This is the important disaster of our potato plots - a Colorado bug. Fighting it takes plenty of energy, time and nerves from the gardeners! Which suggests square measure simpler against the Colorado beetle? What strategies of struggle square measure there? A way to fight? I feel that each one people who grow potatoes have tried plenty of strategies, means, medicines against "colorado", as we tend to sometimes decision it. They collected it by hand, poisoned it chemically, and this persecutor has nothing to try to to with it. Rather than inexperienced, juicy potato leaves, you miss a bit the devoured branches, and generally, solely stumps of potato stems are left by a Colorado bug.
Colorado beetle, ikon and outline
Colorado beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) is an oval-convex insect with 5 black stripes on high of every one of the yellow elytra. Adults of the Colorado persecutor winter deep underground and seem from on top of by the top of spring. Their appetency is simply brutal. Having appeared, the insects, moving on the bottom, pass for daily over one metric linear unit - searching for sources of food. At the identical time, they eat principally tender leaves of young potatoes, however, they're terribly dangerous for all ligneous plants (tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, etc.). However will the persecutor move? In early spring, travel out of the soil wherever he winters, he will solely crawl - he has no strength to fly nevertheless. The fight is effective enough as a result of it'll not enable adults to achieve strength to breed.
Colorado beetle, photo:
Females will disable to five hundred bright yellow and orange eggs in tiny teams of 15-25 eggs every. These eggs hatch puffy orange larvae, that cause the best injury to potato leaves. The larvae endure four stages of development in 2-3 weeks and at last crawl beneath the bottom for pupation. In these 15-20 days, they will destroy the complete potato harvest.
Plants against the Colorado potato bug - folks remedies
Vegetable remedies square measure effective enough for persecutor management. There square measure some plants that don't seem to be tolerated by the persecutor. As an example, it's an herbaceous plant, pajamas, sage. Sow them between rows or round the perimeter of the plot - the Colorado persecutor can overlook your potatoes. Simply remember to mow or discontinue the superior, like the pajamas as they bloom. These plants shouldn't be allowed to lose their seeds. Otherwise, you may plant weeds yourself in your garden.
Recently, I actually have to browse the subsequent information: the persecutor is afraid away by the Matthiola flower. There square measure different names for this plant - a two-horned Panthera leo or a "night violet". The author of this suggests of struggle assures, the potato website is clean from Colorado pests, from its larvae. It's enough to sow one row of mattioles through 5 rows of potatoes. By sowing the night violet between the rows, you may "kill 2 birds": defend the potatoes whereas enjoying the delicate aroma of lilac-pink, sweet-smelling flowers.
This year (2015), I made a decision to undertake another plant from this persecutor, its larvae - beans. I browse that if you plant the beans on a potato field, they're going to not be there. Even the ikon was there - clean, insect-free bushes, beans grow next to every different. And currently, look below - this can be my photo! "Unfortunately, my beetles don't seem to be disturbed in the slightest degree... the image shows that the bush is encircled by 3 (!) bean shoots - 3 seeds were born accidentally rather than one - still the result's the same: adults were most likely travel on this bush, testicles were ordered aside, from that red larvae hatched. Currently, we've to either collect them or treat them.
Pest traps
Some potato growers use this management method: traps on the sting of the potato field. It's a trench lure methodology. However, this methodology is effective within the spring if apart from potatoes or eggplant crops are planted here for many years. If you plant potatoes per annum in one place, this management won't add spring. Adults, particularly people who square measure overwintered, don't seem to be well killed by pesticides. These traps square measure effective against overwintered insect populations when they need crawled out of their aggregations within the spring, additionally as throughout season migration to wintering grounds.
The essence of the strategy is that a single-body plow or cultivator with a formed knife is trenched on the perimeter of the potato field. The ditch walls ought to be steep. Very cheap of the ditch ought to be lined with a tough black polythene film one. 2-1.8 m wide. The depth shall be not but thirty cm and also the breadth at the highest shall be from fifteen to sixty cm. The slope of the aspect walls is 45-90 degrees.
The earth taken out of the ditch is ordered on high, as a parapet, leveled. The film is ironed tightly against the walls, very cheap of the furrows while not folds. On the very cheap of the ditch, on the edges of the film create tiny holes through three meters for freshwater runoff. The ends of the ditch square measure fastidiously sealed.
Once within the ditch, the beetles try and get out of it through the evacuation holes, however beneath the film (where it's damp) mushrooms develop, that square measure harmful to the persecutor. The film is roofed with a skinny layer of mud, that prevents insects from travel out of the lure.