How to get rid of the Colorado potato beetle
In June, the Colorado potato beetle attacks potato beds. Our consultant Aleksey Rybin, an agronomist, a candidate of agricultural sciences, tells how you can save the harvest.
16 2016 June
Mulching and scaring away
If you spud the beds at the end of May, then there will be very few beetles, and it is best to pick them by hand. The larvae will appear after flowering, at which time the plants can be sprayed with chemicals, but no later than three weeks before harvesting. In early varieties, it is advisable to do without processing if possible. Try an eco-friendly way: mulch the aisles with straw. Natural enemies of the pest will settle in it: ground beetles, praying mantises, predatory bugs, spiders. There are plants that scare off the Colorado potato beetle, they are planted in rows or islands in the aisles. These are dill, mint, garlic, onions, horseradish, beans and beans, marigolds, nasturtium, marigolds, thyme, sage and other spicy and odorous plants.
– Wood ash. Potatoes during the flowering period are pollinated with it through a sieve. A hundred square meters will require 10 kg of ash. It is better to process it after dew or after rain, every two weeks, only four times.
– Infusion of ash and soap. We dilute a kilogram of ash in 10 liters of water and bring to a boil. We insist for two days, we filter. Rub 40 g of laundry soap on a grater and throw it into the solution, mix, pour in another 10 liters of water. Spray the plants until the larvae appear.
– Infusion of celandine. Fill a bucket with freshly harvested plants, cover with water and boil for 15 minutes. Insist for a day. Spray the beds with the resulting broth – 0,5 liters of broth per 10 liters of water.
– Onion peel. Pour 300 g of raw materials with 10 liters of hot water, press down with a load, insist for a day, then spray the plants.
– Dandelion and horsetail. Boil 200 g of each herb in 10 liters of water for 15 minutes, the product is ready immediately after cooling. Apply at a concentration of 0,5 l of broth per 10 l of water
– Wormwood. Mix 300 g of chopped herbs with a glass of ash. Pour 10 liters of hot water, leave for three hours.
If you are against chemicals, but do not want to mess with infusions of herbs and ash, biological drugs are suitable for you. They are harmless to humans and animals, do not accumulate in soil and water. There are several types of such substances on sale: “Fitoverm”, “Bitoxibaccillin”, “Antara”, “Colorado”, etc. Spraying is carried out in clear weather. A biological product, having entered the body of a beetle or larva, causes their death on the 3-5th day.