Aphids On Currants Are Effective Methods Of Control And Prevention. Photo

2023 Author: Ava Durham | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 07:13

Each gardener usually has his own personal "enemy". The fight against it is being carried on stubbornly, with the use of more and more new methods of catching / expelling / killing on the one hand, and with the development of more and more sophisticated methods of sabotage - on the other. Some have moles, others have bears, and still others fight slugs. Small creatures, called aphids, are included in the category of hated by most gardeners because of their unpleasant habit of quietly drinking the juices of cherished plants. Moreover, both outdoors and in greenhouses, and even at home! It is not surprising that there are plenty of methods of partial or complete destruction, it remains only to choose. This article will be about aphids on currant and gooseberry bushes, and how to survive from there.

Content:

• Aphids - as an object of research
• The volume of sabotage
• How to lime aphids without "chemistry"?
• Prevention of aphids on currants

Aphids - as an object of research

Currant and gooseberry aphids are small insects. Their dimensions, as a rule, do not exceed 2-3 mm. The color is green, camouflage, so that the vigilant gardener does not immediately see the colony of this infection on green shoots.

The world fauna numbers 20 species of currant-gooseberry aphids, and 13 of them flourish in Russia. At the same time, there are species who enjoy drinking the juice of various types of currants - black, red, white, golden, all sorts of decorative, and at the same time, yoshta and gooseberries. And there are “gourmets” who move to other species only if they have eaten the black currant completely. The life cycle of aphids does not depend on taste preferences and is approximately the same in all species.

If the gardener has good eyesight or, for example, farsightedness, he in time (in autumn or spring) can see on the bark of branches, near the buds, black shiny eggs of aphids. It is from these eggs that, during the swelling of the buds or the unfolding of the leaves, the founding females will hatch, capable of giving birth to a hundred larvae each.

That is, first larvae appear, which will feed on delicious spring juices, and after molting, they will turn into females, which independently (without the participation of males) are able to lay eggs. All these females are wingless, therefore life is mostly settled - where they hatched, they sit there. Although their legs are long, they crawl and jump not far, within the limits of a growing shoot or a very close neighbor.

Thousands of new insects develop from one female in a month in three generations. Considering that the lifespan of one aphid is about a month, and in cool conditions even two, sabotage from aphids turns out to be serious.

The signal to start changing the place of reproduction will be a stress factor: overpopulation on a single shoot (when there is nowhere to stick the proboscis too), the attack of natural enemies, for example, ladybirds, or the lignification of the bark of an exhausted plant (when the proboscis is no longer stuck into the bark).

In this case, winged females appear from the laid eggs, which safely move to a new place of residence - a young shoot with a delicate skin and an abundance of juices. Some species move to neighboring herbaceous plants with more delicate skin and abundant juices.

The big currant aphid, for example, prefers weeds such as sow thistle or dandelion. And blackcurrant salad aphid - lettuce, chicory, hawk.

By autumn, winged females and males appear in the populations. They fly over to a new chosen shoot or plant (those that have eaten off on the grass return to the currant) and lay fertilized, well-protected eggs that can survive the winter.

The volume of sabotage

Aphids, of course, are not capable of destroying an adult plant, but they may well torment young growing shoots to a state of complete insanity.

Aphids harm not only young shoots, but also the entire plant - it spends resources on maintaining the viability of the occupied shoot. Because of this, winter hardiness, yield decreases, and growth is greatly slowed down.

Shoots affected by aphids are not able to develop normally, to increase leaf mass and lay new flower buds.

Aphids secrete a sweet secret (honeydew) that attracts ants. Ants "milk" aphids and protect their herd from predatory insects. As a rule, it is impossible to collect the whole pad from ants, and sticky secretions remain on the surface of leaves and stems. Ants, running back and forth with dirty feet (however, not only ants), drag pathogenic fungi onto these sticky surfaces. Those, in turn, on the abundance of carbohydrate food, begin to multiply rapidly or form mycelium, disrupting photosynthesis and general metabolism in the plant. In general, a snowball.

And even this is not limited to the harmfulness of small dirty tricks! Gooseberry shoot and leaf gall aphids are carriers of the wildfire virus. The virus is widespread mainly in Siberia, Altai Territory and the Far East, but planting material is now migrating throughout the country, so no one is insured.

The characteristic signs of aphid breeding on currants are: leaf curling, curvature of young shoots and, in fact, the presence of insects on them.

For gall aphids, green or cherry-red swellings on the leaf surface are characteristic, for large currant aphids, chlorosis of veins and coloring of leaf plates in orange.

How to lime aphids without "chemistry"?

This is the case when the fight must be waged for destruction, so the issue must be taken seriously. That's why our grandmothers watered bushes with hot water from a watering can early in the spring! You need to spill well, until the kidneys swell, when there are still night frosts. Some of the eggs will wash off, and the larvae hatched from the heat will freeze in the frost.

In May, the peak of development of the pest occurs, and if it is noticed, the fight must be started immediately. Since May is the time of flowering and fruit setting, it is undesirable to use insecticides so as not to poison pollinating insects and not to accumulate any unnecessary things in the fruits.

If there are not very many aphids, you can simply wash it off from the shoots with a strong stream of water from a hose - it will not climb back on its own, and it has many more predators on the ground than on the bushes.

With large colonies of aphids and a strong curvature of the shoots, it is better to cut them all off and burn - there will still be no sense from such shoots, let the plant give new healthy ones.

These are perhaps the most dramatic and effective methods. After these procedures, the bushes still need to be sprayed, there are a lot of folk remedies to combat aphids.

If someone has outgrown tomato seedlings and you can cut off the tops, or you had to cut off the lower leaves when planting, grind all this material well, make an infusion (half a bucket of tomato tops, the rest of water, add a little soap so that the infusion sticks) and sprinkle the currants.

If aphids, for example, on the same bush and tomato leaves are not in excess, you can wrap the mashed tomato leaves around the shoots and fasten them with a stapler.

You can treat currants or gooseberries with tobacco dust infusion (0.5 kg of powder per 10 liters of water, leave for 2 days, add 3 tablespoons of liquid green soap, strain).

Tobacco dust with ash (0.4 kg each for 10 liters of water, leave for 2 days, strain, add 3 tbsp. L. Liquid soap) is also a good remedy.

If there is wormwood, fill a bucket with it by a third, pour warm water to the top, leave for 24 hours, strain, add a spoon or two of liquid soap and spray.

Onion husks, who have remained from dyeing Easter eggs, are also not bad - fill a 2/3 bucket with husks, pour boiling water to the top, insist for a day, drain, do not forget about liquid soap and spray.

Liquid smoke helps well - dilute 1: 100 and spray. Only not during the flowering period, but after.

Red hot pepper is also a strong remedy against aphids on currants: 100 g of powder per liter of warm water, stir, leave for 24 hours. Drain, add another 2 liters of water, stir and spray. Wear a mask, gloves and protective clothing! After flowering.

A solution of ammonia is quite effective against aphids (for 10 liters of water, 30 ml of ammonia, 2 tablespoons of liquid soap). Spray also after flowering.

Gardeners who are inclined to use ready-made preparations can fight the Fitoverm aphids.

Prevention of aphids on currants

This is perhaps the most essential part of the struggle, since it is impossible to get rid of aphids once and for all. But it is possible by preventive measures to reduce the aphid population below the threshold of harmfulness. When the aphid found on a young shoot will no longer cause panic, because there is not much of it, and a ladybug sits nearby.

Ladybugs must be cared for, cherished and welded. All ladybugs love to feast on the nectar of the umbrella, just like the aphid eaters - lacewings. So it is worth planting dill, cilantro, carrot root crops in the vicinity of currants to bloom, as well as caraway seeds, anise, buckwheat.

Predatory bugs and predatory crumbs (also bugs) use aphids with pleasure. They live everywhere and if you do not poison them with insecticides, they will definitely show up on the site. Ground beetles are universal predators, they eat everyone. Syrphs, similar to small bees, feed on aphids at the larval stage. Plants of the umbrella family with available nectar are also good for them.

Unfortunately, predators also begin to breed in the spring, so they miss the very first population of aphids. That is, there is no need to neglect the old-fashioned way - pouring hot water over the bushes.

It is good to plant plants around currant bushes - repellents, the smell of which (or maybe not a smell, but some odorless phytoncides) has a very negative effect on aphids. Such plants include: mint, lemon balm, catnip (they strongly expand, it is necessary to limit), lavender, marjoram, thyme, coriander, basil, different kinds of onions and garlic.

Well, and the tomatoes mentioned earlier: if excess seedlings remain, you can plant them near currant or gooseberry bushes - do not throw them away!

It's the same with garlic - in the spring there are always small dried slices - you can bury them under the currants.

Both slug onions and wild garlic will look organically under the currants - it is not at all necessary to give them a separate place. And they start their activity early. The main thing is not to trample when watering with hot water!