Colorado potato beetle on tomatoes

For a rich harvest of tomatoes, it is necessary to comply with the growing conditions: regularly water, feed and prophylactic measures. Tomatoes are attacked by various pests, including the Colorado potato beetle. If time does not take measures to combat this insect, you can lose the harvest. Consider what to do when the Colorado potato beetle appears on tomatoes.

Fighting the Colorado potato beetle on tomatoes

History of

The Colorado potato beetle was first discovered and registered in Mexico. After a time, he crossed the Atlantic with transported cargo and in the 40s of the last century reached the borders of the USSR, where he became the main pest of potato culture. However, his attention was focused not only on potato leaves: the Colorado potato beetle on tomatoes is not uncommon. With no less pleasure, the insect absorbs all solanaceous crops: leaves of pepper, eggplant, melon pear, tobacco.

The difficulty is that this beetle has no natural enemies in our fauna - its population is uncontrollable. He overwinters with ease, buried in the ground, and wakes up in the spring to destroy young shoots and leaves.

Ways to protect

Gardeners who do not want to process tomatoes with chemicals, collect insects by hand, which is a time consuming and time consuming process.

Protect planting from beetles really and in other ways, saving time and not involving the use of active chemicals. You can fight pests using:

• The agent is based on the insects themselves. This poison is made from adult beetles, which are collected in a liter container to the ground. Then they are poured into a standard bucket and filled with water. After the dead beetles settle on the bottom, the liquid is drawn for a week. After that, the poison can be considered finished. This solution is not recommended to use without diluting with water in the ratio of 1: 1 or 1: 2, as it is possible to burn the culture. The processed tomatoes are observed for a couple of days to determine the effectiveness of a particular concentration of the prepared agent;
• Ash. This substance is not only a natural fertilizer, but also a proven remedy for pest control. You can apply it as follows:

• In the process of planting seedlings of tomatoes mix and pour in the recess for seedlings ash prepared from birch tree and earth.
• On flowering, process tomatoes with ashes using a sieve or sieve in the proportion of 1 kg of ash per 10 sq. M. m planting material. It is best to do this when there is dew on the plants or right after the rain. Repeat the procedure 4 times per season twice a month.
• Spray the culture with an extract of ash and wormwood. Mix a glass of wood ash with the leaves of fresh wormwood (250 g), pour the heated water into the mixture and let it brew for a couple of hours. Strain the solution. Also there is the following option: half a kilo of wormwood finely chopped and mixed with a glass of ash and 1 tbsp. l liquid soap. Pour 10 liters of hot water, mix, then insist about 5 hours. The resulting tool can spray tomato plants.

Biological methods of struggle

Bug can be fought with insects

Biological methods of protecting plants from a pest include counteracting birds and other insects.

• Dry grass mulching. One of the easiest ways to stop the occurrence of a beetle on tomatoes is to spread straw mulch in the middle of the beds. This helps to create an optimal environment for the life of insect predators, which can be potential enemies of the Colorado potato beetle, and helps protect plants from it. Among such predators, there is a ladybird, grasshoppers, dragonflies, praying mantis, gold-eyed, garden ground beetles. This method not only makes it possible to avoid the appearance of a large number of pests, but also to inhibit the growth of weeds, helps moisture to stay in the soil.
• One of the options for preventing the occurrence of beetles on tomatoes is to teach some species of birds to feed on these insects. These birds can be starlings, tits, swifts, swallows, finches and some others. For the attraction of these birds, birdhouses are hanging around the plot. Of poultry in the fight against insects help chickens. They are desirable to teach from childhood. This can be done by adding half of the insect to their usual food, each week increasing the amount.

You can get rid of the Colorado potato beetle on tomatoes by applying chicken droppings. Bring it after it was harvested. 5% solution of chicken manure process the entire area of ​​the site. To do this, one hundred we take about 80 buckets.

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Conclusion

Now you know how to protect tomatoes from Colorado beetles. It is enough not to forget to carry out preventive measures in order to prevent the appearance of such pests, and in the event of their appearance immediately begin the fight. Only if you fight insects, you can get a healthy culture and a rich harvest.