Description and methods of controlling potato pests

Potatoes are a staple food for residents of both cities and villages in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. However, this most popular vegetable crop faces numerous enemies and diseases that can thwart all human efforts.

There is always someone to fight these misfortunes; there are various treatment methods and opportunities to save crops.

Potential potato pests

Colorado beetle

The main scourge of potato plantations. The beetle's primary food source is potatoes, from leaves to tubers. It also feeds on other nightshade species. Chemical insecticides include the insecticides "Shedevr," "Prestige," "Batsikol," or "Dendrobacillin." Folk remedies include hand-collecting eggs, larvae, and adult beetles, and spraying crops with various infusions and decoctions of celandine, wormwood, horsetail, or dandelion, or a wood ash solution. Mulch between rows with a mixture of birch and spruce sawdust. One folk remedy: dilute 1 kg of dry mustard in 10 liters of water, add 100 ml of 9% vinegar, and then mix everything together. Spray the potato tops with the solution.

Wireworms

The larvae of all click beetles are 10-45 mm long. They feed on potato tubers, initially gnawing holes in them, and can also gnaw on young grape shoots. Folk remedies include adding chalk and ammonium fertilizers (saltpeter) to the soil, and scattering crushed eggshells on the ground. InterestingBefore digging the plot, it's a good idea to add salt to the soil once every 7 years. It's very effective! "Protection" soil helps combat pests.

Leafhoppers

These insects resemble aphids or potato flea beetles. They damage potato leaves, infecting them with fungal spores and various dangerous infections. Chemical pest control: Before planting, potato tubers should be treated with "Taboo" or "Cruiser." Interesting! When the insect first appears in the garden bed, the space between the rows should be sprayed with "Karate Zeon".

Mole cricket

It reaches a size of 5-8 cm and flies at a height of up to 5 m. It is a very voracious predator, devouring the entire underground portion of the potato plant. Control methods: before planting, the tubers are soaked in modern insecticides (toxic substances). During the growing season, the soil is irrigated with special organophosphorus compounds.

Mouse-like rodents

Representatives of this type of pests are field mice, rats, hamsters, etc. The method of control is deratization using all known substances.

May beetle

The insect is up to 31.5 mm long, with a red or red-black body. The beetle larvae begin to eat root crops in their second year of life. Chemical means of controlling the insect include bazudin, antikhrushch, zemlin, and pochin. Folk remedies include digging the soil deeply and then adding a washing solution called "Belina" or bleach; collecting the larvae by hand; in the spring, water strawberry beds and other plants with diluted ammonia (at the rate of 10-20 ml per bucket of water); treat the soil and foliage of shrubs with an infusion of onion peels (at the rate of 100 g of dry matter per bucket of water, leave for 5 days); plant creeping white clover near fruit trees and shrubs; its roots accumulate nitrogen, thereby repelling insects.

Naked slugs

Insects feed on tops and roots. Control measures include ash with 25-30% lime added at a rate of 200-250 kg/ha and superphosphate at 300-600 kg/ha, and spraying crops with a 10% aqueous solution of table salt. Spraying should be done at night, when the insects come out to feed.

Potato flea beetle

AttentionA small, brown insect attacks potato leaves, and the larvae consume the plant's root system. To control the pest, use the insecticide "Taboo" and treat the plants with a 0.2% phosphamide solution (treat the plants every 10 days until tuber formation).

Potato nematodes

Microorganisms are invisible to the naked eye. Their presence can be detected by stunted plant growth.

Interesting!!! Agronomic control method: planting different potato varieties in one plot.

Potato moth

The butterfly larvae (light caterpillars) feed on potato tubers, destroying the plant stems as well. The most effective methods of controlling the pest are weed control and pheromone traps.

Potato moth

The moth larvae feed on potato tops and roots. The moth is very prolific and can produce several generations of larvae. Mechanical control methods include storing seed at a temperature of at least 5 degrees Celsius; ensuring the tubers are well warmed before planting; hilling potato plants high; and deep seasonal tilling.

Large potato aphid

The insect spreads several dozen viral diseases. Mechanical control methods include weeding and thorough harvesting of crops. Chemical control involves treating plants with organophosphorus compounds., and treatment of tubers with pyrethroids and neonicotinoids.

In addition to the well-known predators of nightshades listed above, it's also worth noting: certain species of ladybugs, the Spanish fly (also known as the potato beetle or Spanish worm), the potato ladybug (28-spotted ladybug), flea beetles (which eat the pulp of leaves), bugs, and cutworm caterpillars. In total, potatoes are attacked by 23 species of viruses, 6 species of bacteria, 9 species of aphids, 68 species of worms, 38 different fungi, and 119 other insects. Last year, the Spanish fly also attacked fields in the Irkutsk region.

Prevention

To preserve the health of potato consumers, improve their shelf life, and increase yield, agronomists and gardeners are focusing on preventative measures against nightshade pests and diseases. Crop rotation, disinfection, and the use of various green manures (green manures) are being improved. Podisus bugs and certain species of ladybugs help control various bugs. Onions and garlic, nasturtiums, tansy, marigolds, coriander, thyme, horseradish, peppermint, and mustard greens are planted near potato beds. In the event of a sudden disease or pest attack, various folk remedies or biological control methods are used. Specialists use toxic substances only in extreme cases, when other control methods have failed. The choice of preventative measures depends on gardeners' capabilities and experience.

Reviews

Most potato farm owners report that pests gradually develop a relative immunity to the chemicals they regularly use. It's advisable to replace them periodically. Actively use folk remedies and new chemicals when disinfecting planting material. Birds, in addition to the crop owners themselves, can also be direct enemies of pests. They eat many of the insects and worms listed above, helping to eliminate them, at least partially, and thus saving the harvest. It's essential to provide bird feeders in winter and waterers in summer.