Aphids are a large group of insects. It has about 3 thousand species. Over time, scientists discover new species of aphids. Almost every plant can be damaged by some type of this pest, including cucumbers.
It is not uncommon for gardeners to discover yellowness on cucumber leaves. Gradually the leaves curl and fall off. Culture growth slows down significantly or stops altogether. Small insects can be seen on the inside of affected leaves and may be almost transparent and light or dark green. This is an aphid that, without timely control, can destroy the entire crop of cucumbers.
Reasons for appearance
Biologists believe that aphids exist in close symbiosis with ants. And it gets to the plot with cucumbers thanks to the ants. They feed on the waste product of aphids - honeydew (honeydew). It is a sticky and sweet liquid.
Aphids that live in a garden or greenhouse are often called melon aphids. The danger is that it can destroy the entire plant, covering both young shoots and the ovary and flowers. The insect pierces the flesh of the crop, drinks the cell sap and secretes poison. Under its influence, the leaves begin to curl. In such an improvised “house”, aphids live and reproduce. Here it is reliably protected from birds and other insects that eat it. Aphids can also spread various viruses. As a result, cucumbers are affected not only by insects, but also by viral diseases.
Description of the pest
The melon aphid has a length of 1.2-1.9 mm. The shade can range from almost transparent greenish-yellow to dark green. In winter, insects hide under the root foliage of weeds. When the air temperature warms above +5 o C in spring, aphids awaken and begin to reproduce. The pest forms entire clusters on the underside of weed leaves. Insects reproduce very quickly (up to 20 hatches during the season). When the colony reaches such a number of aphids that there is little space on the weeds and there is a lack of food, the insect flies to other plants, giving preference to melons. During this period, young leaves already appear on the cucumbers, which become an ideal place for a further population of aphids.
When starting the fight against aphids, it is necessary to simultaneously fight the ants living in the garden bed.
Effective methods of control
Melon aphids multiply especially quickly in warm weather and high humidity. In addition to cucumbers, this pest also affects dill, zucchini, squash, pumpkin, carrots, and eggplants. Therefore, it is undesirable to plant these crops close to each other.
In order for pest control on cucumbers to give a positive result, it is necessary to test one or another selected product in a small area. After achieving the desired effect from application, you can treat the entire area with cucumbers. It is better to carry out processing in the evening. Under the influence of ultraviolet rays during the day, drugs lose their toxicity.
Chemicals
Before planting cucumbers, it is advisable to disinfect the soil with the help of, which will serve as a preventive measure to combat the pest. But if the aphids have already appeared, you can use these drugs no later than 3 weeks before harvest (before the ovary appears). This is due to the high toxicity of insecticides.
Insecticides for aphids:
- Metaphos;
- Decis;
- Karbofos;
- Inta-vir;
- Kinmiks.
Foliar fertilizers, which consist of 10 g of calcium chloride and 20 g of superphosphate per 10 liters of water, have a gentle effect on the plant. The resulting solution is sprayed on the lower part of the foliage. The plants are treated again after 6-7 days. This product will also help fight ants. Treatment of cucumbers with chemicals must be carried out with regular loosening of the soil.
Important! We must not forget about health safety when processing cucumbers with chemicals. After spraying, the face and hands should be washed thoroughly.
Biological products
First of all, you need to pay attention to drugs that are safer for human health. These are biological agents, after using which cucumbers can be eaten within 1-2 days. These include:
- Aktofit;
- Fitoverm;
- Arrow;
- Bitgoxibacillin.
Plants that repel aphids
It is very useful to plant plants in the garden with cucumbers that repel pests:
- mint;
- marigold;
- thyme;
- sagebrush;
- thyme.
You can plant mustard or dill near the cucumber bed. Ladybugs, which eat aphids, love them very much.
Effective methods for controlling wireworms in potato plots are described on the page.
Go to the address and find out effective ways to treat ear mites in cats.
Folk remedies and recipes
The safest methods for fighting aphids are folk remedies. Those who prefer organic farming refuse to use chemicals and replace them with products based on natural ingredients. They do not pollute the soil with harmful substances and do not harm human health.
Proven recipes:
- Dissolve 300 g of ash and 50 g of laundry soap without additives in a bucket of water. Leave the solution for 24 hours. Spray cucumbers affected by aphids.
- Pour 300 g of dried celandine into 2-3 liters of boiling water. Let it brew a little. Then add another 7-8 liters of hot water. Let it sit for 2 days and use it for treatment against aphids.
- Pour 0.5 kg of green dandelion leaves into 10 liters of hot water. Leave for 3 hours and spray cucumber seedlings.
- Pour 1 kg of tomato tops into a bucket of water. Leave for 4 hours. Boil the infusion and leave for another 3 hours. Add water, increasing the volume of liquid by 2 times. The product is ready.
- Finely chop the garlic and place in a glass jar. Add the same amount of water. Seal tightly and leave for 10 days. Dilute 25 ml of the prepared product in a bucket of water and spray the plants affected by aphids.
Folk remedies may not cope with insects if the area affected by aphids is very large. You need to start treating plants when there are not too many pests yet. The products must be freshly prepared, as they quickly lose their quality.
Watermelon aphid - often affects melon plants; this insect is capable of damaging 40 species of wild and domestic crops. Among them there are watermelons; aphids have settled on them - the main cause of fungal diseases.
Danger No. 1 for melons!
Adult aphids can be with or without wings; wingless aphids are more harmful to plants. If melon aphids multiply on watermelons, the risk of various diseases - curly apex, cucumber mosaic - increases sharply. Ants contribute to the infestation of plants by aphids; these are their kind of “cows” that supply the ants with sweet secretions.
These small insects wait out the winter on the weeds growing along the edge of the field. In the spring, they crawl into the garden and begin to lay eggs on the seedlings of garden plants. After a while, when the plants rise, the aphids move under the leaves of the watermelon and continue to reproduce there.
Aphids appear on watermelons after acquiring infected seedlings, they are raised by ants (they carry the larvae on their paws) and strong winds blow from areas infested with the pest.
What is the danger of watermelon aphids?
2. Insects secrete sticky substances that are almost ideal for the development of fungal and viral diseases.
How to quickly detect aphids
The presence of aphids on plants can be seen with the naked eye. You just need to inspect the watermelon bushes and pay attention to:
The presence of a white coating at the bottom of the leaf blade;
Inflorescences and ovaries wither and crumble;
The shoots become thin;
The leaves curl.
Regularly inspect the lower part of the leaf, this will allow you to detect insects in time and reduce the risk of mass spread of the pest. The main task is to find the first settlements of aphids, which are easy to destroy even by washing them off with plain water. If you miss this moment, then most likely all the watermelon bushes in the melon patch will be infested with the pest.
Fighting methods
Agrotechnical
In the fall, you need to remove and burn plant debris;
Dig up the soil in the area to a depth of 20 cm;
Organize timely watering and proper fertilizing;
Foliar feeding with a solution of potassium chloride at a concentration of 0.5% and superphosphate 0.1%%;
Sow seeds or prepare seedlings early;
Buy seeds of early ripening hybrids that are well resistant to pests:
Constantly destroy weeds.
Biological
Plant parsley and dill near the watermelon bushes;
Place highly aphid-repellent herbs - horse sorrel, tomato shoots, dandelion, celandine and garlic - in the beds with melons;
Spray the plants with infusion of tobacco or hot pepper;
Spray the melons with ash and soap solution (1 tablespoon of laundry soap is diluted in 8 liters of water and 1 kg of ash is left there for 24 hours).
Chemical
Watermelons are treated against aphids with insecticides - Fury, Ditox, Golden Spark, Aketellik, Confidor, Decis. They can only be used in strict accordance with the instructions. Treatment is carried out only in dry weather, in the evening or in the morning.
If a watermelon plantation is affected by aphids up to 10% of the plants, then the pest can be destroyed using a 60% karbofos solution. If the number of affected plants is greater, then you will have to use the drug “Commander”. This is one of the most effective and inexpensive pest control compounds. The most important thing is that the effect of the drug continues even after treatment of the plants, and it is effective even during extreme heat.
Important!“Commander” is a systemic drug that is very toxic, including for gardeners. Its effect lasts for several days. For this reason, when using it, you cannot consume grown watermelons for a long time (until the chemical in the berries decomposes), and when preparing the working solution, you must strictly follow the instructions.
If shrubs or trees grow near the beds with watermelons, then in order to prevent the appearance of aphids, it is necessary to treat the fruit and berry crops early in the spring. This work must be done before the sap begins to flow, without waiting for the buds to swell. This prevention will help protect your area from the appearance of the pest.
Attention! In open areas, use exclusively systemic drugs; they are very effective. In protected structures, it is necessary to use intestinal and contact drugs; if used correctly, they will not harm a person.
In greenhouses, it is a poorly ventilated, closed space and it is not advisable for people to breathe toxic substances. There is no need to use insecticides alone for a long time, insects quickly get used to them, and after 2-3 years you will not notice the required effect.
Traditional methods
1. If there is a slight spread of aphids on watermelons, you can use wood ash, adding tobacco dust to it, and pollinate the plants affected by aphids with it. For good adhesion of the drug, it is necessary to spray the plants with water in advance;
2. Soak 200 g in 1 liter of water. stove ash, leave for 24 hours, then add 50 g. finely ground laundry soap, mix the solution and strain, add 9 liters of clean water and treat the watermelon bushes, trying to thoroughly wet the lower part of the leaf blade;
3. Half a kilogram of dandelion leaves, you need to pour a bucket of water heated to 40 degrees, leave this solution for 5 hours, strain and then spray the plants;
4. Take 200 gr. onion, grind it, add 120 liters of water, soak the solution for 8 hours, then spray the watermelon bushes;
5. Fill an empty bucket with finely chopped wormwood to 1/3 of the volume, fill the bucket to the top with water, let it sit for 48 hours, strain and process the watermelons;
6. Pour a liter of boiling water, 200 gr. tobacco crumbs, leave for 5 hours, add boiling water (1 liter) to a bucket of water. Let the infusion stand for 5 hours, strain, add a bucket of water and process the watermelons;
7. If a watermelon plantation is heavily infested with aphids, it is necessary, after picking the berries, to remove and burn the remains of the plants. After this, you can dig up the area.
There is no accurate assessment of the effectiveness of folk recipes. It can be assumed that there is a small effect from the use of products from tobacco, dandelion, onions and ash, under suitable external conditions - the presence of nearby pest breeding sites, the number of treatments, watering, wind speed, and amount of precipitation.
When growing watermelons, you must not forget that there is a high chance of aphids entering your area. Consider preventive procedures in advance, spare no expense and purchase an effective drug in advance. Prevention should be carried out before planting watermelon seedlings in the beds. Use insecticides correctly and plan all treatments in advance.
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Photo. Melon aphid - Aphis gossypii Glov.
Systematic position.
Class Insecta, order Homoptera, suborder Aphidinea, superfamily Aphidoidea, family Aphididae, subfamily Aphidinae, tribe Aphidini, subtribe Aphidina, genus Aphis.
Biological group.
Polyphages are pests of agricultural crops.
Morphology and biology.
The body of the wingless virgin is convex, oval, yellow-green or dark green in color. Yellow six-segmented antennae reach 3/4 of the body length. The legs are yellow, the tops of the femurs, tibiae and tarsi are black. The cylindrical black tubes are slightly expanded at the base. They are 1.7-2 times longer than the tail and make up approximately 1/5 of the body length. On the prothorax, 1st and 7th abdominal segments there are small marginal tubercles. The green finger-like tail has an interception at the base. The body of the winged female is elongated. The head and chest are black, the abdomen is yellowish-green with dark spots on the sides. The antennae are longer than those of the wingless specimen. Parthenogenetic females overwinter on weeds from various families. Leaving wintering areas in April-early May. Initially, the life cycle takes place on the same weeds. In May-early June, migration to cultivated plants is observed: cotton, melons, cucumber, zucchini, eggplant, etc. They feed on the underside of leaves, flowers, and fruits. During this period of time, aphids become numerous, insects form large colonies. The lifespan of a parthenogenetic female is 17-22 days; The period of live birth is about two weeks. One female hatches up to 85 larvae. The preimaginal period is 6-9 days. Usually in July - early August the number of melon aphids decreases significantly, but by the end of August it increases again. On cotton, the pest develops until the onset of frost, then migrates again to weeds.
Spreading.
Found in Europe, Western and Central Asia, North and South America, Africa, Australia. On the territory b. USSR, the northern border of the range runs along 54° N. Recorded in Western Siberia. Harmful in the steppe part of Ukraine, in the North Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Middle and Lower Volga region, Central Asia, Kazakhstan. It is most harmful in Central Asia, Azerbaijan, Southern Kazakhstan, and the Lower Volga region.
Ecology.
Hatching of the larvae of the founding females is observed at a sum of effective temperatures (SET) of 140-150° C. A high population of the pest is observed at an SET of 1000-1100° C. Under snow cover in winter it can withstand temperatures down to -15° C; in the spring it can die at a temperature of -5° C in case of high humidity. Optimal conditions for life are at a temperature of 16-22° C and a humidity of 60-80%. Temperatures above 25° C have an unfavorable effect. Therefore, in the southern parts of its range in July - the first half of August it is often depressed. Gives 22-27 generations per year. Natural entomophages: Orius niger Wolff., Nabis ferus L., N. feroides Rem., Adalia bipunctata L., Propylaea 14-punctata L., Coccinella septempunctata L., C. 14-pustulata L., Adonia variegata Goeze., Scymnus frontalis Fabr., Chrysopa perla L., Ch. carnea Steph., Syrphus corollae F., S. balteatus Deg., S. ribesii L., Aphidius cardui Marsh., Praon abjectum Marsh.
Economic importance.
Wide polyphagous. Damages cultivated and wild plants from the families Chenopoaceae, Cruciferae, Rosaceae, Malvaceae, Solanaceae, Pumpkin, Compositae, etc. Particularly severe damage is caused to cotton. Aphids inhabit mainly young tender shoots and leaves of cotton. At the same time, the latter turn yellow and dry out. Damaged shoots do not produce flowers, and subsequently no bolls. Melons, nightshades, cucumbers, and pumpkins are severely damaged. It is a carrier of dangerous viral diseases. With a significant number of aphids, the cotton yield can be reduced by 22-56%. Protective measures: destruction of weeds, treatment with insecticides in May-June on cotton, cucumber, melons and other crops.
© Berim M.N.
Photo © Berim M.N., Udalova S.G.
Latin name:
Synonyms:
Cotton aphid, Squash aphid, Cotton aphid, Aphis cucumeris Fobes., A. cookii Essig., A. citri Essig., A. cucurbitae Buckt., A. tectonae Goot
Classifier:
Arthropods › Insects › Hemiptera (Homoptera)› Real aphids
Literary sources:
- Bozhko M.P. Aphids of food plants. Kharkov: Vishcha School, 1976. P. 16.
- Vasiliev I.V. On the issue of wintering of melon (pumpkin) aphids (Aphis gosypii Glov.) in the south of Russia. / News of the Department of Applied Entomology (ed. Pospelov V.P.). T. 2. Petrograd: State. Institute of Experimental Agronomy, 1922, pp. 16-20.
- Pests of agricultural crops and forests. / Ed. V.P. Vasilyeva. T. 1. Kyiv: Harvest, 1973. P. 284.
- Davletshina A.G. On the issue of wintering melon aphids. / Dokl. AN Uz. SSR (ed. Abdullaev Kh.M.). No. 1, 1952. Tashkent: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan. SSR. pp. 45-47.
- Ivanovskaya O.I. Aphid fauna of Western Siberia. / Fauna of helminths and arthropods of Siberia. Ed. Zolotenko G.S. Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1976. pp. 175-189.
- Karpova A.N. Development and spread of aphids in cotton areas. / Review of the development of agricultural pests and diseases. crops for 1936 (ed. Volkov V.F.). L.: VASKHNIL, 1937. pp. 260-271.
- Kozhaeva K.I. Melon aphid as a pest of cotton and measures to combat it. Tashkent: Uz. Research Institute of Plant Protection, 1963. 47 p.
- Mamaev K. Melon aphid. / Plant protection, No. 6, 1966. P. 50.
- Mamedova A.A. Materials for the study of cotton aphids in Azerbaijan. / News of the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences. SSR (ed. Aliev M.M.), No. 6. Baku: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan. SSR, 1957. pp. 118-120.
- Nevsky V.P. Aphids of Central Asia. / Materials Uz. STAZRA. Tashkent, 1929. pp. 168-176.
- Nosova T.M. The influence of weather conditions on the development of melon aphids. / Plant selection and protection. Sat. scientific tr. Ulyanovsk Agricultural Institute (ed. Ivannikov V.F.). Kuibyshev: Ulyanovsk Agricultural Institute, 1978. P. 24-28.
- Nosova T.M. Melon aphid - as a pest of cucumber in the open ground of the forest-steppe zone of the Middle Volga region (abstract of Ph.D. thesis). Kharkov: Kharkov Agricultural Institute, 1980. 14 p.
- Forecasting the appearance and recording of pests and diseases of agricultural crops. / Ed. V.V.Kosova, I.Ya.Polyakova. M.: Publishing house of the USSR Ministry of Agriculture, 1958. P. 341.
- Forecast of the distribution of the main pests and diseases of agricultural crops for 1990. / Ed. AND I. Polyakova et al. M.: VIZR, 1989. P. 128-132.
- Agricultural entomology. / Ed. A.A. Migulina. M.: Kolos, 1983. pp. 160-162.
- Rekach V.N., Dobretsova T.A. Cotton aphids in Transcaucasia. Materials on biology and combating them. Tiflis: Technika da Shroma, 1933. P. 16-84.
- Rekach V.N. Cotton aphids in the south of the European part of the RSFSR. Pyatigorsk: Krayvedizdat, 1938. 87 p.
- Uspensky F.M., Solovyova A.I. Pests and diseases of cotton. / Cotton growing (ed. Uchevatkin F.I.). Tashkent: Gosizdat Uz. SSR, 1956. P. 270.
- Shaposhnikov G.Kh. Suborder Aphidinea - aphids. / Key to insects of the European part of the USSR (ed. Bei-Bienko G.Ya.). T. 1. M.-L.: Nauka, 1964. P. 576.
- Shchegolev V.N. Agricultural entomology. M.-L.: State. agricultural publishing house literature, 1960. pp. 212-214.
Cotton aphids are widespread in the world and can infect more than 300 plant species; indoors they are especially dangerous for cucumbers.
Damage caused
The insect feeds on the underside of leaves and young shoots, causing them to turn yellow, curl and dry out. This phytophage can also infect flowers and fruits. The pest multiplies quickly, increasing its population on the affected plants, which leads to a decrease in their yield, weakening and death. Sooty fungi can develop on the sugary secretions of aphids, which interfere with the normal passage of physiological processes in the host plant: transpiration, respiration and photosynthesis. Aphids transmit various viral diseases, including cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). The cucumber mosaic virus can infect various crops and can halve the yield of cucumbers.
How to recognize cotton aphids
The wingless female aphid has a pear-shaped body, 1-2.1 mm in length and 0.9-1.5 in width. The body color is matte and varies from yellow-green to dark green, almost black. The head and chest are darker, but some individuals have no differences in the color of these parts of the body. There are no antennal tubercles on the head, the forehead is slightly convex. The antennae are yellow, consist of 6 segments, reaching 75% of the body length. The spine of the last antennal segment has three apical setae. The length of the Spitz is equal to the third segment of the antenna. The eyes are brown-brown in color. Marginal tubercles are located on abdominal segments 1 and 6. The legs are usually yellow, and the tops of the femurs, tibiae and tarsi are black. The base of the proboscis is light, the last two segments are dark. The juice tubes are slightly widened at the base, cylindrical in shape, black in color, 2 times longer than the tail and make up about 20% of the body length. The finger-shaped tail has an interception at the base and three pairs of lateral hairs. The color of the tail is usually the same as the body. Spiracles are oval.
The winged female has an elongated body. The color of the head, chest, juice tubes, ends of the legs and paws is black. The coxae of all legs and the apices of the hind femurs are black-brown. The abdomen is yellow-green, darker at the apex, and has rectangular dark brown spots on the sides. There are dark stripes on the dorsal side of the abdomen. The antennae are longer, compared to the wingless specimen. The forehead between the antennae is triangular in shape. Eye color is brown-burgundy. Two ocelli are adjacent to the compound eyes from above, and the third is located between the antennae on the forehead. The location of the rhinaria on the third segment may differ on the right and left antennae. The number of rhinaria of the third segment varies from 5 to 12. On the 6th antennal segment there is one main and five additional rhinaria. The tail is brown, finger-shaped with three pairs of lateral hairs, slightly extending beyond the sap tubes.
Winged cotton aphid Life cycle of melon aphid
It develops as a non-full-cycling species, which may be associated with the loss of a primary or secondary host plant. Reproduction occurs only parthenogenetically, by viviparity. The life cycle of a wingless female has 4 periods: pre-imaginal, maturation, reproductive, post-reproductive. The lifespan of the pest is about 17-22 days, of which the reproductive period lasts about 14 days. A wingless female is capable of giving birth to up to 85 larvae, and a winged female is approximately 2 times smaller. The greater the density of the colony, the higher the percentage of winged females. They fly to other plants where they create new colonies, which consist mainly of wingless females. In a greenhouse, aphids can produce 10-18 generations in a year. Cotton aphids overwinter in the north of their range in greenhouses, and in the south on weeds. In spring, the first generation of the pest begins to feed and reproduce mainly on weeds, when the temperature rises above 5°C. In May and early June, the insect migrates to cultivated plants. The optimal conditions for melon aphids are: temperature 16-25°C and air humidity 60-85%. High temperatures (above 25°C) negatively affect population growth.
Prevention and control measures
For preventive purposes, around greenhouses it is necessary to destroy weeds on which aphids overwinter and reproduce.
There are four main pests of cucumbers: cucumber bug, spider mite, greenhouse whitefly and melon aphid. In order to successfully fight them, you need to know them by sight and have an idea about their way of life: how they reproduce, what they eat, and where they come from.
melon aphid
The melon aphid comes to cucumbers and other cultivated plants from weeds, since the most common form of aphid, the wingless virgin, overwinters at the very roots of weeds. Winged aphids get into gardens and greenhouses, which gives rise to this whole horde of sucking aphids. But ants play the role of shepherds for aphids. Since the latter are a delicacy for them, the ants even protect their nurses from predatory insects, and sometimes hide wingless virgins in their burrows for the winter.
Over the summer, both forms of aphids can produce up to 20 generations of offspring. If you don’t fight it, you can lose a large part of your harvest. It damages many parts of the plant by sucking out the juice. Damaged parts of the plant shrink and curl. It settles mainly in the same places where it feeds: on the underside of leaves, on young ovaries and flowers.
In addition to sucking juice from plants, the insect also infects it with fungal and other infections.
Aphids appear in the spring after the temperature rises to +12º; a second invasion can be expected in the second half of summer.
control and prevention measures
First of all, do not allow plantain, milkweed, shepherd's purse and other weeds to multiply in your garden. Remember that the root parts of such plants are the main wintering place for aphids.`
From chemicals The following are recognized as effective in the fight against aphids: “Commander”, “Karate”, “Iskra”. Chemicals can be used after harvesting or before the formation of ovaries.
“Aktofit”, “Fitoverm” are biological products that are safe for humans and used to control insects.
You can spray the air and soil in a cucumber greenhouse karbofos. To do this, close the doors and windows and spray the prepared solution (dissolve 2 tablespoons of karbofos in a bucket of warm water).
But I would like to draw your attention to the fact that by using chemicals to protect vegetables, we will ensure that this chemical sooner or later gets into our body. Therefore, it makes sense to use traditional methods in the fight against melon aphids. One of the most used and well-known is washing and spraying plants with soap and soap-ash solutions. That is, you simply wash off the aphids with such solutions or spray the plants. Laundry soap, grated or liquid soap is used.
Here are the recipes for soap and ash-soap solutions:
- Water - 10 liters; soap - 300 grams of laundry soap or 125 ml of liquid soap. Dissolve the soap in water and the solution is ready.
- Water - 10 liters; tar soap - 100 grams. Dissolve soap in water.
- Water - 10 liters; ash - 250 - 300 grams. Boil the ash for 30 minutes. If you don’t just wash, but spray, then for better adhesion and to prolong the effect of the solution, add 40 grams of soap to it.
In addition to soap and ash decoctions, you can use herbal infusions and decoctions.
But! Even though these solutions are made from plants, failure to maintain the specified concentrations can cause burns to plants, and some can even be poisonous to humans.
When preparing herbal infusions or decoctions, use separate dishes; do not spray during the day, because sunlight significantly reduces the toxicity of some decoctions or infusions; it is better to do this in the evening. And a month before harvest, stop processing.
Therefore, it is imperative to follow the proportions indicated in the recipes and the rules for their use:
- Spray fruits during budding or at least two weeks before harvest;
- Berry - before flowering or after harvesting;
- Vegetables (in particular cucumbers) - no less than a month before harvest.
Herbal infusions.
Infusion of red pepper and tobacco.
Hot fresh pepper - 30 grams,
tobacco dust - 200 grams,
hot water - 10 liters,
wood ash - 3 tablespoons,
liquid soap - 1 tablespoon.
Pour chopped pepper and tobacco dust with water and leave for a day, then stir well and strain, add ash and soap.
Onion infusion.
Water - 1 liter,
onions - 30-35 grams,
laundry soap - 4-5 grams.
Chop the onion, leave in water for 5 hours, add soap, strain and add water to make 1 liter of solution.
Garlic infusion.
Garlic - 200 grams,
water - 1 liter.
Chop the garlic and leave in water for 4-5 days in a sealed container. Dilute 25 ml of this solution in a bucket of water and spray.
Tobacco infusion.
Dry tobacco leaves - 200 grams,
water - 5 liters.
Grind the leaves and leave in water for 2 days, then bring to 10 liters, strain and spray.
Pepper infusion.
Fresh pepper pods - 1 kg (if dried - 300 g),
water - 10 liters.
Leave the pepper in water for 24 hours. For spraying, dilute 1 liter of solution in 10 liters of water.
Potato infusion.
Healthy potato tops - 1 kg, if dry - 0.6 kg,
water - 10 liters.
Grind the tops and leave in water for 3 hours.
Recipes for herbal decoctions
Tobacco decoction.
Dry tobacco leaves - 200 grams,
water - 5 liters.
Grind the leaves and first leave them in water for a day, and then add water to 10 liters and boil slowly for 1.5 - 2 hours.
Tomato broth.
Green leaves and shoots - 5 kg,
hot water - 10 liters.
Pour water over the leaves and shoots and simmer slowly for 30 minutes. For spraying: for 1 liter of decoction, 3 liters of water and 10 grams of soap for better adhesion of the solution.
Decoction of fresh capsicum.
Fresh pods - 100 grams,
water - 1 liter.
Boil the pods for 1 hour in a sealed container. Then you need to let it sit for 2 days, then grind the pepper and strain the solution. For spraying 10 liters of water, 1 liter of this solution and 40 g of soap.
Tansy decoction.
Fresh tansy greens - 1 kg;
water - 10 l;
soap - 40 g.
Pour the plant material with water and boil for 2 hours, then strain, add soap, the solution is ready.
A slightly unusual recipe for you to choose from Vodka.
You need to put a sprayer on the bottle of vodka. That's the whole recipe. Take whatever vodka you want, even the cheapest one
One of the recognized methods in the fight against aphids is fumigation with smoke.
This method is best suited for use in greenhouses, but cucumbers growing in open ground can also be fumigated.
Smoke method.
You need to take a container with holes in the bottom, it could be a tin can, put some wood chips in it and light it. When they flare up, sprinkle tobacco dust on top; thick smoke will come out and fill the greenhouse. Windows and doors must be closed in advance. When the smoke clears, the aphids will also die.
From preventive measures In addition to killing weeds, you can try planting plants that are repugnant to aphids in different parts of the area. These are: fennel, garlic, lavender, mustard, marigolds, onions, basil, coriander. Well, mallow, petunia, linden, and bird cherry are the favorite plants of this harmful insect.
Natural enemies are: earwigs, hoverflies, some wasps and our most important assistant - the ladybug. They can be specially placed in a greenhouse, and in an open place birds can deal with aphids: wrens, sparrows, kinglets and others.
I think that you will choose one of the listed methods. These measures will be sufficient to destroy aphids. Let's summarize: for prevention - we remove weeds, grow plants that are unpleasant for aphids; we fight - with the help of insects, birds, decoctions and, if all this does not help, chemistry.