Tired of a cruciferous flea? Methods of pest control

Having planted a radish and anticipating the abundance of the harvest, in about a few weeks you notice that someone has thoroughly worked on your garden: he has cut the leaves of plants to holes and thereby caused considerable damage to your crop ...

Cruciferae blossom is the very first pest of young plants encountered by truck farmers. Small bugs, 1.8-3.5 mm in size, have a wide variety of colors: from black to metallic with a shiny drop, sometimes a cruciferous flea with strips. The winged cruciferous fleas belong to the family of leaf-eaters. There are several varieties of this pest: wavy, light-legged, notch, black and blue. They parasitize practically throughout the territory of Russia, except for the edge of the cold North. The length of the larvae reaches 4 mm. Taurus pupae are yellow, and they feed on small roots. Their name is due to their physiological characteristics. These insect pests jump very well, which facilitates their migration in early spring from the soil to cultivated crucifers (cabbage, radish, rutabaga, watercress, etc.) and further damage: the fleas scrape the top layer of the plant to small sores. Harmfulness of bugs is observed in the phase of plant emergence and 3-4-leaf growth phase under comfortable weather conditions (18-25С). When the temperature drops, the cruciferous flea leaves the plant and hides in the soil. The gnawed plant noticeably lags behind in development, the combined leaves wither, and, as a rule, the culture dies. The older plants, unlike the young, can still resist the harmful effects of beetles due to their full rooting.

The proposed methods will help protect the future crop and will be effective not only in early spring, when a cruciferous flea appears. The fight against it is most effective throughout the summer period:

• Covering young seedlings with nonwoven material;
• Complete eradication of weeds of the cruciferous family: shepherd's bag, turtles;
• Regular weeding and loosening of the soil, especially in autumn, helps to destroy pests that settled in the earth for the winter;
• Permanent irrigation by sprinkling method;
• Use of insecticides: "Decis" at the rate of 3 ml of the preparation per 10 liters of water (the solution is enough for processing 100 sq.m.), "Karate" - 2.2 ml per 10 liters of water;
• Treatment of the site with such biological products as "Actellik", "Bankol" -20 ml per 10 liters of water (1 liter of solution is enough for 10 sq. M.);
• Pollination of seedlings with ashes with careful treatment of the upper and lower leaves at least 3 times with breaks of 4-5 days;
• Protection of plants with a special mixture consisting of wood ash and tobacco powder, adhere to a ratio of 1: 1;
• Spraying with vinegar in dry weather: 10 liters dilute 1-2 tbsp. L. 70% of acetic essence or half a liter of usual 9% of vinegar.

The cruciferous blossom does not nourish the love for fragrant scents. Between the beds you can pour naphthalene (for 10 square meters 30-50 grams of funds). Plants such as dill, coriander, marigolds, garlic, etc. give off odoriferous substances that repel pests, so they can also be used, for example, to plant next to the affected plants. Active resistance to pests is desirable to provide everywhere, calling on the owners of neighboring vegetable gardens to participate and jointly causing a powerful blow to eliminate the enemies of the future harvest.