Grapes ceased to be a purely southern culture. Varieties that grow well and bear fruit in central Russia with a temperate climate are bred. Like any other cultivated plant, grapes require good care. First of all, the control of grape pests should be conducted correctly, which can be divided into two main types: fungal diseases and insects.
Fungal diseases - a threat to grapes
There are many fungal diseases that pose a threat to grapes. The main ones are mildew, powdery mildew (oidium), gray and white rot, anthracnose, chlorosis and some others.
Any disease is easier to prevent than to cure. In order to prevent diseases of grapes, prevention is necessary, for example, carrying out agrotechnical procedures. The bushes and bunches of grapes should be well ventilated, that is, air should freely “walk” between them. In this case, pruning and fragmentation of branches, stepsoning are indispensable, at the time of ripening berries - removing leaves from bunches. These procedures allow air to penetrate into the bush, quickly dry the grapes. Pests, or rather spores of fungal diseases, cannot germinate and die.
Chemical treatment of the vineyard with sulfur preparations, topsin and fudozole also applies to preventive measures. Ripe berries are well sprayed with a pink solution of potassium permanganate.
A good effect is achieved with constant dusting of the soil with wood ash. Potassium, which it contains, affects the resistance of plants to diseases, and the development of fungi inhibits the alkaline reaction.
Grapes: pests - insects
The main pests of grapes are phylloxera, Khrushchev, spider mite, bear, cluster leafworm, wireworm, wasp.
Phyloxera (almost invisible aphid) is a dangerous pest that is impossible to fight. It damages the roots and leaves of grapes. Light yellow (then dark brown) swellings form on the affected areas, the growth power of the plant weakens, and it dies.
Phylloxera arrived in Europe from North America and immediately caused irreparable damage to viticulture. In the XIX century, the French government created a bonus fund of 300 thousand francs for a means to destroy phylloxera. But so far it has not been found.
Phyloxera is most often carried with planting stock. In order to prevent it, it needs to be disinfected for two minutes in a solution prepared from 200 g of clay and 100 g of a 12 percent dust of hexachloran in 5 l of water. Insecticides are also suitable: DI-68, Rogor, danadim, phosphamide, Actelik and others.
Parsley is a prophylactic. Plant it in the vineyard as much as possible!
On sandy soils, the phylloxera does not develop, but on silty and clay soils it is very weak.
Grapes affect the grapes. Their larvae settle in the soil and gnaw at the roots and cuttings of grapes. During the digging of the soil in the autumn, it is necessary to collect and destroy the larvae of the raspberry. They are also destroyed when inspecting young plants in spring and summer.
Leaves of grapes infected with a spider mite, which likes to settle on their underside, become brown. A tick prefers grape varieties with wide foliage. He is not afraid of winter and in the spring again settles in the vineyard. After the buds of the grapes bloom, it must be sprayed with 0.20% celtic emulsion. Then spray again.
Wasps also damage grapes. Pests are afraid of chlorophos, which they are sprayed with.
The caterpillar-leaflets of the small motley butterfly cause great damage to the buds, flowers and berries of grapes. As a result, the berries dry out in dry weather, and in the raw they rot. You can get rid of the pest by spraying with a 0.2-0.3% solution of chlorophos, as well as biological insecticides, for example, the drug "Bacilus Turisms". As a preventive measure, it is necessary to remove the bark from the poles and stakes that are nearby.
Protecting grapes from pests is not an easy and troublesome business. But if you want grapes to please you with delicious berries every year, then it must be carried out systematically and purposefully.