How to treat a peach if it has aphids, how to fight it with folk remedies and medications
Aphids are an insidious pest that affects fruit orchards. Insect colonies can destroy plants in a matter of days. If aphids appear on a peach, you urgently need to save the tree; for this you need to know how to treat it. There are many folk ways to get rid of parasites, but if aphids are discovered too late, then you cannot do without the use of pesticides.
How to detect the presence of a parasite
It is necessary to identify parasites in a timely manner. To do this, you need to regularly inspect the plants. Aphids can be identified by the following characteristics:
- black spots on the inside of leaves;
- sticky layer on peach buds and flowers;
- the presence of dried, curled leaves, small spots may appear;
- insect colonies are visible to the naked eye;
- blood aphids live on the trunk and stems, sucking the sap of the tree;
- the crown begins to fade, the plant stops growing.
On a note! A peach affected by aphids loses its immunity, weakens, and the frost resistance of the plant noticeably decreases.
Methods for controlling insects on peaches
You need to start fighting small pests as early as possible. Aphids on peaches spread quickly; there are proven methods of controlling insects: carrying out agrotechnical measures, insecticides, folk remedies and recipes.
Agrotechnical method
It is recommended to begin pest control using a number of agrotechnical techniques:
- Often, aphids move to peach plantings from other plants. Removing weeds growing near the peach eliminates the interaction of infected plants with the peach.
- Planting green manure: spicy and fragrant herbs repel aphids from trees. Dill and mint are enemies for insidious parasites.
- Removal of old bark and mechanical cleaning of trunks from insects.
- Use a jet of water to clear the peach foliage of parasite colonies.
All affected foliage and removed diseased branches are burned. The tree is sprinkled with wood ash at the root. Whitening trunks with lime is a proven way to protect plants from aphids.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_zKosGvL0c
These techniques are effective at the initial stage of the disease and are good prevention against infection of plants by aphids.
Traditional methods and recipes
The use of folk remedies is justified, they do not affect the quality of the crop, the poison does not penetrate the juices of fruit trees. You can use folk recipes at any period of plant development.
The arsenal of folk methods of combating aphids includes:
- Garlic and onion skins. 800 grams of onion peels are infused in 10 liters of water for 24 hours and 10 chopped heads of garlic are added. The solution is filtered and the fruit plants are sprayed with a spray bottle. The effect of the folk remedy can be enhanced by adding half a piece of laundry soap to the solution.
- A mixture of red pepper, mustard and wood ash. Add 1 glass of each component to 10 liters of water, and then spray the plants.
- Infusion of tobacco powder based on laundry soap. One standard bar of soap is dissolved in 10 liters of water and 250 grams of tobacco powder are added. After three days the product is ready.
In the fight of gardeners against aphids on peaches, many methods were born to destroy small pests: Coca-Cola, ammonia, vinegar and boric acid - all means successfully proved themselves in the fight against aphids. The gardener decides on his own how to spray or treat peach against insidious aphids. It is recommended to try several methods to find the most effective one.
How to prevent insects from appearing?
Prevention is the best way to control aphids. To prevent the appearance of parasites on peach trees, a number of measures are carried out:
- spring and autumn bleaching of trunks with lime;
- sanitary pruning of old leaves and stems;
- digging up peach trees in a circle and sprinkling the dug surface with wood ash;
- planting fragrant herbs next to peaches;
- treatment with Bordeaux mixture during the period of kidney set;
- removal of anthills from the garden plot. These insects breed aphids and carefully protect them;
- Ladybugs feed on aphid larvae, and the presence of these insects on peach trees is an effective way to control pests.
You can protect peaches from aphids through comprehensive preventive measures and regular inspection of trees for pests.
Healthy peach trees are a gardener's dream. If plants are attacked by aphids, this is not a disaster. A disease detected in time is always treated; many methods of pest control have been invented: from folk remedies to chemicals. The main thing is to carry out preventive measures in a timely manner.
Causes of aphids
The pest is carried by wind and insects from a damaged plant to a healthy one. Since the reproduction rate is high, the entire garden is quickly covered with colonies of pests. To get rid of aphids, they often begin to fight ants, because they feed on the liquid secreted by the pest and colonize them on healthy plants.
Attention! If the first signs of aphid damage appear on a peach, it is necessary to urgently treat the plant. Otherwise, the tree will stop developing and stop bearing fruit.
Description of the pest
Aphids are homoptera or wingless parasitic insects that settle in colonies on green plants. It feeds on the sap of young shoots and transmits plant disease viruses. If the leaves of the pepper turn black and the buds fall off, then the number of insects has reached catastrophic proportions. You can find the insect on the back of a green leaf.
Find out how to deal with slugs and caterpillars on peppers. External signs:
- oblong or drop-shaped body;
- size - from 3 to 8 mm;
- the body is soft, transparent, its color depends on the color of the plant on which the insect parasitizes;
- the head is trapezoidal, the organs of hearing and touch are located on the jointed antennae located on the forehead;
- the eyes are colored red, brown, black, insects have excellent vision;
- the legs are thin, long, have walking and jumping functions;
- oral apparatus in the form of a proboscis capable of piercing the surface of a green leaf or stem;
- the abdomen consists of 9 segments, the last of which is underdeveloped, in the shape of a tail;
- the body is covered with fluff of varying lengths.
By multiplying quickly, a pest colony can quickly infect the entire garden plot, since almost all aphids are polyphagous, i.e. they feed and live on many plants and trees. The secretions of the parasite - honeydew - contribute to the development of sooty fungus. Did you know? Ants guard aphid colonies by feeding on their sweet honeydew. For the winter, they roll insect eggs into an anthill. to save the colony from extinction.
How to recognize aphids
The wingless female is ovoid, about 2-2.5 mm long. The color of the integument can vary depending on the crop on which the pest develops and can strike: yellow-green, light green, pinkish. Eye color is brown-red. The juice tubes are cylindrical, widened at the base, and occupy a quarter of the body in length. The tail is finger-shaped, yellow, three times shorter than the tubes.
The larvae do not have white spots on the tergites.
The winged female is 2 mm long, has a black head, mesothorax and metathorax and a yellow-green prothorax. On the dorsal side of the abdomen there is a sclerotized central spot of black color.
The eggs are oval, black with a sheen.
Winged form of the greenhouse aphid
1. A mucous liquid appears on the buds, leaves, and flowers.
2. Up shoots begin to die.
3. Leaves become curled, limp and dry, this is due to insects feeding on tree sap.
4. The tree stops developing.
5. The harvest becomes minimal or disappears completely.
Note: When aphids appear on a peach tree, it must be treated immediately, and under no circumstances should you hesitate, as aphids spread very quickly.
Maliciousness
Blood aphids primarily colonize young shoots at the base of the buds, on the petioles of leaves, and often on the stalks. In places where the insect feeds, nodular thickenings are formed, consisting of tissue of a loose structure and covered with a delicate bark. The nodules grow and crack, forming deep ulcers. Putrefactive bacteria penetrate into the ulcers, leading to the death of the plant. Mature trees infected with blood aphids stop bearing fruit after two to three years and die.
We suggest you familiarize yourself with Cuttings of Petunias, or How to Propagate Beauty
The economic threshold of harmfulness occurs when 25% of the leaves are colonized.
How to spray a peach against aphids with folk remedies?
There are plenty of insects in nature that destroy plants. One such pest is the peach aphid. Having chosen a tree, it will multiply exponentially and will not leave until it has sucked all the tasty juice from its leaves and destroyed the crop.
There are several types of aphids on peach: large peach, blood, gray, black and green. Whatever it is, the result of its activity will be disastrous. How to treat the garden in order to get rid of the invasion of the voracious insect, we will consider in this article.
Aphid
Aphids are sucking insects. When aphids are infested, young shoots wither, dry out, lose leaves, and the tree begins to hurt. Signs of the presence of aphids:
- accumulations of aphids (buds, bottom of leaves, young shoots);
- sticky liquid (honeydew) covering the leaves;
- curling of shoot tips;
- the formation of buds and fruits stops;
- a large number of ants (they are attracted to honeydew).
Important! If aphids are detected in a timely manner, they can be easily dealt with - remove them with your hands, wash them with soapy water, etc. If time is lost, you will have to use strong pesticides.
Green, black and striped peach aphids are a particular threat to peaches.
For peaches, green, black and striped peach aphids are a particular threat.
The insects are light green in color, small in size (1.5 mm), and form colonies. Green aphids cause especially great harm to young seedlings: they pierce the leaf with their proboscis and suck out the juices (leaves become discolored, curl, fall off, flowers crumble, seedlings may dry out).
Damaged shoots freeze in winter, mushrooms take up residence in the honeydew, and wood-boring beetles appear on weakened trees.
You need to start killing aphids with methods that are gentler for peach trees:
- agrotechnical: cutting down root shoots, weeding or mowing vegetation, stripping bark, removing aphids manually or with a strong stream of water;
- biological: the use of natural enemies of aphids ( ladybugs, wasps, hoverflies, etc.
).
Planting nettles, onions, herbs, etc. In addition, it is effective ( in the initial stages
) to use decoctions and infusions of dandelions (
400 g of leaves, leave for 2 hours in 10 liters of warm water
), garlic (
300 g of chopped garlic in 10 liters of water, leave for 20 minutes
), onion peel (
150 g of peel per 10 liters of water, leave for 5 days, add 50 g of laundry soap
), etc.; - chemical: spraying with pesticides. In autumn - Bordeaux mixture (2%), in spring, before or after flowering, Bordeaux mixture (1%), a mixture of thiazole and fostiol, "Dipterex". With the appearance of fruits - “Bi-58 New”, “Aktofit” ( 8 ml per liter of water
), etc. In the spring, you can destroy aphids after winter using DNOC (
every two years
).
Striped aphids on peach suck the juice from the bark and shoots (the bark becomes sticky), the leaves on the upper shoots curl, turn red and fall off.
The eggs of peach aphids are initially colored green or reddish, and after some time they begin to darken and turn black just before the harmful larvae emerge. Usually the pest overwinters in the egg stage at the very base of peach buds.
The revival of the founders is observed in March, sometimes it can be observed in April or February - it all depends on the temperature regime. First, the pests begin feeding on the buds, gradually moving to the budding leaves and flowers. The average duration of development of founders is from seventeen to twenty-eight days. In April, over the course of ten to twenty days, they revive from twenty to sixty larvae. In total, two or three generations of wingless females can develop on a peach. Starting from the second generation, winged ones also appear, the number of which increases noticeably in subsequent generations.
Aphids first colonize weeds, and a little later they move to herbaceous crops. And there are up to four hundred names of secondary host plants for this pest. Males develop primarily on such plants, and subsequently fly to females, who, after mating, lay overwintering eggs - from five to ten pieces. Aphids can reproduce rather unevenly throughout the year in the south, as well as on indoor plants, in greenhouses and greenhouses.
How to fight
In small gardens, pests can also be destroyed mechanically - in places where uninvited guests gather, branches and trunks are wiped with a rag. You can also use biological insecticides such as infusions of bittersweet, tobacco, tomato and henbane, but they will be effective only when the number of pests is not very large.
Overwintering eggs of the voracious peach aphid are often destroyed by spraying in early spring with mineral oil preparations or appropriate substitutes. 60% nitrophen paste will also serve well in this case.
How to treat apricots against diseases and pests
Of the many modern means for treating plants, preference should be given to those that are less toxic to humans, do not accumulate in soil and fruits, have longer periods of protective action and short waiting times before eating fruits.
Moniliosis
This fungal disease often affects apricots and is familiar to many gardeners. The pathogenic fungus can overwinter in the upper layers of the soil, fallen leaves, cracks in the bark of a tree, and its spores can be carried to the crown by the wind or by bees when collecting nectar. Infestation can be diagnosed in spring by drooping leaves, flowers, and tips of shoots. At the same time, they can dry out and turn black, which will look like a flame burn or frost damage (hence the disease has a second name - monilial burn). Such affected parts of the plant should be removed and destroyed. Eradication treatments in the fight against moniliosis bring a significant effect. For spring preventive treatments, the most effective are:
- Horus,
- Soon,
- Abiga Peak.
Parts of the plant affected by moniliosis should be removed, and then the tree should be treated with fungicides
Video: treatment of apricot against moniliosis
Scab
More often, signs of scab damage are detected only at the end of May or June in the form of brown-olive spots on the fruits, less often on the leaves. At this time, you can still treat the tree with Skor or Strobi to quickly suppress the infection. Urea treatments also help well in the fight against scab. And in the future, when the fruits begin to set and ripen, it is better to use biofungicides, for example, Fitosporin-M.
Scab most often affects apricot fruits
Clusterosporiasis
Hole spotting is also called this disease due to its characteristic feature. The fungus, as it develops, forms small red-brown spots on apricot leaves, which subsequently grow, the inside of them dries out and crumbles, forming holes. The spores of the pathogenic fungus, overwintering in the soil, leaves and bark cracks, germinate at the very beginning of spring with the onset of stable temperatures above +5 °C. Therefore, carrying out eradication treatments practically prevents infection, and subsequent preventive treatments consolidate success. In addition to the above drugs, we can also recommend such drugs as Tsineb, Abiga-Pik, etc.
With clasterosporiosis, the fungus forms red-brown spots on the leaves, which subsequently grow and become holes.
Video: Clusterosporiasis - a disease of stone fruit crops
Weevil
This flower beetle overwinters in the upper layers of the soil and comes to the surface when it warms up to +5-10 ° C, after which it rises to the crown of the apricot and begins to feed on swelling buds and young leaves. At this time, the effect of the drugs used for eradication treatment still continues, and most of the pests may die. In the future, insecticides such as Decis, Fufanon, Iskra and others are used to combat it. In spring, such treatments are usually combined with the antifungal treatments described above. It is convenient to use tank mixtures of fungicides and insecticides. Information about their compatibility can be found in the relevant instructions on the packaging. A popular such mixture is, for example, the combination of Horus and Decis.
This flower beetle overwinters in the upper layers of the soil and comes to the surface when it warms up to +5-10 ° C, after which it rises to the crown of the apricot and begins to feed on swelling buds and young leaves
Aphid
Sometimes aphids settle on apricot leaves. More often she chooses young leaves and tender tips of shoots for this purpose.
Aphids usually live on the inside of leaves
To combat it, it is better to use systemic insecticides that enter the apricot vascular system, since aphids usually hide on the underside of the leaves, where it is difficult to reach when spraying with contact preparations. Suitable systemic medications include:
- Biotlin;
- Mospilan;
- Prestige and others.
Methods
Medicines
How to get rid of aphids using folk remedies is a question many gardeners ask. Cheap products that every family has in stock can be used to kill various types of aphids.
These include:
- Iodine - alcohol solution at a concentration of 5%.
- Potassium permanganate.
- Ammonia (ammonia solution).
- Alcohol.
Any of these products very effectively destroys insects; it is enough to dilute it in water and generously spray the affected plants.
The low consumption of the drug and the cheap cost allow any gardener to use the drugs, even for treating a large area without serious economic damage.
Next, read about how to defeat aphids using folk remedies, as well as destruction, disposal, recipes and a solution for aphids.
Culinary products
Another group of effective substances that we constantly use without thinking about their properties. And some folk methods and remedies can destroy pests or scare them away from beneficial plants.
So why not use these qualities to save your harvest?
The following products are suitable for this:
- Coca-Cola - preferably of American origin. Only it contains the necessary aggressive substances that pests do not like. Some scientists suggest that phosphoric acid, of which the drink contains a very significant amount, works. There is no need to dilute it, just put a spray bottle on the bottle and spray the affected bushes.
- Mustard. Firstly, it repels aphids with its smell, and secondly, it spoils the taste of plants. Pests begin to move in search of more attractive food.
- Vinegar. It works as a repellent, since it can kill only in high concentrations, not only insects, but also plants.
- Any vegetable oil. It envelops insects, interfering with the respiratory process, and in addition, makes it difficult to access food by covering the surfaces of leaves and stems with a film. Used in the form of a water-oil suspension.
- Cream. They are mixed with essential oils (cedar, tea tree, lavender) for maximum effectiveness.
You will find the dilution proportions and the correct use of the resulting solutions in the article “The best traditional methods for aphids - part 1 and part 2” (see links to articles above).
Herbal infusions
Many plants are also great helpers in pest control.
Have you noticed that aphids never attack plantings of onions, garlic, or tomatoes? She just can't stand their smell.
You can take advantage of this property and use aqueous infusions of these plants to repel aphids from others that are attractive to the pest.
- Cultivated plants: tomatoes, hot peppers, all types of onions, garlic, potato tops.
- Greens: coriander, fennel, mint, basil.
- Flowers: marigold, lavender, Dalmatian chamomile, pharmaceutical chamomile.
- Weeds: dandelion, yarrow, celandine, horse sorrel, datura, henbane.
- Trees: alder, pine.
When using infusions, keep in mind that you need to prepare the product a day or two before use. Fighting aphids with folk remedies will give excellent results. In addition, you should not exceed the proportions specified precisely and in detail in our article “The best folk remedies for aphids, part 1 and part 2” (see links to articles above). If you increase the concentration, you can burn the above-ground parts of the plants.
Herbal decoctions
To prepare them, they use quite aggressive plants that have fungicidal, repellent or insecticidal properties.
These include:
- tansy;
- rhubarb;
- tobacco;
- hot peppers;
- rose hip;
- sagebrush.
Solutions can be consumed only after they have cooled to a cool temperature, spraying the affected plants and the soil around them.
Traditional methods
Here are just a few:
- Dandelion infusion. We collect the leaves and roots of this plant. If only leaves, then we will need 400 grams, with roots - 200. Fill with warm water (10 liters), leave for 2 hours, filter. Spray the entire peach tree with this product.
- Garlic infusion. Chop the garlic (about 300 grams), dilute it in ten liters of water, leave for 20 minutes, filter and immediately spray the tree.
- Onion peel. We make an infusion from it. We infuse 150 grams of husk for five days in ten liters of water, then strain it, add 50 grams of liquid soap to the solution and spray it on the trunk and leaves of the peach.
- Decoction of tomato tops. You will need 2 kilograms of tops, which must be soaked in 10 liters of water for thirty minutes, and then boiled for the same time. For spraying, take two liters of broth, dilute it in a bucket of water with the addition of 40 grams of liquid soap.
- A mixture of cinnamon, hot pepper, mustard, salt, soda, ash. Take equal parts of each spice, add warm water, add soap and stir in 9 liters of water. This solution is prepared before each treatment of peach trees. And you will need to make two of them. The second - a week after the first.
- Tobacco infusion. Tobacco powder (250 g) is infused in 10 liters of water for three days. Before processing, add soap to the solution.
How to get rid of aphids on trees and bushes: fighting ants
Probably every gardener or gardener has observed how ants scurry around a group of aphids, and in fairly large quantities. But very few people know that ants do not eat these pests, but quite the contrary, they protect them from other insects that are not averse to feasting on them. What is the reason for this partnership? And is there a connection between these insects?
Surprisingly, there is a connection. And the most unexpected one! The fact is that the ants themselves bring aphids to young plants. For what? It's simple: as mentioned earlier, aphids secrete a sweet sticky liquid from their bodies - honeydew. And the ants feed on this honeydew. That is, ants protect aphids from other insects, and they, in turn, thank them with nutritious and tasty food.
But that's not all. There are types of aphids that wait for their patrons, that is, ants, and only when they tickle them with their antennae do they give up honeydew. It turns out that the ants “milk” their insects. In return, they provide them with luxurious pastures, protect them from enemies, build “roofs” and “houses” so that birds and other ants do not find aphids, fight off their feeders from other insects... All summer, ants protect their aphids, and for the winter they take them to anthills, keeping an eye on them. not only for adults, but also for their eggs. The symbiosis of aphids and ants is so strong that when the latter change their habitat, they take their pets with them.
Blood aphid
This type of aphid is very dangerous, as it literally sucks all the juice out of the peach tree. Aphids can be recognized by certain features. For example, a large number of insects on the leaves, especially on the inside. When you press on an insect, a red liquid is released from it, which is why this aphid is called bloody. Aphids have fluff that is quite thick. Experts recommend examining peach trees more often in order to cure the tree from infection in time, otherwise, if the tree is not cured, it will begin to wither, become covered with ulcers and reduce the amount of its harvest.
codling moths
Codling moths pose a serious threat to young shoots and to the harvest (if the fight against these pests of peach is late, then all the fruits may die). Most often, peaches fall prey to the oriental and plum moths.
Eastern moth
The damage caused by the oriental codling moth is not limited to fruit damage. Caterpillars devour young shoots and carry fungi (including an ascomycete that causes moniliosis). The first signs of pests are:
- gum on young shoots, longitudinal cracks, their lethargy and death;
- wormholes on the surface of peaches.
Did you know? The Eastern codling moth is a lepidopteran butterfly (15 mm in length). The female is larger than the male. The wings are gray-brown, the body is dark. The homeland of butterflies is the countries of East Asia. The flight of butterflies lasts a month during the peach blossom period. More active in the evenings and early mornings. Eggs (from 100 to 200) are laid on the tips of shoots, buds (females of the first generation), sepals and stalks (females of the second generation). One generation lives from 24 to 40 days. Up to 4 generations can pass during a season, overlapping one another. They wait out the winter in cracks in the bark, under fallen leaves.
When fighting the eastern codling moth, agrotechnical, natural and chemical means are used:
agrotechnical measures are preventive and health-improving measures - in the evening, dead bark is cleared off, dead leaves and carrion are removed, damaged shoots are pruned, the earth around the tree is dug up (in spring and summer - loosened) in the fall. They also use traps - glue traps with pheromones for males (the effectiveness of this technique is low), belts on the trunk made of fabric impregnated (one percent chlorophos);
natural (biological) - using hymenoptera trichogramma (equiped ichneumonids that parasitize on codling moth eggs) - during the period of egg laying by codling moths;
chemicals are used against each generation (including after harvest). A strong remedy against the oriental codling moth is benzophosphate (per 10 l - 60 g) - sprayed three times (the interval between treatments is 15 days) after flowering. They also use “Chlorofos” (per 10 l – 20 g), 25% “Rovikurt” (per 10 l – 10 g), 10% “Karbofos” (per 10 l – 60 g), etc. The usual consumption is up to 10 l mixture for an adult tree and 2 liters for a young tree.
Important! During the flowering period of peach trees, treating with insecticides is strictly prohibited. Other crops in the garden should be covered with film during the period when peaches are treated with insecticides.
Plum moth
The larvae of the plum moth infect peach fruits: they eat away the pulp and core of the stone, disrupt the vessels from the petiole (the flow of juices stops), the fruit begins to wither, ripen prematurely and falls.
The first sign of the presence of the plum moth is the massive falling off of green peaches with wormholes, as well as the appearance of lumps of cobwebs on the fruits and leaves.
Did you know? The plum moth resembles the eastern moth in appearance and is larger in size (up to 2 cm). The flight of butterflies occurs at the end of May - beginning of June. The butterfly lives from 4 to 15 days and manages to sow up to 50 eggs on fruit. The caterpillars independently gnaw through the skin of the peach and penetrate into the fruit. During the season, two generations of moths pass through. Caterpillars overwinter in dense cocoons made of cobwebs in crevices of the bark, in the soil under the tree.
Protection of peach from these pests by agrotechnical and natural means is similar to that applied to the eastern codling moth. With a small number of pests, it is advisable to use the biological product “Bitoxibacillin” against each generation (40-80 g per 10 liters).
The use of chemicals has its own specifics:
- treatment is carried out until the caterpillars appear (when lumps of cobwebs appear) - “Intavir” (one tablet per 10 l);
- against second generation caterpillars - “Fufanon”, “Sumition”, “Novaktion” (but not less than 30 days before harvest).
Set of preventive measures
To protect the tree and crop from aphid attacks, it is necessary to carry out timely prevention:
- In autumn, clear the tree trunk area of leaves, weeds and plant debris.
- Dig up the soil thoroughly.
- In the spring before sap flow and in the fall after leaf fall, treat the tree with Bordeaux mixture.
- A month before the onset of frost, whitewash the trunk. Before whitewashing, clean the trunk of lichen and moss with a wire brush or wooden scraper. Treat the damaged bark with iron sulfate and cover it with garden pitch.
- Perform sanitary pruning in a timely manner.
Prevention
To prevent the appearance of aphids, preventive work begins with proper preparation of the soil for growing seedlings. The soil must be disinfected by heating or freezing. Also for this purpose, pouring with a concentrated solution of potassium permanganate or garlic infusion is used. Additionally, seedling containers and seed material are disinfected.
When growing pepper seedlings indoors, do not leave flower bouquets in the same room with the seedlings. They can be a source of aphid spread. During the development process, seedlings must be fed with mineral fertilizers. Weakened seedlings are sprayed with the drug "Epin" to strengthen the immune system.
Types of fertilizers for pepper seedlings: how and what to properly feed peppers For peppers to develop well, they need light, water and oxygen. All these points are important for seedlings, and for them...
After planting in a permanent place, make sure that there are no anthills in the vicinity of the pepper beds. If they are found, they are dug up and the area is covered with hot wood ash. The anthill itself is taken further into the forest. To kill ants, sweet, poisonous baits are laid out on their paths.
Tip! After planting the pepper bushes in a permanent place, plants with a pungent odor are planted along the edges of the bed, which repel aphids. For this purpose, marigolds, cloves, onions, dill, and coriander are used.
To destroy aphids, insects that feed on them are attracted to the site. These include ladybugs and lacewings. Birds are also used to control the pest.
To get rid of aphids on pepper bushes, different methods are used. At the same time, the degree of effectiveness and toxicity of the drugs used is taken into account. Chemical insecticides are used only in extreme cases: when a large number of plants are infected or when other methods are ineffective. At the stage of growing seedlings or during the fruiting period, aphids are destroyed using folk remedies or bioinsecticides.
Agrotechnical measures to combat aphids
When a peach disease is detected, not every gardener understands what measures are necessary to preserve the plant.
Agrotechnical measures to combat peach aphids:
- wash off with water under pressure;
- pull out weeds in the root zone;
- clean the trunk from insects mechanically;
- plants with a spicy smell are planted around the affected trees (dill, mustard, calendula, mint);
- remove affected branches and foliage from the peach and burn it;
- a belt is created around the trunk from a film smeared with resin - the barrier stops ants that spread aphids;
- in the fall, the root zone is treated with boiling water and covered with ash;
If the above methods do not help, they resort to treating the garden with chemicals against aphids or using traditional methods. When choosing a product, the class of impact on insects is studied and seasonality is taken into account.
How to deal with aphids on peaches
The obvious presence of a problem indicates that something needs to be done about it, and quickly. If colonies of aphids are noticed on a peach, many do not know what to spray with. But there are effective ways.
Agrotechnical methods of control
This option for combating parasites is based on preventing both their appearance and mass reproduction. However, he will not be able to exterminate aphids instantly, since all actions are aimed at worsening the living conditions of the pest. Using such methods, you can reduce the number of peach pests and protect plants from appearing next season.
How to deal with strawberry mites on strawberries
Most often, to combat aphids on peaches, gardeners cut out root shoots, where offspring can overwinter, or in which eggs are often laid. This also eliminates one of their food sources in the summer, which creates unfavorable conditions for the pest.
You can also thoroughly loosen the soil and plant plants with a specific smell nearby, since aphids cannot tolerate strong aromas. All these actions will gradually help rid the fruit crop of pests.
Chemicals
It should be used when the buds are still dormant, or during the flowering period, but before harvesting. Most often, insecticides are chosen that penetrate the tree bark and kill pests. Soon insects begin to die from their effects.
The following preparations are popular among gardeners:
- Topsin;
- Aktar;
- Karbofos;
- Topaz.
Correct treatment with these compounds will allow you to see the results of use within 5 days. But we should not forget that chemistry is, in any case, not a natural product. You should follow the instructions, otherwise you can only harm the plant.
Folk recipes
Most often, gardeners prefer not to harm plants, using gentle methods that are safe at any stage of the growing season. Basic recommendations on how to fight and use folk remedies to treat a peach if aphids were found on it:
- Infusion of onions and laundry soap. The husk and water are mixed 1 to 4 and boiled for 35 minutes. Then the solution is infused for 4-8 days in a warm, dark place. Then rub soap into it, stirring thoroughly. The resulting product is sprayed onto the leaves of the tree.
- Orange infusion can be used on any part of the plant, including its fruits. For it you need to infuse citrus peels in 1 liter of water for 72 hours. Afterwards, the solution is filtered and the infected areas are sprayed with it.
- Garlic infusion - 500 g of vegetable and 1.5 liters of warm water. Let it sit for a day, and then rub laundry soap into the solution. Before use, dilute with 6 liters of clean water.
On a note! All these recipes are absolutely environmentally friendly and will not harm the peach tree or its fruits.
The best remedy is prevention
In order not to look for options to combat this insect, regularly carry out preventive treatments in the front garden. To do this, use the following processing schedule:
- after all the foliage has fallen, the peach crop is treated with Bordeaux mixture strictly according to the instructions;
- Before flowering, the peach crop will need treatment with Tizol;
- After flowering, spray the tree with Bordeaux mixture.
It is worth noting that most gardeners advise keeping a drug such as Actofite in a green first aid kit. It is mainly used together with laundry soap as an emergency aid for aphid attacks.
Where and why does it appear?
Aphids overwinter in the ground or in last year's autumn leaves. If aphids damaged peppers last gardening season, you should not plant them in the same place this year, as there is a high risk of infecting new plants. Insect eggs overwinter in leaves or under tree bark.
As the weather gets warmer, females are born first, which will then give rise to a whole colony of aphids. Ants play a major role in the appearance of aphids. Since not all aphids have wings to move, ants help them. In return they receive food - honeydew.
Important! This symbiosis allows some to be constantly full, while others expand their habitat.
The main reason for the appearance of aphids on pepper seedlings is that young shoots are very attractive to pests, they are juicy and rich in nutritional components.
Which processing method to choose
Agricultural technology
Gardeners often advise not to immediately resort to chemicals, but to try available agricultural techniques. So, first of all, we remove all the weeds, remove all the root greens. Next, we clean off the old bark on the trunk and branches. We connect the hose and use a stream of water to remove the aphids from the foliage until the bloody color disappears. An excellent remedy is to plant herbs around a peach or nectarine.
Mechanical methods can be used if the peach tree is small. In this case, you can knock down the aphids with a broom or brush, tear off foliage with signs of damage and burn it. Be careful to burn foliage outside the garden area. In the fall, you can sprinkle ash around the trunk and pour boiling water over it. Ash, getting into the roots with water, makes them bitter, which repels the pest. In addition, boiling water destroys the larvae. Next season, plant dill and mint nearby, then the pest will avoid peach trees.
Chemicals
If, nevertheless, to combat aphids on peach you had to resort to “heavy artillery” - chemicals - then remember that the toxic properties persist for 20 days, so you cannot treat the fruits in the period close to harvest. You need to fight the pest in early spring, before the leaves bloom or immediately when the tree blooms. The tree is sprayed with insecticides. These drugs cause paralysis in aphids, and they die within 3 days. The most effective, according to gardeners, are Aktara, DNOC, Konfidor, Karbofos. If you did the treatment well, the result will be visible in a week.
How to treat aphids on trees, effective preparations?
The most effective way to kill aphids is to use chemicals. They have different operating principles, but they are aimed at the complete destruction of pests on shrubs and trees. Insecticides are used in the preparation of solutions for spraying trees.
There are 3 main groups of drugs against aphids:
- System. Penetrate into plant tissue, making them poisonous to aphids;
- Contact. They kill an insect by falling on it;
- Intestinal. Poisons aphids.
In the following table you will find information about the most effective drugs against aphids and methods for preparing the working solution.
Table. Effective drugs against aphids
Means | Preparation | Treatment frequency |
Biotlin | 2 sachets (3 ml) per bucket of water | Apply once per season |
Aktara | 2 grams of powder per 10 liters of water | Apply no more than 2 times only before flowering begins. Treatment interval – 1 week |
Fury | 1 ml per bucket of water | One spray per year, no later than 30 days before harvest |
Arrivo | Ampoule 10 l | 2 treatments 2 weeks apart |
Karbofos | 5 grams of emulsion are diluted in 1 liter of water | 1 time per season |
Spark | 0.5 tablets per 5 liters of water | Use until the buds swell |
Confidor | 1 gram of powder per 5 liters of water | No more than 4 treatments at intervals of 2-3 weeks |
BI-58 New | Ampoule for 5 liters of water | Maximum 2 treatments |
Green soap | Mix 400 ml in 10 liters of water | As needed |
Fufanon | 4 ml per 3 liters of water | No more than 3 treatments with an interval of at least 7 days |
Aktellik | 10 ml per 10 liters of water | No more than 2 sprays per year |
Fitoverm | 25 ml per 3 liters of liquid | As needed. Finish processing at least 5 days before harvesting the fruits |
Aktofit | 80 ml per 10 liters of liquid | No more than 2 sprays |
Arrivo | 3 ml for 2 buckets | Process no later than 3 weeks before harvest |
Tanker | 3 ml per bucket | One treatment |
Kinmiks | Half an ampoule for 5 liters of water | No more than 2 treatments |
Kalash | 10 ml per 20 liters of water | The treatment interval is 21 days. Spray no more than 2 times per season |
Commander | 5 ml per bucket | No more than 3 sprays with an interval of 2 weeks |
Arrow | 25 grams of powder per five-liter sprayer | Biological agent. Apply at intervals of 10-15 days before fruiting. |
Alatar | 10 ml for 2 buckets of water | One-time processing |
Cortlis | 4-5 ml per 1 bucket of water | The consumption of the working solution is half a bucket per tree. One treatment per year |
Mechanical treatment methods
When aphids appear on peach, what to treat and when, not all gardeners know. Many experienced owners believe that there is no need to rush to spray the tree with chemicals. There are effective mechanical treatment methods. The following are considered effective agricultural techniques:
- Washing off pests with water. The first step is to pull out all the weed around the infected trees, remove everything in the root zone. Then you can begin stripping the old layer of bark on the branches and trunk. Now you can start rinsing. Wash the plant with a high-pressure jet until the insects disappear;
- Planting spices around affected trees. Aphids do not tolerate the smell of herbs. This treatment not only helps rid trees of insects, but is also considered an excellent preventive measure. Planted dill works well to attract ladybugs and other aphid-eating insects. Mint and calendula bushes repel pests with a strong, specific smell;
- Knocking down bugs with improvised objects: brooms, brush. This method is good to use when the trees are small;
- Removal of areas affected by the pest: foliage, bark from the trunk, branches. Afterwards, the removed parts must be burned outside the garden;
- Creating a belt around the trunk. The tree is wrapped in film and coated with resin. The resulting belt does not allow ants to rise and spread infection throughout the garden;
- With the arrival of autumn, the root area is covered with ash and well poured with boiling water. Dissolved ash, absorbed into the root, produces a bitterness that repels aphids. In addition, poured boiling water kills insect larvae deposited under the bark at the bottom of the plant.
Nutrition of the root system with ash.
In cases where agricultural practices do not produce the expected effect, you can always use a chemical. When resorting to such control methods, it is worth considering the specifics of use, as well as the periods allowed for processing.
Important! We must not forget that the poisonous agent is effective for 20 days after spraying. This means that it is prohibited to spray trees during fruit picking. Trees should not be treated with poisons while the crop is ripening.
The beginning of spring, before the first leaves appear, is the ideal time to spray trees against aphids. It is not prohibited to treat plants during the flowering period. An insecticide is used to control pests. The toxic substance is absorbed into the foliage and, entering the body with the juice, paralyzes insects. After 3 days the bugs die.
On a note. If the drug is used correctly, the result will be a noticeable improvement in the condition of the trees within 7 days.
Aphids on peach: how to treat, how to fight with folk remedies and medications
Like other crops, peach is often attacked by pests. Peach aphids are considered the most dangerous and common problem. Bugs on peach appear with the beginning of warm weather, in May, and do not leave the plant until the end of the growing season.
Despite its small size, the insect causes irreparable harm: it spoils the flowering of buds, destroys young shoots and foliage, and damages fruit ovary. As a result, even in a fertile year you should not expect a harvest. Read more about how to fight aphids on peach, effective drugs and folk methods used by experienced gardeners.
Causes and signs of appearance
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Aphids are a pest that is difficult to detect at the time of initial infection. Usually gardeners grab their heads when there are so many aphids that the crown of the tree dies before our eyes.
Particularly dangerous for peach is the blood aphid, which not only infects the leaves, but also sucks the juice from the branches of the tree and its trunk. Such aphids are clearly visible. Most often it appears in the fall after a hot summer. The leaves turn red, then curl into tubes, wrinkle and fall off.
In the photos and videos that gardeners post on the Internet, colonies of such aphids and the consequences of their reproduction are clearly visible.
Black and green aphids settle on peach in early spring; by summer they multiply and move to other crops. How can you tell if this pest has settled on a tree? It is recommended to carefully examine all young shoots of the plant, as well as its stem. The following symptoms indicate that a peach is infested with aphids:
- The leaves of the tree begin to turn yellow, curl into tubes and fall off.
- The plant becomes sticky and shiny. Aphids secrete a secretion called honeydew and leave it on the leaves and buds.
- The leaf tubes inside are filled with green and gray translucent insects.
The consequences of an aphid attack on a tree become tragic. The peach gets sick, its immunity decreases, it does not tolerate frost well, there may be no fruit at all or the harvest will be small. Therefore, aphids must be fought. And you should start doing this without waiting for big defeats.
How to fight aphids on peach using folk and store-bought remedies
Peach aphids are the most common crop pest. The insect infects the tree in early May and causes damage throughout the entire growing season. The damage is colossal - the buds do not open, the fruits fall off, the young shoots die, the leaves curl and turn yellow. Experienced gardeners tell us how to deal with aphids on peach.
Signs of pests
The peach aphid is a small insect with a body length of no more than 3 mm. The most common species is the large peach, green, black blood aphid. Pests form entire colonies, producing up to 20 generations over the entire warm season. By the end of summer, winged individuals appear - males and females, capable of migrating to other crops. Photos of pests are presented below.
Which processing method to choose
There are three ways to destroy a harmful insect:
- chemical;
- biological;
- using traditional methods.
Most gardeners, having discovered colonies of pests on peach trees, grab store-bought chemicals. However, their more experienced colleagues advise starting the fight against aphids with gentle measures. These include biological and mechanical. What does it mean?
- First, you need to remove all fallen leaves and weeds near the tree.
- Remove, by stripping, the old bark on the trunk itself and branches.
- Use a garden hose to wash off all pests from the peach.
- Remove severely damaged foliage by cutting it from the branches, collect it, take it outside the dacha area and burn it.
As a preventive measure, you can plant herbs around peach trees that aphids cannot tolerate: lavender, marigolds, chamomile, dill, mint and yarrow.
Another remedy is to fight the pest with the help of its natural enemies. For example, aphids are loved by birds (sparrows, titmice, wrens, linnets) and beneficial insects such as flower flies, lacewings and ladybugs.
After harvesting, that is, in the fall, the ground around the peach should be treated with ash. If such methods are not very effective, you need to turn to other methods.
Aphids on peach: control measures
Every gardener wants to see his garden healthy and fruitful. But insect pests often attack fruit crops. Aphids on peach are a frequently occurring pest that, without timely treatment, quickly spread to neighboring fruit crops.
Signs of a pest
Before starting the fight against aphids, they study the varieties of the insect. The first signs of damage help to quickly bring the plant to a healthy state.
The large peach aphid damages the plant in July-August. Pests form colonies that become noticeable. They are located on the inside of the peach leaf. Aphids produce sugary excrement that drips onto the ground and attracts wasps and ants. They lay eggs in the bark of a tree trunk. During the season, aphids bring 8-10 generations.
The large peach aphid sucks juices and nutrients from the tree, causing the leaves to turn yellow and fall off.
Green aphids spread viral diseases of types Y, A, L, M and S. They settle on young seedlings, sucking out nutrients, which leads to the death of seedlings. Damaged branches freeze, weakened shoots are affected by fungal parasites.
When infected with green aphids, the leaves on the tops of young seedlings curl and lighten, the peach sheds its buds and ovaries
Blood aphids, infecting a peach tree, suck out the juices. It colonizes on the inner leaf plate. Clusters of pest colonies are visible to the naked eye. The body of the blood aphid is covered with fluff. When rubbed, it releases a red liquid.
Blood aphids deform peach shoots, the foliage is affected by ulcers, and the yield is reduced
Black aphids colonize the peach trunk and the inner leaf plate. Most often chooses young shoots. When infested en masse, it affects buds and flower stalks with a sticky liquid that attracts beetles and ants. Insects eat the fragrant elixir, destroying the plant. Black aphids reduce the immunity of the peach, which is subsequently affected by powdery mildew and fungal infections.
The black aphid family consists predominantly of females; they reproduce quickly, which makes pest control difficult
To recognize peach aphids, study the photo. The first signs by which it is determined that a plant is affected by a pest:
- aphids reproduce on the inner leaf blade;
- buds and foliage become covered with a transparent sticky liquid;
- the tops and leaves of the peach curl and die;
- growth and development stop;
- fruiting does not occur.
What happens if you don't fight the pest?
The pest is detected by visual inspection of young shoots and the inner surface of peach foliage. Aphids suck out useful substances, as a result of which the leaves curl and die, the young shoots dry out, become covered with spots, and the buds become honeydew.
The affected peach tree overwinters worse and becomes susceptible to fungal infections.
Sorghum aphid
Widespread in the steppe and forest-steppe zones, the sorghum aphid is a dangerous pest of rice and many other cultivated cereals, including sorghum and corn.
The wingless adult is larval-like, milky green, watery in color, with a black head, antennae and legs. The entire body is covered with sparse hairs. The winged individual acquires a dark color on the head and chest, and its sucking tubes are somewhat smaller.
Already in the spring, overwintered wingless individuals settle in rice fields, starting from the edges and moving towards the middle, where the most numerous colonies are created by mid-summer. At least twelve generations develop during the season. A colony of aphids begins to fill the plants from the axils, where new larvae are deposited, to the entire surface.
Damaged leaves lose color, then turn yellow and curl. If there are a lot of aphids, the plants usually die.
Pest Prevention
Even if you start fighting peach aphids in a timely manner, there is a risk of losing the harvest. Many remedies for aphids on peach can completely destroy the pest only weeks after application. During this time, the insect will continue to damage the plants.
To prevent peach aphids from having a chance to survive and destroy the crop, regular prevention will help:
- In early spring, whitewash tree trunks with garden lime.
- Regularly control weeds under trees.
- Cut off diseased branches before bud break.
- Periodically spraying the peach with special solutions.
If you take preventive measures in time, then you won’t have to look for options on how to treat peach for aphids.
Leaf aphid
Leaf aphids (also called grass aphids) are dangerous because they suck the juices of plants, and their peak activity occurs on the hottest days of summer. Settling, like other aphids, on the lower part of the leaf, this aphid is practically invisible until the plant is covered with black mold. Leaf aphids are famous for the fact that their colonies are grazed by ants, dragging the clumsy insects onto fresh areas of the leaf and collecting the honeydew secreted by the aphids.
Wingless females, growing to just over 2 millimeters, have a brilliant lemon color; winged ones are not so noticeable with their brown bodies.
Aphids overwintering in the form of eggs are ready to produce offspring within a week and a half after hatching.
So, 1.5 weeks after its birth, the aphid begins to produce new offspring. The first queen does not need to mate, and individual nymphs turn into winged ones, setting off in search of new places for the colony. In five days of life, one female can lay more than a thousand eggs. Several population cycles (sometimes up to 50) are reproduced in this way until the first males appear by the end of the growing season. The final mating occurs and the fertilized eggs remain to overwinter.
With such a rate of reproduction, it is not surprising that leaf aphids can spread over vast areas over the summer.
They cause the greatest harm to young trees, sucking out large quantities of sap, while simultaneously poisoning the plant with a special poison, leading to curling of the leaves and subsequent deformation of individual branches. In the most advanced cases, the tree crown dries out.
Mechanical, agrotechnical control methods
You can get rid of aphids on peach mechanically if the tree is small. Kill aphids with a stream of water, sweep them away with a broom or brush, and pick off the affected leaves.
- In late autumn, dig up the soil around the peach, sprinkle it with a thick layer of ash, and pour hot water over it. Aphids lay eggs under the bark, at the bottom of the tree. Hot water destroys the larvae, preventing them from developing. The ash penetrates the tree sap and saturates the peach with bitterness. The ash does not affect the quality of the fruit or the taste, but makes the tree unattractive to aphids.
- Plant dill in the garden. Umbrellas attract ladybugs and some types of bedbugs, which are natural enemies of aphids. Peppermint bushes and calendula are planted around the tree. These plants repel aphids with their scent.
Tie the peach trunk with a protective polyethylene belt and coat it with resin. The belt prevents ants from reaching the upper branches, which spread aphids throughout all the trees in the garden.