Potato pests, as well as pathogens of its diseases, are bacteria, fungi and viruses. Often, many of them are able to develop due to living conditions. We’ll talk about the diseases of vegetable crops another time, but today we are interested in pests. Among the particularly dangerous garden parasites, the following were noticed:
- Colorado beetle,
- wireworm,
- a bear.
In this article we will tell you how to deal with them.
Potato Pests: Wireworm
Description
This is a worm. Often you can see how fresh potatoes are literally permeated with some backdoors. This is the result of the wireworm. His moves are a real misfortune for a potato! By cleaning the tuber you will not get off. It will be much easier to throw it away! But you won’t send all the potatoes to the bin! Therefore, urgent need to take action! Pest control is not an easy task, but only for those who do not know how to do it!
Wirewalking
Often add ash, chalk and lime to the soil. An excellent tool is dolomite (lime) flour. Limit the soil in such a way every four years and always in advance of planting potatoes. You can use chopped eggshell. Spread it regularly throughout the summer. In this case, the wireworm will no longer harm your crop, be sure.
Potato Pests: Bear
Description
This insect, similar to a crayfish, harms the underground parts of cabbage, tomatoes, and in root vegetables (potatoes) in tubers, it eats up huge cavities that rot over time. In addition, the parasite in the most cruel way gnaws stems. Protection of potatoes from pests led by a bear occurs through the use of dung traps.
How to deal with a bear
Spread fresh manure piles all over the site. 2 per 1 hundred square meters of land. Bears will certainly climb there. After 20 days, check these heaps and destroy the insects that climbed into them! The fact is that these parasites are very attracted to the smell of fresh or rotted horse and cow manure. It is for this reason that they should not fertilize the garden as bait. Draw a bear to the site.
Potato Pests: Colorado potato beetle
Description
Of course, this is the most dangerous pest available. Distributed almost throughout Russia. Potato beetles themselves almost do not damage. All harm comes from their larvae. So, how to deal with this pest.
Fighting the Colorado potato beetle- Use special chemicals for spraying.
- Do not forget about the manual collection and destruction of beetles and their larvae.
- You can cook the poison yourself. Pour a solution of malathion in a ratio of 2 tablespoons of the drug into half a liter of water in a potato-peeled bucket. Moisten these cleanings. When planting potatoes, lay them in holes (depth - 30 cm). Hungry and overwintered Colorado beetles gather in these holes, absorb poison and die.
- The number of Colorado potato beetles decreases very well if in the morning pollinate tops with clean and sifted wood ash (ratio: 2 tablespoons per 1 sq. M).