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Pests that affect cruciferous crops are able to destroy the future crop in a short time. Therefore, it is necessary to know how to deal with aphids on cabbage with folk methods and chemicals, which of them is the most effective and efficient.
Get rid of aphids on cabbage should be before heads start to form. For effective plant protection, knowledge about the biological characteristics of the pest, the reasons for its appearance and the secrets of destruction is necessary.
What is the danger of the appearance of aphids on cabbage
Cabbage aphid is found everywhere. This small insect belongs to the Hemiptera order. It feeds on plant sap. It can attack any cruciferous – cabbage, radish, turnip, daikon.
Aphids are able to pierce tissues with their proboscis and suck juices from leaf plates and cabbage shoots. At this moment, the plant loses chlorophyll, photosynthesis does not occur, it turns yellow, withers, dries up and dies.
Aphids reproduce very quickly, forming huge colonies. For the attack, he chooses young tender leaves of cabbage, located on their underside. At the same time, aphids prefer growing points of heads of cabbage, destroying them at the stage of inception.
The development of the pest on cabbage is quite difficult. Aphid eggs overwinter on the remains of cruciferous plants. When the air temperature rises to +11 oFrom them, larvae appear, which later become wingless females and produce their offspring, which are already winged. It, in turn, displays new numerous colonies, flying from one place to another.
As a result, a huge number of these small pests are capable of destroying or making heads of cabbage unfit for food, leaving their sticky waste products on them. For this reason, the fight against aphids must be carried out on time, using all effective methods and means.
What are the measures to combat cabbage aphids
To combat aphids for preventive purposes, there are plantings of tomatoes next to cabbage, which can scare away pests with their smell. For the same purpose, marigolds, lavender, calendula are planted along the edges of the beds. To prevent the appearance of aphids, the plants should be kept short so that the cabbage seedlings are not shaded.
Some gardeners advise attracting hoverflies, insects that feed on aphids, to the site. The method is controversial, since the houses made and intended for them are most often occupied by ants.
You can destroy aphids if you sprinkle cabbage with an infusion of nettle, bay leaf, potato tops, tobacco, onions and garlic, chamomile or wormwood.
An old folk remedy for aphids is considered to be spraying cabbage with an infusion of ash, a solution of laundry or tar soap, ammonia, and vinegar.
With large colonies of aphids that have spread through cabbage seedlings, many try to treat the plants with insecticidal preparations. The multiplicity and method of their application must comply with the instructions for the use of these funds (Arrivo, Decis, Pirimix, Fufanon).
How to get rid of aphids on cabbage folk methods
Although aphids are a very small pest, they can kill cabbages extremely quickly. Insecticides are effective methods of control, since they destroy not only insects, but also larvae. However, chemicals from aphids can accumulate in fruits and cause irreparable harm to human health. In cabbage, almost the entire aerial part is used for food, so the use of insecticides in this regard is doubly dangerous.
The most harmless methods of dealing with aphids are folk. It is necessary to choose for yourself the most acceptable and effective. There are many of them, since the piggy bank of folk remedies for aphids on cabbage is constantly replenished.
Tar soap
One of the most popular folk remedies for aphids on cabbage is tar soap. The reason for its effectiveness is the birch tar in the composition, which has a detrimental effect not only on aphids, but also on ants that carry it and infect all new plants.
The most common recipe for preparing a solution is to mix 150 g of tar soap with 10 liters of water. If cabbage is treated with a solution, then it is possible not only to get rid of pests, but also to restore and regenerate the tissue structure of the leaves of the culture. The wounds heal, tighten, and aphids from the sharp irritating smell of tar cease to settle on the site. A week later, such an event from aphids on cabbage should be repeated.
Bay leaf
Bay leaf also belongs to folk methods of dealing with aphids on cabbage, since this spice contains a lot of essential oils. Their aroma repels pests. It is possible to use the onion remedy both in dried form and in the form of infusion.
- The first method involves placing dry bay leaves directly under the cabbage plants;
- For the second, you need to pour a package (10 g) of spices with boiling water (1 l), cover with a lid and insist for an hour. After that, strain the liquid and spray cabbage from aphids. You need to process it again in a few days.
Ammonia
To prepare an insecticidal solution based on ammonia, you will need, in addition to ammonia (50 ml), water (10 l) and laundry soap (40 – 50 g), which should first be ground on a coarse grater and poured with warm water. For convenience, you can replace laundry soap with shampoo or dishwashing detergent. During the growing season, it is necessary to treat the cabbage with a solution several times at intervals of a week.
Spraying with ammonia is an effective way to kill aphids on cabbage, but safety rules should be followed when using it:
- protect the respiratory tract with a respirator or mask;
- use rubber gloves;
- prepare a solution from aphids in the open air;
- keep the mixture out of the reach of children.
Vinegar
A solution against aphids is also prepared from table vinegar, which has a sharp sour odor. A glass of 6% vinegar is diluted in 10 liters of water, a little liquid soap is added and mixed thoroughly. Thanks to the soap additive, the aphid solution becomes viscous, capable of fixing on cabbage leaves. Seedlings should be treated in such a way that the liquid gets on their back side, where insect pests are most often located. The tool is harmless, heads of cabbage can be consumed at any time after processing.
In hot weather, spraying is carried out in the evening so that the leaves do not get burned.
The procedure should be repeated after each rain.
Tobacco against aphids on cabbage
Insects do not tolerate the strong smell of tobacco. To combat aphids, a decoction or infusion of this remedy is used.
To prepare a decoction, 200 g of tobacco leaves are poured into 5 liters of water, then put on fire, brought to a boil and boiled for about 2 hours. The finished decoction is infused until completely cooled, after which the volume is brought to the original, using the required amount of water. After straining and adding soap, the aphid decoction is ready for use.
To prepare an infusion of 200 g of shag, pour 5 liters of boiling water, close the container and insist for two days.
When processing cabbage, it is necessary to pay attention to the back side of the foliage, where aphid colonies are most often located.
Tomato and potato tops
After pinching the tomatoes and removing the lower leaves of the plants, a large amount of tomato leafy green mass remains, from which it is easy to prepare an aphid remedy on cabbage.
For this purpose, 1 kg of fresh shoots not damaged by diseases and rot are taken, crushed, poured with a small amount of water and infused for about 4 hours. Next, bring the volume of liquid to 10 liters, filter and use as directed.
According to the same scheme and in the same ratio, an infusion of potato tops is prepared, used against aphids.
If cabbage is treated with such a composition, leaf-sucking insects die. It is worth spraying again, after a few days.
It is possible to prepare a decoction from tomato or potato tops, for which you need to pour 0,5 kg of greens into 10 liters of water and cook for about 3 hours over low heat. The decoction is used after straining, diluted with water in a ratio of 1:3 and adding 30 g of soap.
Sagebrush
Wormwood repels pests from the site if it grows along the perimeter or next to cabbage seedlings. For this purpose, it is possible to decompose wormwood branches scalded with boiling water on the ridges under the plants.
To prepare a decoction from aphids, take about 1 kg of a little dried grass and fill it with water. After boiling for 15 min. the decoction of wormwood is cooled, filtered and the volume of liquid is adjusted to 10 liters, diluted with water. For greater efficiency in the fight against aphids, before processing the cabbage, add 50 g of soap to the decoction.
A mixture of ash and spices
An effective remedy for aphids on cabbage is a mixture that has repellent properties. It consists of 100 g of wood ash, 1 teaspoon of ground pepper and 100 g of tobacco dust. The mixture is sprinkled around the cabbage seedlings, the soil is loosened to a depth of 2 cm, repeating it every 5 days.
Onion and garlic
Onion-garlic infusion from aphids is prepared as follows:
- 60 g of onion and garlic are crushed.
- Pour the mixture with two liters of water.
- Let it brew for 5 hours.
- Add 10 g of soap to the solution.
- Strain and use to kill aphids.
Spraying cabbage should be done several times with a break of 10 days.
Camomile
An infusion of chamomile flowers helps to completely destroy aphid colonies, provided that the plants are repeatedly treated regularly with this remedy.
For this purpose, 100 g of inflorescences are taken, poured into an enamel bowl, poured with boiling water in a volume of 1 liter, closed tightly with a lid and left to infuse for at least 45 minutes. The resulting infusion from aphids is filtered, diluted with water in a ratio of 1 to 10 and watered with cabbage directly from the watering can.
How to treat cabbage from aphids with chemicals
Today, the choice of chemicals to combat aphids on cabbage is very wide. They are used for urgent action: most often, for large planting areas. From aphids, experts recommend remedies:
- Chemifos;
- spark;
- Fury;
- Bankol;
- Arrivo;
- You decide;
- Pyrimix;
- Fufanon.
When using them, it is necessary to strictly follow the instructions, observing the dosage. Plants should be treated by spraying preparations in calm, calm weather. The best time of the day is morning or evening.
Safety precautions must be observed:
- use special clothing during spraying;
- do not smoke or eat near the treatment site;
- wash exposed areas of the body with soap after work.
Among chemicals, Deltamethrin and insecticidal soap based on olives or flax are considered the safest for humans.
What varieties of cabbage are resistant to aphids
Thanks to the hard work of breeders, aphid-resistant cabbage hybrids have been created:
- Aggressor – a Dutch late-ripening variety, characterized by unpretentiousness in cultivation, the ability to develop in the most unfavorable conditions, the absence of cracking heads and resistance to insect attack;
- Amager 611– late variety, characterized by frost resistance, high yield, keeping quality, resistance to aphids;
- Bartolo – a late Dutch variety of cabbage, high-yielding, not susceptible to many diseases and insect damage, including aphids;
- Snow White – a late-ripening cabbage variety that gives flat-rounded heads of cabbage that can be stored for up to six months. The use of culture is universal, and most importantly, it is slightly susceptible to attack by insects, in particular, aphids.
Preventive measures
You can prevent the invasion of aphids on cabbage by applying a number of preventive measures:
- after harvesting, remove from the garden all plant debris that can become a place for laying aphid eggs;
- dig the soil in autumn to a depth of at least 20 cm;
- remove all weeds;
- in the spring, before planting, treat the area from pests;
- observe the rules of agricultural technology and crop rotation of cabbage;
- buy in a specialized store and propagate lacewing, coccinellid beetles, surfids, the larvae of which feed on aphids.
Conclusion
Fighting aphids on cabbage with folk methods is more difficult than treating plants with chemicals. It is necessary to prepare the remedy, repeatedly apply it in order to succeed. But this method has one indisputable advantage: it is absolutely harmless and does not make products environmentally unsafe. Of the many options, you can choose a folk method and, using it, be confident in your health and the condition of your loved ones.
