A beautiful, well-groomed garden bringing a rich harvest is the dream of any gardener. And it can bring joy not only in the spring due to the beautiful flowering and aroma, but also in the fall during the harvest period of juicy and healthy apples.
But the yield of the garden can be affected by the infection of trees with various parasites. Then the yield is in question, and a thunderstorm of defeat hangs over the entire garden. One of these pests is the codling moth. This parasite able to cause irreparable harm not only to the crop, but to the entire garden as a whole thanks to the rapid reproduction.
Biological features of a butterfly
Butterfly codling moth has a brown or grayish color. The wings have a transverse shape, a wingspan of no more than 2 centimeters and a spot in darker colors than the body of a butterfly. It is almost impossible to notice the infection of a tree with a pest in the early stages, due to the fact that the butterfly leads night life and lays eggs on fruits and leaves in the dark.
The number of eggs laid by females can reach hundreds, of which in seven days caterpillars of light red color with a brownish head appear. Within one season, the butterfly can breed two generations of larvae that can destroy almost the entire crop and significantly damage the fruit tree itself.
Caterpillar Vital Activity
Hatched caterpillars enter the fetus by eating the pulp, reach the core, which prevents the fruit from developing properly. As a result, the fruits fall. Caterpillars of the apple moth can be infected not only by the apple tree, the pest can infect any fruit tree.
The apple moth can also affect already-formed fruits, which, despite continued growth, can reach maturity earlier than others and fall under the influence of the pest.
The development time of the caterpillar can reach a month, during which time the insect can damage a large number of fruits. In the autumn months, the pest moves into the cracks of the tree bark, there it takes the form of a chrysalis and lives until spring. For wintering, caterpillars can choose storage locations for crops, sheds, cellars or fruit boxes.
Pest Control
Pest control can be carried out by various methods, the main task is to prevent insects from breeding and not to climb into secluded places for wintering. In the initial stage of the defeat, the method of catching has proven itself well. To rid the garden of insects, use the following resistance methods:
- Belts for catching insects.
- Spraying trees with herbicides.
- Disinfection of storage rooms.
If the apple moth has greatly bred, control measures need to be combined. It also makes sense to carry out preventive work to prevent infection.
Catching insects
You can catch insects using various devices. You can use against the pest (apple moth) measures of control in the form of a belt for catching. Such devices work due to the desire of the worm to find a secluded place. For the manufacture of such belts, you can use any material at hand: cardboard, paper, newspapers or fabric. The hunting belts are located at a height of a tree up to 30 centimeters from the ground and are a kind of skirt.
A strip of material up to 20 centimeters wide is wrapped around the trunk and fixed with a rope or elastic band on top, and the lower part of the belt remains in a free state. When applying paper, it is advisable to slightly warp or crush it, then you will get a lot of bends, and the caterpillars will freely settle in such a trap without infecting the fruit. The overlay of such devices on a tree should be carried out in late May or in the initial dates of June. Such devices should be changed once a week, carefully destroying old linings.
Advantages and disadvantages of the catch method
The advantages of this remedy for the codling moth are low cost and simplicity. What could be easier than tying a piece of material on a tree trunk? With this method, the apple moth is quickly destroyed and control measures do not allow fruits and trees to be treated with chemical compounds, which allows you to get a crop without extra nitrates. Such belts for catching insects can serve not only against the codling moth, they are quite capable of coping with other types of dangerous garden pests.
The disadvantages are the need for constant monitoring of traps. Belts must also be replaced after rain. Paper tends to disintegrate under the influence of moisture, and film traps are not desirable due to the risk of overheating of the fruit tree bark on hot summer days.
Spraying trees with insecticidal preparations
The fight against the codling moth in spring can begin with spraying the garden with special drugs. Among them, one can distinguish “Decis”, “Rovikurt”, “Sonnet”, “Karbofos”, “Nomolt”, “Sherpa”, “Fastak” and their analogues. Codlozhora apple preparations of this type can transfer without harming themselves, therefore, each subsequent treatment of the garden is best done by another means.
Timing of spraying trees should be strictly observed.
- The first spraying is carried out after flowering, but before the first ovaries appear.
- The second spraying is carried out 12 days after the first. During this period, the codling moth can affect young fruit.
- The third spraying is carried out 10 days after the second.
Spraying should be carried out in the evening due to the pest's nightlife at an air temperature of at least 18 ° C, because at a lower temperature the chemical may not work properly.
Spraying is strictly prohibited during the ripening period, because saturation of the pulp with chemicals can take place, and such a crop is unacceptable to a person to eat. In such periods, you can spray with infusions of wormwood or tops from tomatoes. It is the decoctions of these plants that have effectively proven themselves in the fight against the apple codling moth.
The method of catching butterflies using fermenting solutions
Every grower knows how to deal with the apple moth using chemicals, but such protection of the tree can be detrimental to the crop. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to solutions with the action of fermentation. They are not poisonous and are excellent for killing butterfly pests.
Empty containers are filled to a third with a solution of apple compote or other ingredient that can cause fermentation. To obtain such a solution, you can use whey from milk, bread kvass, beer or decoctions of dried fruits. For the fermentation process, it is worth adding sugar and yeast to the solution, insist for several hours and pour into containers. Next, hang the obtained bait on a tree. The strong smell of yeast attracts butterflies, they die in the tank, not having time to make a laying with larvae.
Such traps should be replaced as they are filled, but at least once every 3-4 days. Otherwise, the fermentation process will end, and there will be no sense in adaptation.
Apple Codling Control Measures in Autumn
If in the spring, despite all efforts, the pest was not defeated, then a number of measures should be taken in the fall after the harvest. To prevent crawling of the larvae into the bark of the tree, the trunk can be whitewashed with lime. With whitewashing, at least a quarter of the tree. A solution of lime should not be made liquid, it is better if all the voids and cracks of the tree are filled with it.
It is good to scrape off parts of the dead bark of the trunk and branches with a scraper and get rid of the resulting waste by the burning method. In the autumn period, deep plowing of the earth around the trees should be carried out, this will help kill the larvae that winter in the ground.
Having prepared the tree with such methods for wintering, it is possible to get rid of the insidious codling moth already by spring.
Prevention measures to prevent re-infection
Fruits that have fallen from an infected tree are unsuitable for food. But if the fruit is large and the tree has not been treated with chemicals, then such fruits can be recycled taking into account the complete destruction of the resulting waste.
After collecting the carrion, you must not leave unprocessed fruits for storage at night. Moth creeps away due to the principle of its night life and there is a risk of re-infection of the tree or the defeat of other trees located next to the house.
Harvesting containers must be selected from even and smooth materials, preferably ceramic or plastic. Pest larvae will not be able to get into nooks, like in wooden boxes. After processing, such dishes should be thoroughly washed and treated with any disinfectant.
The described methods really contribute to the control of garden pests. They help save the crop and prevent damage to the trees in the garden. When using preventive measures against infection, the garden will smell and delight its owners for a long time.