoes, the chances of the appearance of pests or diseases, although not reduced to zero, are minimized. These methods include:

• crop rotation, that is, the alternation of crops during their cultivation;
• adding crops to the potato beds that repel insect pests;
• fertilizing the soil;
• destruction of weeds and plant residues;
• correct timing and methods of sowing;
• application resistant varieties;
• proper irrigation.

In long-term planning of the site, it is worth paying attention to agricultural practices. This will avoid many problems at an early stage. Folk remedies are easy to use. Chemicals should be used only if others do not bring the desired result.

Every separate view The pest spoils various components of potato tubers, leads a different lifestyle. For effective fight from uninvited guest it is necessary to identify the type of pest, use necessary funds.

Find out how to cook the most effective one at home, as well as which one is better to choose in the store.

It has a yellow-brown color, the body length does not exceed one centimeter. Longitudinal stripes are visible on chitin, appearance pest familiar to all gardeners. Adults, larvae completely destroy the leaves, the fruits of potatoes. When a beetle appears in the garden, the yield is reduced by 60%.

There are several ways to deal with a beetle:

• the use of systemic chemicals (Sonet, Commander,). Apply funds at least three times to obtain the desired result. Carry out the last treatment no later than twenty days before harvest;
• spraying potato tubers with preparations of bacterial / fungal origin (allowed to use, Boverin). Remedies against harmful larvae that do not have a protective chitinous layer are very effective. Peak positive impact funds fall on the 7th day after spraying. Reapply as needed.

Additionally, you can spray potato bushes with strong infusions of tansy, peppermint, blackcurrant.

Advice! Increase the chances of a successful fight will help mechanical removal adults and larvae of the Colorado potato beetle.

Wireworm and false wireworm

The female nematode has a round body shape, the male resembles a worm. Females are initially white, then darken to brown shade. After fertilization, one female can lay several thousand eggs. After some time, they die off, turn into cysts, then remain in the soil. In the spring, they begin to actively eat potatoes. The life span of cysts is up to ten years, so it is quite difficult to overcome nematodes.

It is very difficult to cope with nematodes, they will help to get the desired result useful advice experienced gardeners:

• before planting potatoes, treat the soil with urea; after harvesting, it is recommended to use lime;
• chicken manure, which is abundantly irrigated with soil, can destroy almost 90% of harmful larvae;
• rotate crops on the land, growing potatoes every three years;
• in a specially designated place, treat the dug bushes with bleach;
• severe damage by nematodes requires the use of a drug called Bazudin, which does an excellent job even with wireworms.

garden moth

The pest is a small butterfly that lays larvae. The moth harms not only potatoes, but also tomatoes, eggplants, peppers. Adults do not cause significant damage to the crop, the main damage is caused by larvae. Immediately after birth, they actively feed on tubers, stems, and are able to gnaw through the peel.

They eat away many passages in the foliage, pollute them with their waste products. After such wrecking, the plant stem weakens, the potato slowly dies. The lack of therapeutic measures will lead to crop loss over a fairly large area.

• for planting, choose high-quality material, the seeds can be heated up to 40 degrees to prevent infection of the future crop;
• at each stage of planting, check the quality of potatoes, their storage conditions;
• front winter period carry out deep processing of the soil;
• Treat the soil with a strong methyl bromide solution before planting seeds in the soil.

scoop

They are small moths, body color ranges from brown to gray. Insects are unpretentious, quickly adapt to environmental conditions, resistant to poisons. The fight against the armyworm should be complex and include many aspects. For potatoes, the most dangerous larvae are: they penetrate the root crops, actively feed on them, leading to the death of the plant.

This insect must be fought in the complex:

• regularly destroy weeds that contribute to an increase in the population of potato scoop;
• use pheromone traps aimed at killing adults to prevent laying eggs for the winter;
• use insecticides, spraying them will help destroy existing caterpillars. To do this, you need to purchase Decis, Tsimbush.

leafhoppers

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potato flea

Many varieties are distributed throughout the world. Adult beetles, reaching three millimeters, actively feed on potato tops. Thin larvae have three pairs of legs, develop in the root system of potatoes. Under favorable conditions, they cause damage to a large number of potato crops.

Tuber infection is promoted by hot weather or late planting. You can spot a pest in potatoes by specific marks on the leaves.

You can deal with a flea using the same methods as with a cicada, also use glue bait traps. For small gardens you can use a mixture of chamomile decoction, ash, tobacco dust in the same proportions.

It is quite realistic to prevent infection by various pests of potato plantations, following useful recommendations:

• stick to the rules of crop rotation (do not plant the same crop in the same place every year, take a break for at least three years);
• buy a seed product only in trusted stores, warm it up at a temperature of 40 degrees before sowing;
• regularly inspect potato plantations, if pests are found, immediately deal with their extermination.

From the following video, you can learn more about potato pests and how to deal with them: