Aphids on peach: control measures

Every gardener wants to see his garden healthy and well-bearing. But often insect pests affect fruit crops. Aphids on peach are a common pest that, without timely treatment, quickly spreads to neighboring fruit crops.

What is dangerous peach aphid

Aphids are small insects that live in families. Aphids on peach can be of several types:

• large peach;
• green;
• blood;
• black.

Before starting pest control, you need to know what the insect looks like and what are the first signs of the disease.

The large peach aphid is a common pest that mainly affects peach. The peak of the disease is in July-August. At this time, insects form numerous colonies that are visible to the naked eye. Insects are located on the inside of the leaf plate, secrete sugary excrement, which, flowing down to the soil, attract wasps and ants. Without treatment, large peach aphids can bring 8 to 10 generations. Eggs laid in autumn overwinter in the bark of stem branches.

The green aphid is the main distributor of Y, A, L, M and S viruses. The insect causes the greatest harm to young seedlings, sucking out the juice, which leads to drying and death of the plant. Damaged shoots freeze out in the cold, fungal diseases settle on the secretions, weakened peaches are attacked by carpenter beetles.

The blood aphid on a peach is a dangerous insect that sucks the juice from a tree. The pest can be recognized by mass accumulation on the inside of the leaf. The aphid has a thick fluff, when crushed, it releases a red liquid that looks like blood. If the bloody aphid is not destroyed in a timely manner, then the peach is deformed, ulcers appear on the shoots, and fruiting decreases.

Black aphid settles on the inside of the leaf plate. Often it can be seen on young, weakened seedlings. With mass distribution, a sticky liquid appears on the buds and peach flowers, which the insect secretes. The top of the shoot and foliage are twisted, the buds do not open, fruiting is reduced. Black aphid provokes the development of soot fungus and powdery mildew.

Green aphids cause great damage to a young, weakened seedling. When infected, leaves twist and lighten at the top of the shoots, the tree begins to throw off flower stalks and formed buds.

The large peach aphid sucks all the nutrients out of the bark and shoots, resulting in redness, curling, and premature leaf fall.

The black aphid hibernates in peach bark and, with the advent of warm days, attacks young foliage and buds. Since the black aphid colony consists mainly of a female, it is very difficult to get rid of it due to the regular appearance of offspring.

To recognize peach aphids, you need to view photos of infected trees:

Signs of aphids on peaches

Before proceeding with treatment, it is necessary to identify the pest. Aphids on peach can be recognized by the following features:

• a colony of insects accumulates on the inside of the leaf;
• buds, leaves and flowers are covered with a mucous liquid;
• the process of dying off the top of the shoot begins;
• pests feed on plant sap, which leads to twisting, drying and dying of foliage;
• the plant stops growing and developing;
• fruiting is reduced or does not occur at all.

Peach aphid control measures

To protect the peach tree from aphids, it must be processed several times per season:

• the first treatment is carried out before the kidneys swell;
• repeated – during the appearance of foliage;
• further – during flowering.

It is necessary to get rid of aphids on a peach in the initial stage of the disease in order to prevent pests from multiplying. There are several ways to get rid of peach aphids: mechanical, chemical and folk remedies.

The chemical method must be applied very carefully so as not to destroy the young tree together with insects. In summer, during the period of formation and filling of fruits, it is better to use mechanical and folk methods of treatment.

Agrotechnical methods of dealing with aphids on peach

When a black aphid appears on a tree trunk, you do not need to immediately apply chemicals. Since this can harm the plant and cause damage to the crop.

Experienced gardeners recommend using one of the mechanical methods of pest control:

1. Washing aphids with water. Initially, the trunk circle is cleaned of weeds, the trunk and stem branches are cleaned. Next, a powerful jet of water is directed to the crown of the tree, thereby washing away numerous insects.

   

2. Planting fragrant plants in the trunk circle. Peach aphid does not tolerate strong odors. Fragrant herbs will not only get rid of insect pests, but will also be an excellent prevention of many diseases. Around the peach tree, you can plant mint, calendula and marigolds. The planted dill will attract ladybugs, who will gladly exterminate the tree from aphids and other insects.
3. In case of mass infection, it is necessary to remove and burn the affected leaves in a timely manner.
4. You can protect the tree from insects with a tar belt.
5. A month before the onset of frost, the trunk circle is sprinkled with wood ash and spilled with hot water. Dissolved ash, penetrating to the root system, oxidizes and repels peach aphids. Also, hot water destroys insects wintering in the soil and in the bark of a tree.

If the mechanical method did not give the expected result, the chemical method can be used. But it must be remembered that chemicals should not be used during the fruiting period.

How to deal with aphids on peaches with chemicals

Chemical preparations can be used in the spring before bud break, during flowering and a month before harvest. Insecticides are used to control. The chemical preparation, penetrating into the peach tissue, paralyzes the pests, after which they die en masse.

You can fight blood and other varieties of aphids on a peach tree with the following drugs:

• Karbofos;
• Aktara;
• Confidor;
• Dnok;
• Topaz;
• Topsin.

How to get rid of aphids on peach folk remedies

Most gardeners get rid of peach aphids in folk ways. This method does not harm the plant, does not require additional costs, it can be used even during the formation and ripening of fruits.

Homemade recipes for getting rid of black aphids on peach are used not only by experienced gardeners, but also by amateurs:

1. Onion broth with laundry soap. The collected husks are poured with water at the rate of 1:5 and boiled for 20 minutes. Next, the infusion is closed with a lid and left to infuse for 3-5 days. Before use, grated laundry soap is added to the filtered infusion. Spraying the crown is carried out with a clean, undiluted infusion.
2. Garlic infusion. Grind 300 g of garlic and pour 1 liter of water. Leave for 24 hours to infuse. Next, add ½ a piece of crushed laundry soap. The resulting infusion is diluted with 5 liters of water and the plant is processed.
3. Spicy mix. To prepare a healing medicine, you will need in equal parts: cinnamon, pepper, mustard, salt, soda, wood ash. The prepared ingredients are poured with water, grated laundry or liquid soap is added and everything is thoroughly mixed. The resulting solution is diluted in a bucket of water and the peach is processed. Spraying is carried out three times with an interval of 7 days.
4. Tobacco infusion. 250 g of tobacco are dissolved in a bucket of water and left to infuse for 3 days. A soapy solution is added to the finished solution and the infected tree is processed.

   

5. Ammonia. In a bucket of water, dilute 2 tbsp. l. ammonia and add 1 tbsp. l. washing powder. Everything is thoroughly mixed. Wood processing is carried out twice with an interval of 7 days.
6. Infusion of citrus peels. Citrus peels are added to water and left for 3 days to infuse. An infected tree is treated with a filtered solution, in the morning or evening hours.

A set of preventive measures

To protect the tree and crop from aphids, it is necessary to carry out preventive measures in a timely manner:

1. In autumn, the near-trunk circle should be cleared of foliage, weeds and plant residues.
2. Dig up the earth carefully.
3. In the spring before sap flow and in the fall after leaf fall, treat the tree with Bordeaux liquid.
4. A month before the onset of frost, whitewash the trunk. Before whitewashing, clean the trunk from lichen and moss with a metal brush or wooden scraper. Treat the damaged bark with iron sulphate and cover it with garden pitch.
5. Perform sanitary pruning in a timely manner.

Conclusion

Aphids on peach are a serious problem that must be dealt with in a timely manner. Regardless of the method used, it must be carried out carefully and according to all the rules. Only in this case, you can get a good harvest of tasty and juicy fruits.