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Aphids on tomatoes appear very often and cause significant damage to plantings. There are many ways to get rid of an insect – both home solutions and chemicals.
Description and types of pest
Aphid is an insect from the Hemiptera order, represented by several thousand species. It has a very small body, about 2 mm long, and comes in red, black, green, white, and brown. There are wingless and winged insects, but even the latter do not fly very well.
Aphids are extremely prolific and produce several generations during the season. Just one insect can give rise to tens of thousands of new individuals. The parasite feeds on plant juices of various crops, while secreting the so-called honeydew on the leaves. The sweet solution attracts other insects, many of which also harm the tomatoes.
For tomato bushes, only some varieties of the parasite are dangerous. Usually on tomatoes you can find:
- White aphid. A small parasite lives in the upper layers of the soil, attacks primarily the root part of tomato bushes. Tomatoes wither and wither quickly due to disruption of nutritional processes.
The white aphid is especially hardy, as its masonry survives even cold winters in the soil.
- Melon aphid. A small midge is black wingless and greenish with wings. Appears in greenhouses in June, in the open field begins to harm tomatoes in late July or August.
The gourd aphid is a carrier of dangerous viral diseases of tomatoes
- Potato aphid. The insect has a light green or red color. It harms tomatoes both in greenhouses and in open ground. It has a fairly large size – up to 3,5 mm in length.
Potato aphid in Our Country is found on tomatoes, including in the polar regions
- Tobacco aphid. The pest damages tomatoes relatively rarely, mainly moving to tomato bushes from potatoes, peach trees and cabbage. Causes discoloration and leaf curl.
Tobacco aphid is found mainly in warm regions and in greenhouse conditions.
Aphids of any species reproduce by laying eggs, but some species have live birth.
Signs of defeat
Aphids are very small in size and settle mainly on the underside of the leaf blades. With a weak infection, it can be quite difficult to consider an insect on a tomato. But the presence of the parasite is evidenced by some signs:
- deformation and twisting of leaves;
- discoloration and yellowing of the plates;
- mealy or black plaque on the leaves;
- unnatural glossy sheen of tomato greens.
Simultaneously with aphids, ants often appear on tomato bushes. These pests are much easier to spot because they are larger and darker in color.
Causes of appearance
Black, green and white aphids on tomatoes can appear even with good planting care. However, there are some factors that increase the likelihood of a pest. In particular, aphids often attack tomatoes:
- in close proximity of bushes with peaches, potatoes, cabbage and other crops that also suffer from the parasite;
- with a large number of weeds in the beds or in the greenhouse;
- in wet and warm weather;
- in the presence of uncleaned plant debris in the beds;
- with too dense planting of tomato bushes.
The likelihood of aphids appearing on the site increases if a large number of ants live in the garden. Insects often exist side by side and take part in each other’s life.
What harm do
Aphids on tomatoes are a great danger to bushes. It is necessary to start pest control immediately, otherwise the crop will be seriously affected. In the absence of aphid treatment:
- sucks vegetable juice from the leaves and stems of tomatoes;
- leads to yellowing, deformation and subsidence of the plates;
- impairs flowering and ovary formation;
- slows down the development of tomato bushes;
- attracts other insects to tomatoes;
- creates a comfortable environment for the reproduction of dangerous fungi;
- carries incurable viral diseases.
With active reproduction, aphids can thickly stick to the green parts of tomato bushes. In this case, photosynthesis processes are disrupted – sunlight does not fall directly on the surface of the leaves.
How to deal with aphids on tomatoes
The fight against aphids is associated with certain difficulties. The pest is quite hardy and even after the treatment often returns to tomato bushes. Despite this, there are effective methods of getting rid of the parasite.
Mechanical methods
If there are very few aphids on tomato bushes, you can cope with the pest without the use of chemicals. Usually, several methods are used to eliminate the parasite:
- manual collection – insects are simply removed from the surface of the leaves with a damp sponge or rag, the procedure is carried out daily until the aphids are completely eliminated;
- processing tomatoes with water – the bushes are watered with a tepid liquid with low pressure, the pest can be washed off in the process;
- pruning – if the aphid appeared only on some leaves and the tops of the stems, the affected parts are removed and burned in the far corner of the garden.
Mechanical methods do not make sense to apply in case of serious damage to the landings. They do not have the highest efficiency, require effort, processing takes a lot of time.
Chemicals
Chemical treatments give the best effect. Insecticides have a depressing effect on the vital systems of the insect, prevent the aphid from eating and eventually cause its death.
Intavir
A useful insecticidal agent has a paralyzing effect on insects. To prepare the solution, it is necessary to stir one tablet of the drug in a bucket of water. Spraying is carried out according to the instructions in warm, low-sunshine weather, at 10 m2 consume about 1,5 liters of funds.
Processing of tomatoes with Intavir is carried out three times per season
Commander
A powerful contact-intestinal preparation helps to get rid of aphids, thrips, whiteflies and other pests in the area. Sold as a soluble concentrate, the main active ingredient is imidacloprid. Aphids under the influence of the drug lose their ability to move and die within a day. To prepare the solution in a bucket of water, you need to dilute only 5 ml of the product.
The Komandor preparation is sprayed on plantings of tomatoes in calm weather in the morning or in the evening. Usually only one treatment is enough, but if necessary, spraying can be repeated after 3-4 weeks.
Commander acts on both adult aphids and larvae
Biological preparations
Biological-based preparations demonstrate good efficacy in infecting aphids. They are not as dangerous to the tomatoes themselves as chemicals, while quickly eliminating even large colonies of parasites.
Phytoverm
The composition of the drug contains the substance aversectin C, which has a natural origin. Fitoverm has a depressing effect on aphids and a number of other pests, helps to quickly remove insects on tomatoes.
To create a working solution, 3 ml of the concentrate is diluted in a bucket of tepid water. The resulting composition is used for spraying tomato bushes in dry, warm weather. Already three hours after treatment, the drug begins to act, and the results become noticeable after about 3-6 days.
Processing of tomatoes with Fitoverm can be repeated when the aphids return to the leaves
Bithoxybacillin
The biological product contains in its composition live bacteria that eliminate adult aphids and pest larvae. It should be diluted in 10 liters of liquid 7 ml of the product, and then spray the tomatoes in the greenhouse or in the open field. Re-treatment is carried out if a real need arises, not earlier than a week after the first.
You can harvest tomatoes five days after applying Bitoxibacillin
Folk remedies
If there are very few aphids on tomato leaves, home remedies can be used to eliminate it. A good effect is given by several means.
Ammonia solution
Ammonia tincture works well against aphids if used at the first symptoms of bush damage. 30 ml of ammonia are diluted in a bucket of water and stirred properly, and then immediately sprayed.
Processing tomatoes with ammonia is repeated every three days until the result is obtained.
Soap solution
You can fight aphids with ordinary laundry soap. The medicinal preparation is done like this – about 10 g of chips are stirred into 20 liters of liquid, and a glass of wood ash is also added.
The finished product is filtered from the sediment through gauze and the tomato bushes are processed. You can repeat spraying daily until the aphids completely disappear from the leaves.
The soap solution forms a protective film on the leaves of tomatoes and prevents the reappearance of aphids.
Natural enemies
The natural enemies of aphids are sparrows, robins, tits and other birds. When growing tomatoes in open ground, they provide pest prevention, as they destroy insects and prevent them from breeding properly. But it is undesirable to attract birds to the garden if berry crops grow next to tomatoes – birds will damage the crop.
Some insects help to get rid of aphids in greenhouses and soil – praying mantises, sand wasps, crickets and ground beetles, spiders, ladybugs. To attract them to the site, it is necessary to plant certain plants near the tomatoes – daisies, amaranths or marigolds.
How to get rid of aphids on tomatoes in a greenhouse
For the treatment of tomato bushes in the greenhouse, the same means are used as for spraying plantings in the open field. But there are some extra steps that need to be taken into account. In particular, it is recommended:
- maintain in the greenhouse a humidity of at least 85% and a temperature of 22-24 ° C;
- regularly ventilate the greenhouse in the evening;
- remove plant debris in a timely manner;
- avoid excessive thickening of landings.
With the onset of autumn, the greenhouse must be carefully cleaned and disinfected with bleach.
From aphids on tomatoes in a greenhouse, fumigating bushes with tobacco smoke helps well
Prevention of the appearance
Priority should be given to the prevention of aphids. When growing tomatoes, you need:
- control the volume of watering and do not overmoisten the bushes;
- regularly clean the greenhouse or beds from the remains of tops and other debris;
- loosen the soil from time to time and weed weeds;
- do not plant tomatoes too close to each other;
- carry out preventive treatments of bushes with home solutions or biological preparations;
- fight ants in the area.
Before planting tomatoes in a greenhouse or soil, it is recommended to treat the soil with insecticidal agents. This will destroy aphids in the early stages of development and prevent their transition to a vegetable crop.
Conclusion
Aphids on tomatoes can cause serious damage to the crop. With a large number of insects, chemicals should be used for spraying. But if there are few pests on the leaves, treatment with home preparations will be quite enough.
