Among the many pests who love to eat fresh pulp of currant leaves, aphids occupy a leading position. To suspect its invasion can be on the following grounds: on the leaves of red and white currant appear characteristic bulging-galls, and the leaves are black and completely curled into a tube. What to do if the aphid appeared aphid and what to process the bushes in June - the answers to these questions are sought in our article.
A little about the pest
Successful struggle against any pest is practically impossible, if there is no clear idea of the enemy and his habits. So, what does the aphid represent? It is a small (up to 2.2 mm) insect, the color of which can vary from light green to gray-green. It feeds on plant juices, piercing the bottom of the leaves with the proboscis and young tender shoots. This pest is interesting because the summer offspring of it appears through parthenogenesis, ie without fertilization. If favorable weather (hot and dry) is established, aphids begin to multiply at a cosmic speed, occupying the whole plant in a matter of days. When the food becomes scarce, a generation of winged aphids is born, which migrates to the neighboring plant. In the process of digesting the juice, this insect secretes a special sweet substance that attracts ants. Ants in turn protect the colony of aphids from attacks by other insects, and also carry it around the garden. Therefore, the fight against aphids on the currant in the summer will be useless, if not previously discovered and destroyed all the near nests.
Treatment of currant from aphids after flowering
The fight against the aphids settled on currants in the summer should begin with a careful collection of all affected leaves and shoots, in which aphid colonies are lodged. We remind you that you can determine them by the characteristic twisting of the leaves and the appearance of red knobs - gall. All collected leaves must be destroyed immediately. After this, you can proceed to the treatment of the bush with various substances that are unpleasant to this insect. If the damage to aphids is small, then it is quite possible to cope with folk remedies. If the aphid took the bush seriously, it makes sense to sacrifice the crop and use chemical insecticides for processing: "Carbophos", "Aktara", "Tanrek", "Biotlin". But it is not worthwhile to treat shrubs with ripening crops with such preparations, since some of the poison will inevitably remain on the surface of the berries. Therefore, the main weapon in the fight against aphids is still safe for people's health:
- Soap solution. For its preparation, it is necessary to dissolve in a bucket of water 300 grams of any soap (best not containing artificial coloring household) and spray the bush. As a result, a thin soap film forms on the surface of the leaves, which does not prevent the plant from developing, but substantially complicates the life of the aphid.
- Tobacco-ash infusion. For preparation
it is necessary to mix 400 grams of wood ash and tobacco dust, and then pour 10 liters of water. The infusion left in a warm place will be ready for use after 2.5 days. For better adhesion in it, you can add a little laundry soap. - Vegetable infusions. Good results in the destruction of aphid colonies show the use of infusions from tomato, potato, dandelion, pepper, garlic, onion, and celandine. With the latter it is necessary to be especially careful, since celandine has toxicity not only for insects, but also for humans and domestic animals.