How to deal with potato moths (fluoridea) - measures and protection
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POTATOES EATING ... MOTHER
The pest is no less dangerous for potatoes than the Colorado potato beetle came to us from America too. True, this happened much later than the invasion of the "minke whales" - in the 80s of the last century. Potato moth (second name - fluoride) since then gradually migrates from the south (first discovered in the Crimea) to the north.
Potato moth larvae damage tubers at storage sites and can damage plantings, destroying plants and tubers during the growing season. Having dealt with potatoes, the pest is taken for other cultivated and wild plants of the nightshade family - eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, physalis, sunberry.
POTATO MORE BIOLOGY
To find out if this mole has not settled on potato plants, in the evening it is enough to hold a stick on the tops of several plants. If small butterflies with brown-gray, covered with small dark spots of wings, similar to the home moth, fly out of the bushes, it means that the pest has reached your beds.
They lay eggs during the growing season of the potato on its leaves, and in the storage - on the tubers near the eyes. Caterpillars hatch from eggs, on average about 1 cm long.
They gnaw through the passages in the leaves and stalks of the plants, and they as a result dry out. When nothing remains of the potato bushes, the larvae of the potato moth reach the tubers, which also make tortuous passages mostly right under the peel. Affected potatoes rot, infecting nearby ones.
In winter, the potato moth may be in the pupal or adult caterpillar phase. In the latter case, if the pests are in a vegetable storage or cellar, they literally pounce on potatoes and can destroy most of the crop.
How to get rid of potato moth and how to poison it
In order to prevent the potato moth from our “second bread”, the fight against the pest must be started in the field. Against fluoridea, the same drugs are used as for the fight against the Colorado potato beetle: Decis, Arrivo, Tan-rek, Tabu and others. In addition to summer treatments, directly from the potato moth, two sprayings must be carried out, the purpose of which is to prevent the pest from being stored. This is done in late August and the first half of September.
Reference by topic: The best drugs for protecting potatoes and pest control: an overview
AGROTECHNICS
As in the fight against other pests, it is important to use agrotechnical control measures. For planting, it is necessary to use only healthy seed material. It is not difficult to check it - just cut a few potatoes and see if there are winding passages under the skin?
A deeper landing (up to 15 cm) protects the tubers from the attack of caterpillars.
Part of the larvae can be destroyed by warming the tubers before planting - at a temperature of 40 degrees. In the process of growing season it is necessary to destroy the weeds on and around the plantings.
Potato harvesting should begin, without waiting for the tops to dry when it is yellowing. This will avoid the introduction of larvae in tubers. If it is not possible to carry out early harvesting, the drying out tops should be mowed and burned.
Do not lay out the tubers in the field to dry, and immediately take away, so that the mole does not have time to lay eggs on potatoes. After harvesting the potatoes burn the tops.
To destroy the larvae remaining in the soil after harvesting, the field should be dug up or plowed to a depth of at least 20 cm.
It is desirable to process the storage with biopreparations: “Bitoxibacillin” or “Lepidotsid”. Here it is necessary to maintain the temperature not higher than 5 degrees. If it is warmer, the numbed larvae will revive and develop a stormy, devastating "activity."
POTATO MOLE AND HOW TO FIGHT WITH IT - VIDEO
© Author: Kirill STUK, Vitebsk
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Last fall, I first harvested tubers affected by potato moth. Planted healthy. How does infection happen to avoid it in the future?
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It is unlikely that potato moth appeared in the suburbs. We have a different climate; it does not winter here. This is an object of internal quarantine, that is, a pest that is limitedly present on the territory of the Russian Federation. Namely, in the south. If suddenly a potato moth really needs to be reported to the quarantine inspection.
This is a rather dangerous insect. With the advent of green tops, it lays eggs on the underside of leaves. Caterpillars bite into leaves, shoots, tuber peel. In the vault, the moth lays eggs on the tubers.
Control measures
Before planting the tubers need to be sorted, soaked for 30 minutes in a solution of a suspension of "Lepidocide" (according to instructions). Dry and plant. Or hold for several hours in a room heated to 40 ° C. This will not affect germination, and eggs, pupae and caterpillars will die. The same treatment can be done after harvesting, when laying tubers
for storage. Store tubers at a temperature not exceeding 5 ° C.
During the growing season, if a pest is detected, spray the tops with the Atom, Danadim, DI-68 preparations. Two weeks before harvesting, mow the tops and burn them. Destroy the infected potatoes.
Use pheromone traps to catch moths before they lay eggs.
Destroy weeds from the nightshade family.
Huddle bushes.
Handle storage locations.