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A rich and fertile plot is the pride of a gardener who has put his work into it. However, with insufficient care, flowering vegetation can die. In addition to bad weather conditions and diseases, plantings can face a rather serious problem: pests of fruit trees. The appearance of such insects in vegetable or garden plots often leads to the complete destruction of crops, crops and even the ovary. Some of them harm the fruit, others harm the bones, buds or roots.
Flower beetle
The apple blossom beetle, or weevil beetle, is a small gray beetle that has a slender proboscis. The insect feeds on leaves and fruits, rarely uses tree bark. The first infestations of flower beetles can be expected in April. Their appearance can be seen due to the characteristic transparent traces in the form of drops that remain on the kidneys. After that, insects eat up all the contents of the kidneys, leaving an empty space inside. Therefore, you should make a lot of effort, but be sure to get rid of such guests.
Fruit tree pests
Means to fight
However, you can get rid of beetles in other ways as well, without resorting to various chemicals. For example, flower beetles do not tolerate spraying with a tincture of bitter wormwood. Also, unpleasant insects can simply be chickened out. In the spring, you should spread a cloth or film on the ground under the tree and shake it well. It is best to do this in the morning, when the beetles are numb from the cold. It is recommended to repeat the action every 5 days until the air temperature rises above 15 degrees. The collected insects should be burned or thrown into a container with salted water.
Bark beetle
Bark beetles are small, dark brown colored insects. Often, pests live on apple trees, but they also take root well on other fruit trees: cherry, plum, cherry plum and pear. Insects damage the most important areas - the top of the tree and the bast. All this leads to a complete violation of the tree's nutrition - it dries up, withers and dies.
Means to fight
The most effective way to counter bark pests is to deprive them of their permanent habitat. The insect will not stay long if the fruit tree trunk is periodically processed. You can use drugs such as Fufafon or Corsair. But it is also extremely important to clean the old bark from the tree from time to time and whitewash it. Thus, the lodging of unwanted guests is destroyed and it is covered with poisonous substances for most insects.
Spraying trees
The difficulty lies in the fact that insects are inside the tree almost all the time, so it is extremely problematic to deliver chemicals directly to the beetles. It is necessary to arm yourself with a syringe and inject insecticides into the passages left by the bark beetles.Also, preventive treatment in the spring will be quite effective, when the flowering of the tree ends - you can use chemical agents or apply a mixture of clay and humus to the trunk.
Spider mite
The spider mite family can inhabit many fruit trees, but apple and plum trees are most commonly affected. These insects are only 4 mm wide, broadly oval, light or dark red in color. In places where spider mites accumulate, cobwebs appear. Insects feed on tree leaves - they gnaw and suck out all the nutrients. The damaged leaves are covered with barely noticeable yellow spots, but subsequently it acquires a dull gray color and dries quickly.
Means to fight
When a spider mite appears on fruit trees, you should know the main measures of control and prevention. Measures to protect fruit trees from such insects consist, as a rule, in the use of chemical treatment with acaricides. Spraying must be carried out before budding and flowering, and the air temperature should not be lower than 6 degrees.
Preventive measures are directly related to the elimination of dry air, since it is this that becomes the main cause of the appearance of these insects. In dry periods, it is necessary to spray the plants. Also, gardeners who have extensive experience in this matter recommend choosing more resistant varieties of fruit trees. Another effective method is the imposition of special "traps" for which garden glue or ordinary sticky tape is used.
Digging up the soil
Harmful inhabitants of areas that cause significant harm to the roots of fruit trees and gnaw them overwinter in near-trunk circles. The roots are a special treat for weevils and various types of larvae. A tree can die in a short period of time if the main problem is not eliminated in time. You can get rid of pests and stop eating up the roots by periodically digging up this area in the fall. This will disrupt the insects' thermal insulation, resulting in their death from frost.
Tips and tricks for pest control
About once every two to three weeks, an inspection of the garden plot should be carried out for harmful insects, but most importantly - the places of their greatest accumulation. When the first signs of pest damage are detected, it is possible to determine the disease of the planting in advance and choose a method of treatment.
For those who do not want to spray trees with chemicals, the best option would be to use tinctures and decoctions of garlic, ash, tobacco or bitter wormwood. Some insects can be harvested by hand, but this method is less effective. To minimize the possibility of the appearance of a large number of pests, it will effectively loosen the aisles of trees, remove dense grass near bushes, monitor watering, remove dead branches and bark.
In order not to wait for the death of the fruit tree and to secure your site in time, you should periodically carry out preventive measures: loosen the soil, paint and process the tree trunk, dig up the site in the summer. Most harmful insects can be counteracted through folk remedies or chemical treatment. The fruit garden needs careful care and increased attention - this is the only way to achieve a high and stable yield.
