Eggplant pests and control in various ways
Eggplants are a very healthy product and are not very demanding to care for. But you have to pay a lot of attention to eggplant pests and the fight against them. To quickly get rid of uninvited guests, you should know them by sight. Like all nightshades, eggplants are liked by the Colorado potato beetle, bear, spider mite. They can be attacked by aphids, slugs, etc.
Eggplant pests and control
Therefore, it is impossible to plant these crops nearby, otherwise you can lose most of the crop. Especially in the case of an invasion of the Colorado potato beetle.
How to protect eggplant from the Colorado potato beetle
This leaf beetle has become infamous since the mid-18th century, when it destroyed potato plantations in Colorado, USA, from where it got its name. Today it is distributed all over the world, including ours.
Adults reach 12 mm in length and up to 7 mm in width. Shiny, yellow-orange and very convex body with black spots and stripes, with webbed, well-developed wings. The beetle makes long flights with their help.
Larva up to 1.5 cm long (similar to the larva of a ladybug) pinkish or yellow with 2 rows of black spots and a black head.
The adults of the Colorado potato beetle overwinter in the soil at a depth of 15 to 40 cm. In early spring they appear on the surface and feed on seedlings. One female lays an average of 500 eggs over the summer. In the south, the number of generations per summer is 2-3, in the north - 1, depending on the weather. Beetles live on average for 1 year, but there are 2 and 3.
Pests can enter diapause (a state of physiological inhibition) during a hungry time for 2-3 years, which makes it very difficult to fight them.
When danger appears, the beetle does not fly away, but falls and seems dead.
Colorado beetles are dangerous eggplant pests and can be controlled in the following ways:
- Manual collection of all larvae and adults into a jar of kerosene. This is done in the morning and evening.
- Plants can be covered with mosquito nets or a polyethylene fence. Put plastic bottles on young plants, cut from the bottom and top.
- Plant marigolds, tansy, celery, dill or calendula along the perimeter and in the aisles.
- Dusting eggplant wood ash in the morning or sprinkle with infusion of wormwood, tobacco, garlic.
- At the onset of the first frost, when the beetle is already going to winter, dig deep into the soil so that it is on the surface and perishes from frost.
- Use of Fitoverm, Bicol (during the appearance of juveniles), Colorado.
Of the chemicals, Tanrek, Mospilan, Aktara, Sonnet, Regent, Senpai and others can be used.
How to process eggplant from aphids
Aphids are perhaps an omnivorous pest. She did not pass by the side and eggplants. In addition to the fact that aphids feed on plant sap, it also carries all kinds of plant viruses and is capable of causing growths and pathological gall-like formations. When digesting plant juice, aphids release honeydew - a sweet solution, which attracts ants.
Wingless females are born until mid-summer, they hardly move and eat one plant all their lives. In the second half, the winged generation of sexually mature males and females is already hatching.
Aphids can be attributed to one of the most dangerous pests of eggplant, and the fight against them should be carried out constantly:
- it is permissible to apply insecticides only before flowering;
- wash off aphids with water and spray with pungent-smelling infusions (wormwood, tansy);
- dusting eggplants with ash, tobacco;
- destroy ants.
They also use biological products that do not contain hazardous components.
Spider mite on eggplant: how to fight
A spider mite is a small (less than 1 mm) arthropod that secretes cobwebs.
It is not possible to fight it with folk remedies - only for preventive purposes:
- sprinkle eggplants with infusion of hot peppers, tomato or potato tops;
- dust with mustard;
- plant garlic in aisles or bow.
Of the insecticides, only acaricides (Neoron, Apollo, Omite, Vermitic) can be used, since general drugs do not work on arthropods. At the same time, the tick quickly develops immunity to the drug, so they need to be changed often.
Whitefly
Small homoptera insects with a mealy bloom on the wings up to 2 mm in size. The first generation of whitefly larvae is mobile, the subsequent ones are not. They feed on plant sap from the underside of the leaf. The affected leaves are covered with pale spots, curl and dry. When touching the plant, many moth-like butterflies fly into the air.
From whitefly, you can use adhesive tape for flies, water the plants with infusion of garlic, spray with a solution of Confidor, Fufanon, Biotlin, Novaktion. The same solutions can spill the garden.
Eggplant seedlings pests
Harmful insects and mites can cause irreparable damage to young seedlings.
The most common pests are:
- spider mite;
- aphid;
- whitefly;
- thrips.
The first three are discussed above.
Thrips on eggplant seedlings
A small pest feeds on the juice of eggplant seedlings, as well as other plants. At this point, you can see yellowish spots with dark blotches. The affected leaf dries up and falls off, young plants die. Thrips do well in warm, dry environments.
For prevention, you should regularly examine the seedlings and spray them to increase moisture. If the pest does appear, the leaves should be treated with infusions of mustard, garlic, hot peppers. With a large distribution, it is recommended to use insecticides (Aktofit, Fufanon, Vermitic, etc.).
If all agrotechnical measures are carried out on time - to maintain the desired temperature and humidity conditions, to keep the soil in a clean and loose state, and most importantly, to carry out preventive work to combat pests, then the return will be appropriate.