Strawberries are perhaps the most popular garden berry. It is her unique taste and amazing aroma that many associate with summer and carefree childhood. But the delicious berry is loved not only by people - very often the harvest of strawberries suffers from the invasion of pests. It is about the pests of garden strawberries and will be discussed in this article. We will tell you about the signs of plant damage to pests, as well as how to protect strawberries from pests and fully enjoy it.
Pest insects on strawberry garden
- The most dangerous for strawberries is a transparent strawberry mite . He eats young leaves and strawberry shoots. Visually, it is not difficult to determine the lesion by a tick - the leaves become yellowish, they twist and deform, the strawberry bushes become stunted and weak, and the berries noticeably grow smaller. Especially actively the transparent tick multiplies in warm wet weather.
- Spider mite , in contrast to strawberry, prefers old leaves. The leaves become bronze, later brown and wither. In the places of congestion of parasites on the underside of leaflets, a spiderweb can be found.
- Crimson strawberry weevil . Infection with a weevil can be recognized by the appearance of small round holes on the leaves in early spring. Later, the damage to the peduncles and the wilting of the flowers were noticeably noticeable.
- The nettle silkworm . The pest sucks the juice out of the leaves, and in the tissue of the plant introduces its own saliva, saturated with special enzymes. As a result, yellowish spots of different shape and size are formed on the leaves. The edges of the affected leaves are wrapped upward, and a web is visible on their underside.
- Nematodes (Gallic, long, strawberry, stem, root, chrysanthemum). Pest that affects the root system of the strawberry. As a result, the bush does not receive enough food and dies.
- The elephant is Germanic. An adult is a beetle dark blue with a beautiful green tint. In the spring of its larva, the pedicels are damaged, which leads to the drying of the flower or ovary.
- Skosari-weevil (repny, small black, furrowed, alfalfa). Adult individuals maim the edges of the leaves, and the larvae feed on the juice of the roots of the strawberry. The shrubbery bushes weaken and dry up.
- The garden slug . The parasite destroys berries and leaves, leaving behind a transparent, slightly pearl mucus.
How to deal with strawberry pests?
As a rule, treatment of strawberries from pests is carried out in the autumn (August-September).
The control of strawberry pests consists of regular care (weeding, irrigation, removal of weak and diseased bushes), timely and complete removal of lesions and treatment by special means (corresponding to the type of lesion).
Consider how to spray strawberries from pests:
- strawberry transparent tick, spider mite, weevil, whitefly, strawberry beetle - carbofos. After processing with carbophos, strawberry bushes should be covered with a film for a short time (1.5-2 hours);
- snails, slugs, millipedes - metaldehyde. It is most convenient to use a granular form of the preparation. In this case, the granules are scattered in places of pest accumulation (flow rate of about 4-6 g per m²);
- nematodes - use of plant-protectors (marigolds, calendula), observance of crop rotation, sprinkling with onion infusion.
Spring treatment of strawberries from pests has a rather preventive nature. For this purpose, you can use the Bordeaux mixture (before the vegetation), carbofos, infusion of ash , complex insecticides-acaricides: decis, karate, aktellik, basidin, etc. Finish the spring treatment until the beginning of flowering.
Knowing the pests of strawberries and their treatment will help you get rid of undesirable "spongers" and get a really rich and, importantly, quality harvest.