The Colorado potato beetle is one of the most dangerous potato pests. Eating leaves and damaging potato tubers, beetles and larvae cause great harm to the future crop. Hot weather favors the development of these pests. It is not recommended to grow potatoes for a long time in one place - this leads to the accumulation of pests.
Fighting the Colorado potato beetle. When shoots appear, carefully examine not only the crops, but also the soil. Collect beetles and larvae that appear in jars with diesel fuel or saturated salt solution. Pesticides should be used only in case of a massive invasion of pests, the last time spraying should be carried out 30 days before harvesting potatoes. As a protection against the beetle with plant repellents, apply marigold sowing between rows, beetles do not tolerate this smell.
For spraying potato bushes, you can use a concentrated solution of wormwood. To do this, 1/3 of the bucket is filled with chopped stalks of wormwood, poured with boiling water and insisted for three days. Another way is when the stems of celandine are boiled for 15 minutes, and then the potatoes are treated with the resulting broth, having previously diluted it in a ratio of 1/20.
Medvedka is an insect that is ubiquitous and widespread. Harm both the larvae and the adult insect, gnawing through the stems and roots of plants. In the spring, at the beginning of May, the bear digs in the soil and arranges a hole for itself, in which it lays up to 500 eggs. After two weeks, offspring are hatched.
Fight with a bear. The smell of “oak” chrysanthemums scares away the bear, so dig in the chrysanthemum sprouts along with the seedlings. Inspect the soil regularly in the spring, when characteristic earth emissions from digging the bear's passages appear on the surface, try to dig out the bear's hole in this place, although it is quite deep. Medvedka regularly makes moves to ventilate the laid eggs, so regular deep loosening destroys these moves.
Another way is to pour a solution of washing powder into the moves of the bear, 4 tablespoons per 10 liters of water. Medvedka will crawl out to the surface and then it can be collected and destroyed, and those who do not crawl out will die inside their moves. You can also mix crushed eggshells with vegetable oil and stuff this mixture into the moves of the bear.
The potato nematode is a very dangerous pest. Its size is less than 1 mm., the class is roundworms. It affects tubers and roots of potatoes. Because of this, the plant lags behind in development, the leaf turns yellow and wrinkles, and the tubers are very small or not at all.
Measures to combat the potato nematode. Basically, the fight against this pest comes down to taking measures to prevent the spread of infection on the site. Therefore, the affected plants are dug up with a clod of earth and burned at the stake with strong fire. After harvesting potatoes, it must be thoroughly washed, it is also necessary to clean all garden tools with formalin. To clean the infected area, it is necessary to sow winter rye on it; it releases collins into the soil - substances that destroy the nematode.
A good deterrent against nematodes are marigolds, which can be planted by sowing them to potato beds. And yet, now there are quite a few varieties of potatoes that are resistant to the nematode, for example: Almaz, Red Scarlet, Rosara and others. In the cells of such potato varieties, substances are formed that act detrimentally on the pest. True, after 3-4 years, nematodes can adapt to such conditions, so it is better to alternate plots and clean them with winter rye crops.
Wireworm or click beetle - the larva of the click beetle lives in the ground, damages the roots, the base of the stem. The tuber is especially harmed. The pipe maker gnaws through the tuber, makes moves, which can lead to its decay.
The fight against the wireworm. The wireworm is very fond of acidic and damp soil, so regular liming will scare away the pest. For this, you can scatter ground eggshells around the site. To collect the beetle, you can make small indentations in the garden and fill them with rotted grass, hay, pour water and cover with boards. Such places will attract attention in search of food beetle larvae. It remains only to collect and burn them regularly.
Legumes are also a good protection for planting potatoes from wireworms. Therefore, you can plant beans, peas and beans by alternating them between rows of potatoes. And of course, the best way to deal with wireworm is to rotate crops in a vegetable plot, as well as deep digging of the soil so that all the larvae are on top and die from frost.
The potato is the most popular vegetable crop throughout Eurasia, these root crops are extremely valued on other continents. In many countries, these tubers are rightfully considered nothing more than "second bread", so it is not surprising that so much attention is paid to the protection of potatoes from diseases and pests: employees of research institutes of agricultural profile improve methods of control, develop new effective means.
What are the diseases of the tops and tubers of potatoes: photos and descriptions of infections
To get started, read the photo and description of potato diseases, and at the end of the article, learn about the treatment of plants from infections.
Late blight. The causative agent is the pseudofungus Phytophthora infestans, Oomikota department.
Symptoms: on the leaves, starting from the lower ones, as well as on separate parts of the stem, rapidly increasing dark brown spots appear. The tops of potatoes affected by this disease turn black and dry out, and rot in wet weather. In damp weather or with morning dew, a whitish cobwebbed coating consisting of sporulation forms on the border of spots with healthy green tissue on the underside of the leaf. Sharply defined grayish, and then brown depressed hard spots are indicated on the tubers. different size. On the section of the tuber, under the spot, a rusty-colored pulp is visible, spreading inside the tuber in the form of tongues or wedges.
Sources of infection: mycelium in planting tubers, oospores in plant debris and soil, spread by zoospores and zoosporangia (conidia) with water and wind.
Alternariosis, or early dry spotting. The causative agents are Alternaria solani, A. alternata, department of Deuteromycota.
Symptoms: on the leaves of potatoes affected by this disease, before budding, 15-20 days before flowering, brown or dark brown spots with concentric circles appear, conidial sporulation is formed on them in humid conditions. The fungus secretes alternariic acid, which causes necrosis of stems, petioles and leaves.
Source of infection: mycelium and conidia in plant debris, soil, rarely tubers, spread by conidia.
Crayfish. The causative agent is Synchytrium endobioticum, department of Chytridiomycota. The disease is under internal quarantine.
What are the symptoms of this potato disease: on the tubers, mainly near the eyes, small smooth and light tubercles form, which then turn into voluminous brown (outside) growths with an uneven bumpy surface. Over time, they are destroyed and become, under the action of bacteria, a slimy, foul-smelling mass, tubers do not develop.
Sources of infection: cysts in the soil, zoospores spread through soil water.
Black scab, or rhizoctoniosis. The causative agent is Rhizoctonia solani, Deuteromycota department.
Symptoms: black sclerotia (crustule) of various sizes appear on the tubers, resembling lumps of adhering soil.
As can be seen in the photo, with this potato disease, brown ulcers 1 cm in size and more appear on the sprouts and roots:
The affected area dies. In humid warm weather, a white felt coating forms on the stems. Sources of infection: sclerotia on tubers and in the soil.
Powdery scab. The causative agent is Spongospora subterrapea, Plasmodiophoromycota department.
Symptoms: on the tubers, star-shaped ulcers are formed, at the base of which a powdery brown spore mass is visible. Small growths appear on roots, stolons and stems various shapes. At first they are white, then darken and disintegrate.
Sources of infection: cysts in soil, spread by zoospores in soil water.
Silver scab. The causative agent is Helminthosporium solani (Spondilocladium atrovirens), Deuteromycota department.
Symptoms: With this potato disease, grayish or light brown spots of various sizes and shapes are on the surface of the tubers. The areas of the affected tissue become slightly depressed and acquire a characteristic silvery sheen, due to the fact that the mycelium develops between the epidermis and the periderm, while the skin exfoliates, and air penetrates there. The disease progresses during storage of tubers.
Sources of infection: tubers and soil, spread by conidia.
Tuberous scab, or oosporosis. The causative agent is Oospora pustulans, Deuteromycota department.
Symptoms: dark tubercles 3-4 mm in diameter with a depressed groove at the base are formed on the tubers. Tubercles are located singly or merge. The disease progresses during storage of tubers.
Sources of infection: diseased tubers and soil.
Dry fusarium rot. The causative agents are fungi from the genus Fusarium, Deuteromycota department.
Symptoms: grayish-brown or dull, slightly depressed spots of various shapes appear on the surface of the tubers. The flesh becomes brown, rotten and dry. When describing this potato disease, it is worth noting that later the spots increase; tissues in these places wrinkle, convex grayish-white or pinkish pads form on their surface.
Sources of infection: sclerotia, conidia on tubers, in soil, plant debris, spread by conidia and mycelium.
Phomous rot. The causative agent is Phoma exigua (P. solanicola), Deuteromycota department.
Symptoms: elongated blurry spots appear on the stems at the base of the leaf petioles during flowering, numerous small brown pycnidia form on them. At late varieties potatoes, along with spots, elongated oval ulcers 1-1.5 mm deep and up to 4 cm long are noted. Affected stems die prematurely. The tubers are covered with dark hard depressed spots up to 2.5-5.0 cm in diameter. On a cut under a pale brown spot, a dark border between the diseased and affected tissue is visible. Often voids are formed, on the walls of which a grayish coating of mycelium is visible. Over time, brown or almost black pycnidia appear on the peel.
Sources of infection: affected tubers and crop residues, soil, spread by conidia.
Common scab. The causative agents are actinobacteria (actinomycetes) from the genus Streptomyces, more often Streptomyces scabies.
Symptoms: on tubers, most often on lentils, superficial, irregularly rounded sores appear with a diameter of several millimeters to 1 cm.
Pay attention to the photo - with this disease of potato tubers, the ulcers often merge, forming a continuous crust:
Common scab can also attack stolons and roots. Sources of infection: contaminated soil, the pathogen can persist on planting material.
Blackleg. The causative agent is the bacteria Pectobacterium atrosepticum.
Symptoms: parts of the affected stem turn brown, dark brown, purple. The upper leaves first become chlorotic, roll up into a tube along the main vein, then turn yellow and dry. The lower leaves acquire a leathery texture, break, the edges are bent upwards. The stems are easily pulled out of the soil. The core of the tuber, starting from the stolon part, rots. The tissues darken, become soft, slimy, acquire an unpleasant odor.
Sources of infection: remains in planting material and on plant residues until they rot.
Bacterial brown rot, or wilt. The causative agent is the bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum. This is an object of external quarantine for Russia.
Symptoms: plants suddenly wither, leaves turn yellow, become wrinkled, covered with copious exudate and hang. Often the wilting process proceeds so quickly that some drying stems retain their original color and only later turn brown. Along with signs of browning and wilting, cases of maceration and blackening of the stem are observed. The root part softens and rots.
As you can see in the photo, with this disease, the potato stalk often splits:
Vessels are stained brown. The cause of wilting may be the action of toxins. With the further development of the disease, the pathogen penetrates into the stolons, of which - into young tubers, causing browning of the vascular ring. Sources of infection: infected soil, plant debris, tubers carrying a latent infection, weeds from the nightshade family.
Ring rot. Pathogen - bacteria Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. sepedonicus. This is an object of external quarantine with a high phytosanitary risk, which is under special control.
Symptoms: as a result of blockage of the vessels, the plants quickly wither, the leaves turn yellow, wrinkle, the petioles of the leaves and the stem droop. On the cut, the affected area of the vascular system has a lemon- yellow and oily texture. When pressing on the tuber or stem, a light yellow viscous mass appears. Bacteria also cause pitted tuber rot, which is found only towards the end of storage. When the peel is removed, rounded (pinhead-sized, sometimes larger) spots of rotting flesh of yellow or cream color are noticeable on the tubers; around them, the tissue is more transparent, but still firm.
Sources of infection: affected tubers.
Spindle tubers, gothic. The causative agent is Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTV). quarantine object.
Symptoms: diseased plants are elongated, the leaves are small, wrinkled, dark green or purple. Tubers are many-eyed, elongated, irregular shape, often fusiform.
Sources of infection: affected tubers; transmitted by contact with potato tubers, some insects, bed bugs, several aphids and some beetles.
See photos illustrating the description of this potato disease:
Wrinkled mosaic. The causative agents are Potato virus Y (PVY) viruses, usually in combination with Potato virus X (PVX).
Symptoms: swelling of the tissue between the veins, wrinkling and corrugation of the leaf, mosaic, leaf lobes are noted. The leaves are lighter in color than usual. Over time, they die and hang (not falling off). In the first year, the disease manifests itself poorly. In the second or third year, the plants lag behind in growth, the internodes are shortened, the leaves become small, curly, chlorotic. Flowering is often absent, vegetation ends 3-4 weeks earlier.
Sources of infection: transmitted by tubers, spread by aphids and other sucking insects.
Striped mosaic. The causative agents are the Potato virus Y (PVY) virus, in combination with Potato virus X (PVX), Potato virus S (PVS), Potato virus M (PVM).
Symptoms: necrotic dark stripes, dots and spots appear in the corners between the veins and on the veins of the leaves. The leaves darken, become brittle, die off and hang on thin high petioles. Necrosis is also found on leaf petioles and stems.
Sources of infection: mostly tubers; spread by aphids and by contact-mechanical means.
Rolling leaves. The causative agent is Potato leaf rool virus (PLRV).
Symptoms: in the first year of infection, the edges of the lobules of the upper leaves curl. The top side is yellow and the underside is pinkish. In subsequent years, the leaves of the upper and lower tiers are deformed. They acquire a leathery texture, become brittle, yellowish with a reddish, purple or bronze tint. The leaf lobes curl into a tube along the midrib. Leaf petioles are located at an acute angle to the stem. Tuberization is weak. The tubers may produce filamentous shoots.
Sources of infection: affected tubers; spreads with tubers, aphids, potato ladybug, Colorado potato beetle, some bugs during the vegetation period.
Stolbur. The causative agent is the phytoplasmic organism Tomato stolburphytoplasma (group 16SH).
Symptoms: on potato plants, marginal chlorosis of the apical leaves first appears, their growth slows down, and small-leaved leaves develop. Leaf lobules are narrow, pointed, rigid, often folded along the midrib or twisted in a groove. Chlorosis spreads to the whole plant, the upper leaves become purple in color. Parts of plants become rough, hard. Some plants die before tubers form. With late infection, small, often ugly and soft tubers are formed, germinating in filamentous shoots.
Sources of infection: The disease is spread by bindweed leafhoppers -Hyalesthes obsoletus. Phytoplasma reservoirs are field bindweed, thistle, spurge and other perennial weeds, in the rhizomes of which they overwinter, as well as infected cicadas.
"Witch's Brooms". Pathogens - phytoplasmic organisms from group 165VII.
Symptoms: on infected plants, chlorosis of the upper leaves first appears. Plants form a large number of thin lateral shoots of round cross-section with small pale green leaves. Growth inhibition of the main shoots in length is observed. The leaves of affected plants are reduced, simple or with a reduced number of lobes. Tubers numerous, small. In the soil they germinate as filamentous sprouts.
Sources of infection: the causative agent of the disease is spread by several species of cicadas, by grafting or insects, it can be transferred to tomato, tobacco, pepper, eggplant.
Overgrowth of lentils- non-infectious disease, observed in the second half of the growing season in conditions high humidity soil and lack of oxygen. Small white growths appear on the surface of the tubers, which turn into brownish spots when dried. The growth of lentils is the first sign of suffocation of tubers.
Suffocation of tubers is observed when there is a lack of air in the soil due to its waterlogging or strong compaction, as well as in the layer of tubers during storage. As a result, part of the surface of the tuber becomes soft, the peel is easily removed. When the tuber is cut, rotten tissue is found in the form of a white or pinkish mushy mass with the smell of alcohol. Often, healthy tissue is separated by a dark border from the affected one.
false cancer similar in symptoms to real cancer, differing in morphology and consistency of growths. It is a physiological disorder of tubers caused by changes in temperature and humidity. It occurs rarely during the growing season and during storage.
filamentous sprouts and curls can be caused by premature awakening of the eyes due to high temperature and poor aeration of the soil, mechanical damage, as well as high temperature and lack of oxygen during storage of tubers.
Deforming jaundice. The disease manifests itself in the form of interveinal chlorosis - a characteristic folding of leaf blades near the midrib. With severe damage to the leaves, they become chlorotic, often with necrosis, severely deformed, slightly dissected. Often the shares are reduced, sometimes they are even absent. Rounded tubers with very hard pulp are formed.
Glandular, or rusty, spotting. The cause of the disease is the influence of unfavorable soil conditions, mainly the lack of moisture and high temperature with an acute shortage of phosphorus. Foliar feeding of plants with phosphorus and watering potato plantings reduce the likelihood of disease manifestation.
Darkening of the pulp appears with insufficient intake of potassium into the tubers. Spots are concentrated around the eyes and can capture large areas inside the tuber. Darkening of internal tissues is observed during storage at high and low temperatures, lack of oxygen and excess carbon dioxide. Darkening of the outer layers of tuber tissue can be caused by mechanical damage.
Look at the photo of the diseases of tubers and potato tops, which are described above:
Tuber hollowness is formed as a result of lagging behind the growth of internal tissues from external ones in humid warm weather in fields where nitrogen was introduced in large doses organic fertilizers. The disease manifests itself in the form of cavities or voids, often star-shaped. The cavity of the hollow is covered with a thin skin of cream or light brown color. The tubers are more watery.
Tuber growth takes place during the suspension and resumption of tuber growth in the soil due to unfavorable conditions. "Babies" are formed on the tuber - outgrowths of various sizes. Often, when planting seed tubers in cold and damp soil, as well as as a result of storing tubers with a lack of air, instead of sprouts, several nodules form from the eye. When alternating dry and wet weather during the period of tuberization, stolons can develop from the eyes of young tubers, from which one or several small nodules are formed.
In the next section of the article, you can find photos, descriptions of pests and learn about the treatment of potatoes affected by insects.
Pests of leaves and tubers of potatoes: photo, description and control measures
Having learned what potato diseases are, it's time to get acquainted with the pests of this crop.
The complex of potato pests is relatively small and in Russia has no more than 60 species. This is due to the poor adaptability of many local pests to a culture of American origin, as well as the presence of substances toxic to many insects in the aerial parts of nightshade plants. However, the few species that have adapted to the potato cause very serious damage to it. Among the polyphagous pests, soil-dwelling pests of tubers are of the greatest importance: larvae of click beetles and dark beetles - wireworms and false wireworms, caterpillars of nibbling scoops. Local harm is caused by bears, grubs, slugs. Mouse-like rodents also harm - water and gray voles. Of the specialized soil pests, potato nematodes cause great damage.
Among the specialized pests of the aerial parts of plants, the most serious, widespread and widespread is the Colorado potato beetle. Two other dangerous pests - potato moth and 28-spotted potato ladybug - are geographically limited.
Other pests of the aerial parts of plants - stem scoops, nightshade fleas, are of secondary importance. Seed plantings are seriously harmed by aphids - the main carriers of viral diseases of potatoes. Due to the high harmfulness of the complex, the chemical method plays a leading role in the effective protection of potatoes. Some pests - potato moth, golden cyst nematode - are of quarantine importance.
Aphids- carriers viral diseases potatoes (neg. Homoptera, family Real aphids). A group of aphid species is ubiquitous on potatoes, the damage of which does not pose a significant danger to the crop, however, when feeding, they carry pathogens of various viral potato diseases: leaf curl, mosaic leaf curl, speckled, striped and wrinkled mosaic, fusiform tubers. Thus, aphids cause severe damage to seed production, obtaining a healthy planting material. Among aphids on potatoes, 5 species are most common: peach aphid (Myzodes persicae), buckthorn aphid (Aphis nasturtii), buckthorn aphid (Aphis frangulae), common potato aphid (Aulacorthum solani) and large potato aphid (Macrosiphum euphorbiae). In general, these are small, from 1.2 to 2.8 mm, insects. Peach, common and large potato aphids are predominantly green in color; buckthorn and buckthorn aphids are yellow in color.
Peach, buckthorn and buckthorn aphids- migratory species in which eggs overwinter on primary host plants. In peach aphids in the southern regions - on peach and plum. In the northern regions, its cycle becomes incomplete: females winter in greenhouses, storages, piles, basements on various plants and plant debris, and partly in the field with post-harvest residues. In the other two migratory species, eggs hibernate on bushes - buckthorn and buckthorn.
Common aphids and large potato aphids are species with an incomplete cycle: there are no primary hosts, females overwinter in greenhouses, storages on plants and plant debris. Secondary host plants, on which winged female settlers fly and develop in the summer, in addition to potatoes, are numerous, diverse herbaceous plants, cultivated, wild and weedy. V natural conditions aphids develop from 5 to 15 generations per year. In greenhouses, they breed year-round and can produce over 20 generations. The mass colonization of potatoes by aphids occurs in the middle - the second half of the growing season. Aphid colonies develop and feed on the underside of leaves. Winged individuals, flying from diseased plants to healthy ones, transmit viral pathogens when feeding.
Effective protection measures: spatial isolation of potato seed plantations from other potato plots and aphids wintering sites for 1.5-2 km; optimal early planting of seed potatoes; destruction of weeds in and around fields; thorough removal of post-harvest residues; close monitoring of winged aphid infestation with yellow color traps and counting of aphids on leaves. To combat these pests of potatoes, at the beginning of the mass colonization of plants with a population of more than 80 aphids per 100 leaves, seed plantings are sprayed with insecticides of sharpei, tsipi, bi-58 new, confidor extra, bisk.
Colorado beetle - Leptinotarsa decemlineata (neg. Coleoptera, family Leaf beetles). The Colorado potato beetle was formed as a potato pest in the middle of the 19th century near the northern slopes of the Rocky Mountains (Colorado), spread in a short period in the US potato growing zone, penetrated Europe during the first half of the 20th century and has now become the main potato pest in the world. It is common and harmful in almost the entire zone of potato growing in Russia, with the exception of northern region and most of the East Siberian regions. Depending on climatic conditions, the Colorado potato beetle gives from 1 to 3 generations per year, which determines the level of its mass and harmfulness. In the zone of sustainable development of the 1st full generation (North-Western, Central, Volga-Vyatka, Ural and West Siberian regions), the Colorado potato beetle has a massive, but uneven distribution. Its harmfulness varies greatly from year to year. The zone where the pest usually gives 2 full, and often 3 generations in the south: the Central Black Earth, North Caucasian, Southern regions, is a place of continuous mass distribution and constantly high harmfulness of the Colorado potato beetle. The Colorado potato beetle most severely harms potatoes, in the south - eggplant. Tomatoes damage to a lesser extent. It can develop on wild and weed nightshade: dope, bittersweet nightshade, henbane, belladonna.
As you can see in the photo, these potato pests are medium in size, 9-12 mm, with an oval-convex body:
Elytra are pale yellow with 10 black longitudinal stripes. The pronotum is yellow-orange with a variable pattern of black spots and strokes. Eggs are elongated oval, yellow, orange or red. The larvae are worm-like, with 3 pairs of legs, the body is convex, up to 12-16 mm. Younger larvae are darker, grayish-brown and reddish-brown in color. In older larvae, the color is brighter: pink, orange, orange-red or yellow. The head and legs are black; there are two rows of black spots on the sides of the body. Adult beetles hibernate in the soil, mainly in the fields, at a depth of 10 to 60 cm. The lower critical temperature for wintering beetles is -9 ... -11 ° С. The emergence of overwintered beetles begins in spring when the soil warms up to 14-15 °C. Females lay eggs on the underside of leaves in clutches of 15-50 eggs. The average fecundity of females is 400-700 eggs, the maximum is up to 4000. One female can colonize 10-15 plants. The duration of development of eggs is 6-10 days, larvae - 15-24 days. At first, the larvae stay in a group at the place of oviposition, then they concentrate in the tops of the shoots, feeding on young leaves. Older larvae spread throughout the plant, severely damaging the leaves. Having completed development, the larvae go into the soil to pupate to a depth of 5-15 cm. The Colorado potato beetle damages potatoes during the entire growing season. Beetles and larvae damage the leaves mainly by the type of rough eating. Feeding 20-30 larvae can cause complete defoliation of the plant. The damage is most significant during the period of budding - flowering, when plants begin to form tubers and are especially sensitive to loss of leaf surface. By the end of the growing season, the value of damage to the crop gradually decreases.
Protection measures. Compliance with crop rotation and isolation of new plantings of potatoes from last year's by 1.5-2 km reduce and slow down the colonization of plants by the pest. Inter-row tillage during the period when the larvae leave for pupation causes their significant death. Pre-harvest, in 1-2 weeks, the removal of tops causes the death of larvae that have not completed their development and deprives young beetles of additional nutrition. Careful removal of post-harvest residues prevents self-seeding and the development of early pest outbreaks for the next year. Deep plowing of the soil after harvesting destroys some of the wintering beetles. Among the potato varieties of domestic and foreign breeding, there are relatively less damaged by the Colorado potato beetle, for example: Iskra, Zarevo, Polet, Belorussky early, Lasunok, Charivnitsa, Stolovy 19, Ando, Binte, Kennebek. Potato forms resistant to the Colorado potato beetle have been developed by genetic engineering methods. The first measure of potato pest control by insecticide treatment can be carried out during the formation of potato bushes when more than 5% of plants are populated by beetles.
The main treatments are carried out during the period of mass hatching of larvae of younger ages, during the period of budding - flowering when more than 10-15% of plants are populated with ovipositions and larvae (with an average number of 15-20 larvae per 1 plant). In the case of a very high number, repeated treatments are carried out with an interval of 7-10 days. Given the possibility of development of resistance to insecticides in the Colorado potato beetle, in the treatment system, chemical and biological preparations, insecticides of different groups, use multicomponent preparations. To protect potatoes from these pests against young larvae, the bacterial preparation bitoxibacillin is used. Among a wide range of insecticides for spraying plants against larvae and beetles, preparations of actara, confidor extra, borei, biskay, apache, coragen, regent, sharpei, fastak, vantex, kungfu, qipi, fitoverm are used. Another way to protect potatoes is the treatment of uterine tubers or the bottom of the furrow when planting with systemic preparations: actara, prestige, cruiser, imidalite, flexi waves.
These photos show how these potato pests are being controlled:
28-spotted potato ladybug - Epilachna vigintioctomaculata (neg. Coleoptera, family Ladybugs). Representative of the group of herbivorous cows. A species common in the Far East region. The beetles are relatively polyphagous, damaging solanaceous crops: potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers; pumpkin crops: cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, melons, watermelons, and beans. Rarely damage corn and beets. The gourds are usually damaged by beetles at the beginning and towards the end of the growing season, and in the middle of the season they feed on nightshade. Larvae develop only on nightshade crops. The beetle is small, 4-7 mm long, strongly convex, hemispherical in shape. The coloration is yellow-orange, each elytron has 14 black spots. The larva is campodeoid, with 3 pairs of legs, up to 7-10 mm long, pale yellow, with 6 longitudinal rows of black branched spines on the back. 1 generation develops per year. Beetles hibernate on the edges of the forest, under fallen leaves, as well as in the fields under the remains of tops and in the upper soil layer. The exit of beetles from wintering places begins from the end of May. Beetles feed on wild and cultivated plants. From early summer, females lay their eggs on the underside of potato and other nightshade leaves in groups of 10-75. Fertility - from 250 to 500 eggs. Beetles and larvae damage leaves in a similar way, making a very characteristic furrowed skeletonization in the form of a series of narrow strips on the underside of the leaf. Harmfulness increases significantly after the development of older larvae. Damaged leaves dry up, which significantly reduces plant productivity. The larvae pupate openly on plants. Beetles of a new generation at the end of the season fly to wintering grounds.
Damage thresholds - over 5% of infested plants with a population of 2-3 beetles per 1 plant on seedlings; 10% of infested plants with a population of 3-5 larvae per 1 plant in the flowering phase.
Protection measures: crop rotation and spatial isolation of nightshade and pumpkin crops; thorough cleaning, removal of post-harvest residues, destruction of weeds. To treat potatoes from these pests, spraying with preparations of spark, tsipi, sharpei, fitoverm is used.
Potato moth - Phthorimaea operculella (neg. Lepidoptera, fam. Notched-winged moths). A species of American origin, widely distributed in various parts Sveta. A specialized pest of solanaceous crops. Damages potatoes, eggplants, tobacco, less - tomatoes and peppers. It develops on physalis, dope, belladonna, henbane. Object of external and internal quarantine. Distributed in the Krasnodar Territory and the Republic of Adygea. This insect pest of potatoes is small in size, with a wingspan of 12-15 mm. The forewings are grey, with a longitudinal blackish stripe and dark dots along it. The hindwings are light gray with a yellowish fringe. Caterpillar up to 10-13 mm long, yellowish-pink or yellowish-green, with a white longitudinal stripe on the back. Potato moth gives 3-4 generations per year in the field; 2-3 more generations can additionally develop in potato storages. Older caterpillars or pupae overwinter in the fields under plant debris and in the upper soil layer, some overwinter in storage facilities. The flight of butterflies and the settlement of plants begin in the middle - late spring. Females lay 1-2 eggs on the underside of leaves, leaf petioles, stems; in storage, these pests lay eggs on potato tubers. Fertility - up to 200 eggs. Eggs develop 3-10 days. Hatching caterpillars are introduced into leaves, stems or tubers. Caterpillars develop from 11 to 48 days, pupate at the base of the leaves, on the soil surface, in storage - in floor crevices. Caterpillars mine various parts of plants. They make passages along the main and lateral veins of the leaf, make winding passages under the epidermis of the stem, and eat passages in the fruits of tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers. In potato tubers, passages in the surface layer are eaten away, starting from the eyes and causing severe spoilage. Accumulations of excrement remain on the surface of the tubers, the skin of the tubers over the passages dries up and wrinkles. Caterpillars spread mainly with potato tubers.
Protection measures: strict observance of quarantine for nightshade crops coming from infected areas; survey of a three-kilometer zone around the primary points of import of imported plant products; screening of ware potatoes on ships in ports; storage of potatoes at moderate temperatures unfavorable for the development of moths; mowing and destruction of potato tops 5-7 days before it dries out. Fast thorough cleaning and removal of tubers from the fields. During the growing season, spraying plants with insecticides atom, sharpei, tsipi, danadim. Before laying the tubers for storage, they are immersed in a 1% solution of the biological product lepidocide.
Look at the photos of potato pests, which are described on this page:
Protection measures. Systematic examination of potato plantings for the timely detection of nematode foci. Carrying out a set of quarantine measures to prevent the spread of the pest. Compliance with crop rotation with the return of potatoes and other nightshade crops no earlier than after 7 years. Destruction of nightshade weeds. The use of potato varieties resistant to the golden cyst nematode, for example, Crystal, Diamant, Red Scarlet, Lugovskoy, Zhukovsky Early, Ryabinushka, etc.
Below you will learn how to deal with diseases and pests of potatoes in order to protect the crop.
How to deal with potato diseases and pests: protection system
In the system of protecting potatoes from diseases, an important role belongs to organizational and seed-growing measures aimed at obtaining healthy planting material and increasing plant resistance to diseases. It is necessary to use disease-resistant varieties and obtain healthy seed material. In foci of the golden cyst nematode, use varieties resistant to it.
It is important to observe crop rotation, returning potatoes to their original place no earlier than after 4-6 years. The best predecessors are winter cereals, turnover of perennial grasses, legume-grass mixtures, busy fallow, corn, beets and other row crops. It is necessary to observe isolation (at least 1 km) of seed plots from commercial and household plots, as well as from last year's landing sites. In the foci of the golden cyst nematode, special anti-nematode crop rotations are used.
To combat pests and diseases of potatoes, as well as to increase the resistance of plants to late blight, it is necessary to apply nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in a ratio of 1: (1.2-1.4): 1.5, boron fertilizers.
Timely plowing to the optimal depth contributes to the active mineralization of plant residues, the death of pathogens of late blight, alternariosis, phomosis, and the reduction in the number of wintering pests.
20-25 days before planting, seed tubers are kept for 10-12 days in diffused light at a temperature of 15-22 ° C, turn green, making them less accessible to pathogens. Tubers with signs of disease are destroyed. In order not to have to resort to the treatment of such potato diseases as fusarium, phomosis, rhizoctoniosis, oosporosis, silver scab, etc., autumn dressing of seed tubers is used before storage with maxim and tecto fungicides.
Soil excavations are necessary to estimate the number of wireworms.
With the threat of mass harmfulness of the Colorado potato beetle and soil-dwelling pests, the tubers are treated before planting or the bottom of the furrow when planting with neonicotinoid insecticides of systemic action.
And in conclusion, find out how else you can treat potatoes from diseases and pests.
Other measures to combat diseases and pests of potatoes: how to process crops
Potato planting is carried out in the optimal early short time in compliance with the optimal rate and depth of planting. This creates a favorable temperature and water regime for the development of plants, seedlings are minimally affected by rhizoctoniosis and bacterioses.
During the period of plant development up to a height of 10-15 cm in the zone of stable damage of the Colorado potato beetle, spraying with insecticides against overwintered beetles is possible (if pre-planting treatment is not carried out). The main treatment with insecticides or biological products against the Colorado potato beetle is carried out with the mass development of larvae of younger ages during the flowering budding period. If necessary, the treatment of potatoes from diseases and pests is repeated at intervals of at least 7-10 days, but not more than 2 treatments against each generation, observing the alternation of insecticides.
To determine the start date for treatments against late blight and early blight, the signal plot method is used to reduce the number of treatments. Both artificial and natural background of the disease are used in the plots. Planting of tubers in the signal plots is carried out simultaneously with the start of planting potatoes on the farm or a week earlier. Signal plots are located at a distance of at least 100 m from other potato fields. Starting from the emergence of seedlings, the manifestation of diseases is monitored daily or every other day. When the first symptoms are detected, the signal area should be eliminated and sprayed in the fields within 5-7 days. In the absence of signal sites, fungicide treatment is started when the first symptoms appear on susceptible varieties, sometimes in the phase of closing leaves in a row, which can reduce the effectiveness of treatments. All subsequent sprayings to combat diseases and pests of potatoes are carried out regularly, taking into account the short-term forecast for the development of the disease, the phytosanitary state of potato plantings and the duration of the applied fungicides. It is advisable to carry out the first treatment against alternariosis approximately 7 days after the onset of the first symptoms of the disease.
The most effective protection of potatoes from pests and diseases is achieved by treating the tops with combined preparations. On seed and food plantings, the first 1-3 treatments are recommended to be carried out with fungicides such as acrobat MC or tattu. If the frequency of occurrence of resistant forms of the fungus on plantings of ware potatoes does not exceed 30%, then, for example, Ridomil Gold MC can be used. In the second half of the growing season (after flowering), as well as after the appearance of the disease on the tops, it is advisable to use contact fungicides, such as ditan M-45, penncozeb. All fungicides of contact and combined action recommended against late blight are also effective against Alternaria. Against Alternariosis, fungicide is also effective.
On the seed plantings in case of mass colonization by aphids - carriers of viruses, spraying with insecticides is carried out. A 3-fold cleaning of plants with signs of viral and bacterial diseases is carried out: the first - at a plant height of 10-15 cm, the second - during mass flowering, the third - at the beginning of the death of the tops. Sick plants with tubers are destroyed. To protect seed material from viral and bacterial infection, pre-harvest haulm destruction (cutting or desiccation) is carried out no later than 7 days after the final treatment with fungicides. On commercial plantings, the removal of potato tops 7-10 days before harvesting limits the development of diseases and the Colorado potato beetle.
Harvest potatoes in warm and dry weather. The first 15-20 days of storage (treatment period) the temperature is maintained at 13-17 °C, in the subsequent period - 2-4 °C. Foci of wet rot are removed along with the adjacent layer of healthy tubers.
Protection against potato cancer, brown ring rot, golden cyst nematode and potato moth involves compliance with quarantine measures.
This selection of photos shows how the fight against diseases and pests of potatoes is carried out:
To get a high yield, you should know the main diseases and pests of potatoes in order to fight them in a timely and skillful manner. The most common potato pests are: stem nematode, Colorado potato beetle, bear, wireworms, caterpillars of the winter cutworm, potato moth and many other "lovers" to eat root crops. Among the diseases can be distinguished: potato rot, macrosporiosis, potato cancer. Today we will talk about them and other dangerous potato pests.
The most dangerous potato pests
Wireworms and false wireworms
Pests of the larvae of the nutcracker beetle and darkling beetle, damaging the tubers and stalks of potatoes. Their body is dense, worm-like, yellow in color, about 20-25 mm long.
signs
They harm the fact that they gnaw through the tubers, making long, narrow channels in them. Such damage is a favorable environment for pathogens that cause rot. During the growth period, pests damage the root system, the base of the stems, so the plants are significantly behind in development or wither.
- The fight against potato pests - wireworms and false wireworms is carried out with the help of regular crop rotation, using legumes.
- Spring and autumn digging of the soil for the destruction of pest larvae.
- Liming of acidic soils;
- During spring and summer: loosening the soil, destroying weeds;
Colorado beetle
Beetles are dangerous pests of potatoes, destroying tops and tubers, which leads to a decrease in yield. Very voracious, actively breed. A characteristic feature of these beetles is that they are able to fly great distances in search of food. They can also accumulate in the soil during the permanent cultivation of potatoes. The main danger is the larvae of the Colorado potato beetle.
Control and prevention measures
- The decrease in the number of the Colorado potato beetle is facilitated by the collection of larvae and adults by hand;
- Regular weeding, loosening the soil and hilling plants.
- To combat Colorado potato beetles, biological and chemical preparations are used (the biological preparation "Bitoksibacillin", "Boverin"; chemical: "Tsimbush", "Dilor", "Volaton").
potato nematode
The female has a spherical body, while the male has a worm-like body. The female nematode is white at first, gradually darkens to a brown color. After fertilization, females lay eggs, their number is up to thousands of pieces, then they die off and turn into cysts that remain in the soil. The viability of larvae and cysts in the soil can be more than 10 years, so it is very difficult to deal with these pests.
signs
Plants affected by the nematode are significantly stunted, the lower part of the leaf may wither, few stems are formed, the root system develops poorly, tubers form small or they are completely absent. With a weak infection, external signs are invisible. Damage will appear only after harvesting, examining the tubers you can see small cysts.
Control and prevention measures
- Before planting plants, urea is introduced into possible foci of infection, which is then watered with infusion on potato sprouts;
- Careful selection of planting material;
- It is recommended immediately after planting potatoes to water the holes with liquid chicken manure;
- To combat nematodes, special preparations are also used, one of which is Nematicide (it is applied to the soil 2-3 weeks before the planned planting);
- When harvesting, carry out a thorough inspection of the tubers - eliminate the infected potatoes;
potato moth
signs
The pest damages not only potatoes, but also plants such as: eggplant, tomatoes, peppers.
The main pests are caterpillars that penetrate under the peel, into tubers or stems. In the foliage, the caterpillars eat away the inner tissues of the leaves, making many moves, polluting them with their excrement. After such an intervention, the stem of the plant dies.
Control and prevention measures
- To combat caterpillars, a solution of 10% karbofos (45 g per 5 liters of water) is used.
stem nematode
signs
Tiny roundworms (0.3 -0.4 mm) settle in the soil and potato tubers. The danger is that the affected plant does not differ in appearance from a healthy one, which makes it very difficult to fight the pest. Basically, stem nematode larvae pass into young tubers from the mother tuber, or from the soil. Actively developing, by the time of harvest, the tubers are covered with gray spots with a metallic sheen, the peel in some places exfoliates and destroyed tissue is visible under it.
Control and prevention measures
- Since infection in most cases occurs through the affected tubers, for the purpose of prevention, the quality of seed potatoes should be carefully monitored;
- Carry out autumn digging, removal of weeds and post-harvest destruction of plant residues.
Medvedka
The insect is a pest, lives in the soil, digs passages in the ground, harms young shoots, gnawing through the underground parts and tubers.
Control and prevention measures
- To combat the bear, they use baits prepared with their own hands from boiled grains of corn, millet, barley, pickled with metaphos (25 g). 15 g of vegetable oil is added to 0.5 kg of grain and mixed well, then laid out in the holes of the bear or directly into the soil, a few days before planting. When shoots appear - lay in the aisle.
- In case of mass reproduction of the pest, the soil of the plants is watered under the root with a solution of 10% karbofos (30-50 g per 10 l of water), the consumption of the solution is 6-8 l per 1 sq.m.
- Also, the finished granular preparation "Medvetoks" shows good results. It is introduced into the furrows between the beds or along their perimeter, then watered abundantly. The granules work for more than three weeks without disintegrating even in very wet soil. After eating one granule of the drug, the bear dies within a few hours.
Scoop caterpillars
Caterpillars damage potato tops and tubers. During the growing season, they penetrate the foliage (sometimes into the stems and tubers) and make many moves. Damaged tissues become a good environment for development various microorganisms that cause the development of rot (dry and wet). Stems wilt, warp, dry out, or break in places damaged by cutworm caterpillars.
Control and prevention measures
- To combat caterpillars, scoops use drugs: "Decis", "Tsimbush".
Potato diseases
Late blight (potato rot)
signs
This disease affects all parts of the plant: potato tubers, stems and leaves. The first signs appear on the lower leaves of the plant, which are more protected from direct sunlight, dark brown spots appear on them, and a white coating on the reverse side. This phenomenon means that a fungus is present on the plant that causes late blight disease. After some time from the infected tops, the disease is transmitted to the tubers.
The disease spreads especially quickly during rains, as the spores of the fungus are washed off the plant and absorbed into the soil. At harvest, the disease is quite difficult to detect, only after a few weeks the tubers become covered with typical spots. When cutting potatoes, you can see brown stains on the pulp. The affected potatoes are not subject to storage, as a rule, they soon rot.
Control and prevention measures
- Use healthy tubers for planting (for greater quality assurance, pre-sprout potato tubers before planting);
- Do not plant potatoes near tomatoes when planting, and keep in mind that it is not recommended to plant potatoes for several years in a row in the same area;
- During the growing season, hill the plant higher so that the resulting tubers are not too on the surface.
- The best effect on the fight against late blight is shown by spraying the tops with chemicals. At the moment the plants reach a height of about 15-20 cm, carry out preventive treatment with a solution of copper sulfate (for 5 liters of water - 5 g of the drug);
- At the first sign of infection, spray the plants with a 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid, which you can easily prepare yourself (remember this recipe, it will come in handy more than once in the fight against other diseases and not only potatoes).
How to make Bordeaux liquid
- To prepare Bordeaux liquid, you will need two containers (preferably glass ones);
- Pour 3 liters of water into one container and dissolve 120 g of quicklime in it;
- In the second container, dissolve 60 g of copper sulfate in 3 liters of hot water;
- Pour one liquid into another and mix thoroughly. Everything, the solution is ready for spraying!
Rhizoctonia
signs
A fungal disease that affects sprouts, stems and tubers. Tubers that have been germinated in the dark are especially susceptible to the disease. Dark or brown ulcers appear on their sprouts, leading to partial death of the sprouts. Affected shoots may produce lateral shoots also affected by the disease. On the formed tubers, rhizoctonia appears as hardened dark lumps that are easily peeled off. With this disease, delayed germination, developmental delay, premature wilting and, as a result, a yield loss of 15-20% are noted.
Control and prevention measures
- Planting should be carried out with germinated tubers (previously moistened in a 1.5% solution boric acid), in well-warmed soil, not less than 8-9 ºС;
- Control the condition of the soil: follow the optimal watering, do not allow the appearance of a crust on the surface;
common scab
signs
Young shoots and growing tubers are especially susceptible to the disease. Scab appears on the surface of the tubers in the form of rough, dry ulcers, which, when growing, merge into a rough crust. The tissues of young sprouts are destroyed, germination is reduced, affected tubers rot. Plants are more susceptible to this disease - growing on sandy soils, less - on clay soils.
Control and prevention measures
- For planting, choose only healthy tubers, pre-treated in a formalin solution (0.25 liters of 40% formalin per 50 liters of water). Dilute formalin in large capacity, into which you can lower the wicker basket with potatoes. Soak the potatoes in the solution for 3 minutes, then let the liquid drain and pour the tubers onto the spread matting. Cover with a tarp for 2 hours. Please note that germinated tubers cannot be processed.
- Avoid growing potatoes on soils that are too calcareous and fertilized with fresh manure - this is a favorable environment for the active reproduction of scab in the soil.
- Carry out pre-sowing tillage with fertilizers; ammonium sulfate (35-40 g per 1 sq.m.), potassium magnesia or superphosphate (30g per 1 sq.m.), or right before planting potatoes, add manganese sulfate to the wells (2 g per well), good mixing with earth.
macrosporiosis
signs
This disease spreads to the foliage, stems, and tubers of potatoes mainly in the first half of the period of active growth. The disease manifests itself as many dry dark brown spots all over the leaf surface, at first with clear contours, and later they increase in size and merge into solid black. The foliage dies off, and after a while the trunk is also affected by gray-brown ulcers, which rot in rainy weather and dry out in the sun.
Control and prevention measures
- Adhere to the principle of fruit change (in one place you can grow potatoes once every three years);
- Plant potatoes as far away from tomatoes as possible, as this crop is also susceptible to this disease;
- Apply potash and phosphate fertilizers to the soil;
- For prevention - once a week, spray potatoes with a solution of copper oxychloride (20 l of water / 80 g of the drug) or 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid;
- Good results are shown by treatment with Polycarbicin (20 g per 5 l of water), Arceride (25 g per 5 l of water).
- For greater effectiveness in the fight against macrosporiosis, drugs should be alternated, as addiction occurs.
signs
A very dangerous fungal disease, one of the quarantine diseases of potatoes. If this disease is detected, the tubers are to be destroyed, and the soil of the site is disinfected, then the soil is no longer suitable for growing potatoes.
At the first stage, small white growths similar to cauliflower heads appear on plants infected with the disease, later they darken and eventually turn black, turning into a mass of mucus. Cancer disease can spread with infected tubers or soil on them, tools for tillage.
Control and prevention measures
- One of the most effective measures against the spread of potato cancer is the cultivation of disease-resistant varieties.
We all love potatoes, so most owners of summer cottages grow them.
In order to get a good harvest (and even better and earlier), summer residents begin to prepare seed tubers long before planting, then they are planted, and they carefully look after the plantings.
But, nevertheless, sometimes the potato harvest does not please us at all.
For a person, potatoes are the second bread, but there are also competitors. For them potatoes are sometimes the first bread.
These are numerous potato pests. Most of them love, like us, to eat a tuber (bear, wireworm and others).
There are also those who love potatoes from tuber to flower (Colorado potato beetle).
The main potato pests in most regions are the mole cricket and the Colorado potato beetle.
There are many more rare, but also harmful insects. From all these gourmets, the potato gardener must be protected.
Characteristics of potato pests
Many plant pests are remarkably resistant to environmental influences.
They also adapt to the action of pesticides - they develop protection and genetically pass it on to their offspring.
Not an easy task - a garden in the country. But the summer resident knows how to protect potatoes.
And there are a lot of pests.
Colorado beetle
Dangerous potato pest: able to completely destroy plantings.
Mexican in origin, the beetle got its name after a massive damage to potatoes in the state of Colorado.
It happened way back in 1859.
A quarantine pest entered the territory of the USSR a hundred years later, having first taken a fancy to the Ukrainian SSR.
It was possible to restrain him until 1975. After the Colorado potato beetle managed to settle from the European territory of the country to the Far East.
Description. Bright, conspicuous, defiant striped color beetle.
Dimensions - 10 mm on average. Dense shiny orange body. Rigid elytra have strictly five stripes along. Stripes are black. Under the elytra are membranous wings.
Due to the membranous beetle, it flies well.
The reddish-orange beetle larvae are the most harmful. They hatch from small yellow eggs arranged in clusters of rows.
Eggs are attached to the bottom of the sheet, not immediately visible. But the work of the larvae cannot be seen. They are extremely voracious, grow rapidly, half outgrowing the length of their parents (15 mm).
Biology. In spring, male and female beetles ready for breeding come out of winter shelters.
They wintered deep in the ground, sometimes deeper than half a meter, already adults. By the time of release, the Colorado potato beetle already has comfortable conditions development.
Before the appearance of nightshade, he will not come out, he will wait for heat. One female beetle will lay up to a thousand eggs per season (depending on the region, how many generations she has time to give).
For half a month of feeding, the hatched larvae undergo four molts.
Eating the foliage to the stems, they grow and go into the ground. There, shallow (10 cm), they pupate.
After two, sometimes three weeks, it is already an adult beetle. He either goes out to continue the invasion of the nightshade, or remains in the ground to winter if the feeding season is over.
Extreme heat or chemical treatments "drive" the beetle, causing long flights.
He can overcome tens of kilometers "by flight". Having found a suitable place, he will continue his destructive activity.
The beetle loves young potato foliage, from early plantings it partially moves to those that are younger.
When the potatoes are finished, or they are dug up by the owners, the beetle does not fly away. Switches to tomatoes, planting peppers.
And he especially loves eggplant beds - they get no less than potatoes.
Control measures. The beetle is not afraid of “chemistry” a little: it dies partially, not from all poisons and not in all phases.
Survivors continue to develop and feed, give offspring resistant to the drug.
This is a problem for industrial plantings, but a gardener can protect his plot from potato pests.
The techniques and methods are as follows:
- Mechanical;
- Agrotechnical;
- biological;
- Chemical.
Mechanical- against a broom and a bucket of stability, not a single Colorado potato beetle has yet been able to develop.
We substitute the bucket from one side of the bush and with a broom sharply shake it off with a gentle shaking on the other side into the bucket - beetles.
At the bottom of the bucket should be liquid, preferably with the addition of diesel fuel or pesticides. So that the Colorado potato beetle could not crawl out or fly away. You will have to do this often.
Some females will still have time to lay eggs on the bottom of the leaf.
This is easily eliminated: with fingers in work gloves, we press the sheet from above and below at the masonry site. The eggs are crushed, the leaf remains whole.
If you overlooked or missed the moment, and the larvae appeared, the broom will help again.
Only the bucket must be substituted quickly, but carefully - the larvae, like beetles, fall down from touch instantly. Like overripe apricots from a branch in the wind.
This is an adaptive reaction: to fall and hide, to survive.
It is necessary to adapt with the beetle: who will outwit whom.
There is also a technique for catching bait. The potatoes have just risen, the beetle has gone up, hilling is being carried out with seedlings falling asleep.
And in the aisles, pieces of cut potatoes are laid out. Hungry bugs will find them, and the landlord will find the bugs themselves.
Agrotechnical. We take into account the biology of the pest.
It hibernates in the soil. So, a well-thought-out crop rotation is required. Rotation of crops on the site.
We do not plant potatoes in the same area - this is strict. After nightshade, you can’t either. Tomatoes, eggplants, peppers grew on the plot - these are unsuccessful predecessors for potatoes.
Next to these crops, planning for planting is another mistake. Crop rotation along the way and from other potato pests will alienate his plots.
Digging. Having dug up the site before frosts, you will violate the "apartments" of those individuals who remained to winter shallow.
Not all fall into winter dormancy at great depths, especially in regions of mild winters.
Some of the beetles will freeze to death (remember - one female is capable of producing a thousand offspring).
Spring re-digging or milling of soil that is already almost ripe, but still cold for the pest, will complement the process.
Biological. The use of drugs that have a detrimental effect on the beetle.
No one else is harmed by them. The long-known bitoxibacillin is still relevant today.
Later ones are also used: agravertin, fitoverm.
Chemical. If it is not possible to cope with the beetle, the deadlines are missed, and instead of leaves on potatoes with rowan clusters - the larvae of the Colorado beetle, insecticides have to be used.
It is advisable not to bring the planting of potatoes to such an unpleasant state.
This is the loss of productivity (and even the entire crop), and the contact of the gardener himself with poisons.
Previously, organophosphorus pesticides were actively used, now they are trying to avoid them: they are highly toxic.
Chlorophos - the former protector of potatoes - is prohibited, karbofos is almost never used.
Aktara is a good preparation - sticking to the leaves, it is not washed off by rain. Protects the month, does not penetrate the tuber.
Medvedka
The pest is large, polyphagous, numerous. It differs externally from other insects in size and appearance.
Potatoes are a tuber vegetable among the favorite delicacies of the bear, like everything juicy that is located underground.
Description. It’s hard not to recognize this insect, the bear only looks like itself.
Refers to Orthoptera: has wings. It flies, however, very rarely, and even gets out of the ground at night. During the day it is difficult to see a bear, if only when digging the soil.
The body color is brown, the abdomen is lighter than the front.
Medvedka (adult) is larger than five centimeters. The front part is hard - shell. It is shorter than the soft abdomen.
The shell allows the bear to retract its head into it, but not completely. The oral apparatus is well adapted for gnawing and grinding plants.
The front legs of the bear are burrowing, with which she makes underground passages, equips nests.
A relative of crickets, the bear cannot jump. But underground, close to the surface, it can "come" almost the entire garden.
Biology. Likes warmth and moisture. But it settles almost all over the country.
Only northerners were lucky not to meet this potato pest.
Polyphagous, almost no vegetation will be neglected. That's why it's alive.
The female builds nests in the soil, chooses the depth according to temperature: so that her incubator warms up.
It cuts over the nest of the plant and monitors the constancy of the temperature.
Three weeks or a month and a horde of small copies of the bear, still soft, light gray, is ready to eat. There are 200 or more of them in the nest.
Control measures. It's hard to fight a bear. General measures fight against various pests potatoes (and a bear too) - as in the fight against the harmful Colorado potato beetle.
These are crop rotation, agricultural technology, poisoned baits.
Other types of traps are also used:
- Trapping manure pits (before winter);
- Buried bottles with leftover beer.
Chemical measures are difficult, drugs are used only with grain mixture in the wells during planting, but this is ineffective.
wireworm
Damage to the tubers, in addition to aesthetic harm and loss of presentation, the wireworm opens the entrance to fungal infections, bacterial lesions.
Description. The wireworm is a black beetle, the length of an adult is 5 mm.
Dense long worm-like larvae are harmful. They are yellow, multi-segmented. Voracious, like all insect larvae.
The tuber of such a larva pierces through like a wire, which is why, perhaps, the beetle itself got its name.
The beetle is also called a nutcracker: if you put it on a hard surface with its back down, the beetle bends, making a characteristic click. At the same time, he rolls over to his feet.
In the “pre-computer era”, children loved to watch these upheavals.
This is also a defining feature: having found a similar beetle on the site, you can check if it is a wireworm or another type of insect. It clicks and turns over, which means it is.
Biology. Long-liver - the larva can make holes in potatoes in the area for 5 years before pupating in the soil.
In winter, she hides deeper into the ground - half a meter. Adult click beetles hibernate shallowly.
Having matured, the larva pupates, then transforms into a young beetle, which will fly out to lay eggs in the spring.
Control measures. General agrotechnical accepted for potatoes, plus specific for the pest.
- The aroma of marigolds repels the wireworm, for him it is unpleasant.
- He does not like the neighbors of the legume family - you can sow peas along the potatoes, next to the plot - alfalfa. Beans, if it is bush, will also fit into the neighbors.
- Potatoes have difficult enemies to eliminate, the wireworm is no exception. Summer residents adapt at least to reduce the number of pests with traps. For bait, slices of potatoes are laid out on the site. Lay the chopped tubers and in banks buried flush with the ground.
- You can make a "barbecue" for the larvae - string pieces of potatoes on sticks or wire and dig them into the soil of the site. Periodically reach, destroying the caught wireworms.
- Create acceptable conditions in the garden for birds, they will help to catch the nutcracker. Put water - birds settle near the water. Just remember to put a plank in the water: sometimes a bird falls into a container and cannot get out. The board will help.
- Destroy wheatgrass, this is a hotbed of wireworm.
- The wireman chooses acidic soils. Lime them, add chalk, ash (wood).
- Biological method: Bioground "Protection". It is laid out in the holes when planting. The wireworm will face its enemy, the nembuck wireworm, and will be defeated.
Nematode
The potato has a named enemy: the golden potato nematode. Sounds good, looks bad.
The damage is enormous. It is specific, develops on potatoes and plants of its family - nightshade. Attacks roots.
Description. A nematode is a miniature, microscopic worm. It does not grow more than a millimeter, but nematodes are numerous.
First, the roots are affected - tubers may not develop at all on potatoes.
There are types of nematodes that also affect the tuber. This is the stem nematode. She strikes the stem, he, trying to compensate for this, strongly branches, bushes.
By the end of the growing season, the nematode passes to the tubers, it is not visible - it is small.
Already during storage it turns out: the tubers are infected. They turn blue in places, the peel is covered with cracks, inner part turns into dark dust.
By spring, almost the entire crop may be lost in storage.
If the bushes do not grow, the roots are covered with swellings, there are almost no tubers and they are ugly bumpy - this is a gall nematode.
Control measures. Nematodes infect the soil, then live in the infected area for many years.
Only prevention is effective here:
- Healthy planting material;
- Competent crop rotation;
- Separate storage of tubers intended for seed purposes;
- Disinfection of the instrument if it has been in contact with the soil where the nematode could be contained;
- Autumn digging;
- Disinfection of tubers with potassium permanganate - a weak solution - before planting;
- Preplant application of urea to the site;
- The introduction of ash into the hole.
naked slugs
These unpleasant mollusks are very harmful. Potatoes, however, are attacked infrequently.
Prefer non-poisonous delicate foliage of cruciferous: lettuce, radish, cabbage.
They can eat onions: eat foliage to the very bulb.
If the slug is so unfortunate that there is nothing like it on his table, and such luck that the year turned out to be rainy, the toothy one will come to the potatoes.
It will get to the tuber and will eat, spoiling the crop for the owner of the site.
Control measures. Conventional, improvised means:
- Traps - wet rags, boards, cardboard - laid out in different places at night, will work during the day. The slugs will hide there from the light and heat. Once the covers are removed, the insects are easy to collect. If there are chickens and especially ducks in the country, they will be happy with such feeding.
- Sprinkling the aisles with ashes: the slug will not overcome the barrier, the alkali burns its body.
- You can cover approaches to potatoes with a layer of sand - the slug will not dare to move along the sand.
- The slug does not like strong coffee either. Spraying the seedlings and the ground around with the coffee solution will protect the potatoes.
- Slugs die from salt, but it is undesirable to salt the soil - plants will not be happy with salt either.
- You won't find slug in parsley. This potato pest does not like the smell of herbs. If he's annoyed by potatoes, sow parsley next to him - look at the result.
potato scoop
Potatoes and scoops have their own - potato scoop. But the pest is not specific, polyphagous, despite the name.
Scoop is an inconspicuous brownish, sometimes gray butterfly of medium size. Wingspan: 3-4 cm.
The butterfly is harmful only as a producer, and the damage is done by the caterpillar.
All caterpillars are voracious. The scoop robs at night, during the day it hides in prudently gnawed potato tubers.
Control measures. You can’t just take a scoop, in addition to agricultural technology, you will have to connect “chemistry”.
This will reduce the environmental friendliness of products, but will provide it with a chance to exist.
Try to take the safest drugs. Nembakt, Aktellik, Bazudin.
Follow the instructions - take care of your health, busting is dangerous.
Khrushch
May beetle larva is a problem in the potato plot. She loves to eat, sizes (4 cm - adult) dictate her appetite.
I crunch a tuber - and a table, and a temporary home. The larva eats this house from the inside to the peel.
This potato pest is a gardener's disaster.
The larvae live quietly, feed, hibernate in the ground up to 4 years, then pupate and become beetles by autumn. These beetles will overwinter and fly out to feed.
They live in forest and forest-steppe regions, which is almost everywhere in the country in the European part.
In Asia too - to the eastern borders, excluding the cold northern places.
The beetle is large. An adult - a pest of forest and park plants and plantations (trees), gardens - eats foliage.
The larvae eat everything underground, they are omnivores. tree roots, garden plants, weeds - everything goes to the "Khrushchev table".
The larva feasts there for up to 4 years, it will easily destroy the tree in a day.
The biology of the beetle is characterized by cyclicity: it is not always possible to see it.
Three years, sometimes four years - mass hatching and emergence of adults.
Then for ten years it is not visible, this does not mean getting rid of the pest. The May beetle is busy with active reproduction, preparing for the next summer and flight: settling spaces free from it.
Control measures. From the description it can be seen that they are not simple:
- Mechanical - two diggings (autumn, spring), and the collection of larvae at this time.
- Sowing of umbrella plants - dill, coriander, fennel. They are attractive to the enemies of the beetle - entomophages that feed on pest larvae.
- At the beginning of summer, early in the morning, the beetles are still cold. You can shake them off, inactively sitting on the branches - on the litter. They will not run away - they are numb from the cold.
- Sod in the garden. Sodding deprives the Khrushchev of the possibility of laying eggs in the soil. This will protect the garden, but you can't cover the vegetable garden.
- The plot for the garden is protected by sowing legumes. Their peculiarity is to release nitrogen into the soil with root nodules, which is very unpleasant for the beetle. If clover, alfalfa, beans, peas are buried in the ground when digging, additional protection is created. The beetle leaves the area.
- Lupine and mustard are the Achilles' heel of the beetle. This is what they cannot eat, neither larvae nor may beetles. The latter can not stand the smell, they fly away.
- Of the chemical compounds, it is worth paying attention: the unloved beetle is chlorine. Sprinkling of chlorine earth during digging is unpleasant for a person, but no more than the harm from the beetle.
- A special preparation - antikhrushch will help with the mass settlement of the site by this potato pest. Before planting the tubers, shed the wells with a diluted suspension. Works for a long time.
- Biopreparations. And this is where nembakt, fitoverm comes in handy.
- Weak solutions of potassium permanganate or ammonia, an infusion of onion peel - improvised means - also work against Khrushchev.
- If there are shrews on the site, they will cope with the Khrushchev themselves.
potato moth
Unwanted, relatively young, newcomer to the country. A nondescript butterfly made its way from the south.
Kuban learned about it thirty years ago. The butterfly itself does not eat, it has eaten more larvae, now the function is reproduction.
Generations of moths are capable of giving up to 8, if the region is warm.
The larvae immediately start feeding. Beautiful name moths - fluorimea does not cover the outrages created by the larvae.
Caterpillars mine the stems, leaves - gnaw out the internal contents, the pulp, leaving the surface shells of the leaf intact. It can be seen: whitish winding stripes, passages inside the leaves and there are insect mines.
Larvae and tubers penetrate, at first they are invisible. But the vaults are a real paradise for moths. She winters there, eats, turns potatoes into dust.
Control measures. This potato pest is a quarantine pest.
It was possible to restrain him in pre-perestroika times. After the journey, the potato moth began to be determined by the thickness of the purse carrying the infected material.
The barriers of quarantine have been greatly shaken. The moth settled in all regions suitable for its temperature.
Hosts even where it is cold - in storage. After all, no one will freeze food, and even seed potatoes.
Need to fight:
- The resumption of quarantine, and for all nightshade.
- Disinfection of storage facilities in summer.
- Glue traps with pheromones - during the summer period, moths - on the site.
- Variety selection. In moth-prone areas, a dangerous pest can be bypassed. Early varieties vegetate at temperatures unacceptable for potato moths. By growing them, this misfortune can be avoided.
- Embedding depth. The sissy - the larva of the potato moth - will not go deeper than 10 cm. It is cold for her there, especially in early plantings. Deep planting and subsequent high hilling (planting on ridges) will protect early potatoes, moths will not get close to the tubers.
- For the same purpose - to keep the tubers deeper - the irrigation method is chosen. Physiological sprinkling method. Plants will be stronger, pests will become tight.
- Potato tubers (early) deep planting will save. But the above-ground part can be affected. Therefore, they use agricultural technology - they mow the tops at the beginning of yellowing. They burn it, dig up the crop, remove it from the plot immediately. Dry in another, moth-free place.
- Good old friends - biologics - entobacterin, bitoxibacillin are also used against this serious potato pest.
Potato big aphid
But it also hurts potatoes. Basically - as a carrier of diseases.
In morphology and biological features, it is close to other aphids, there are no special differences.
Control measures:
- Agrotechnical - destruction of weeds, cleaning of fields during a period free from plants, crop rotation;
- Biological - the use of biopreparations that destroy aphids, safe for humans;
- Chemical - insecticide treatment;
- Household helpers - the use of an ash-soap solution, disinfection of greenhouses, the use of burning solutions (garlic, mustard, tobacco, celandine).
mouse rodents
They are found in all areas, only the number is different.
In summer, mice find a different food for themselves, and by autumn they take a fancy to juicy potato tubers. Rats can even drag tubers into burrows.
In storage facilities - permanent and temporary - rats ruin crops. They gnaw different tubers, damaged potatoes get sick, rot.
It's harder to fight them. On the site, the main helpers are cats.
In vaults inaccessible to cats, poisoned baits are laid out.
Various designs of mousetraps and rat traps also help. Rats, however, are smart, extremely cautious. If there is a rat-catcher, the matter is simplified.
We got acquainted with the main potato pests, but that's not all to attack our favorite vegetable. There are also many diseases - non-infectious. We will deal with them in subsequent articles.
It is not easy to grow potatoes, to protect them from all kinds of hungry tuber lovers. But the work is not in vain.
Already in the summer, a young potato will begin to please the gardener's family.
And then it will be the queen of the table in different variations - until the next harvest.
See you soon, dear readers!