Lukovaâ flies

What does an onion fly look like

Outwardly, the onion fly (Delia antique) resembles other members of the Diptera order. This is a small, about 6 mm long fly, the body of which is painted gray with a green tint on the back, sometimes the shade can be reddish. This coloration makes the insect as invisible as possible against the background of dry plants and soil. The wings are transparent.

Flies are active mostly in the early morning and at dusk.

Their larvae are small white worms. Eggs are not visible to the naked eye (1).

Interesting facts about the onion fly

What is dangerous onion fly

By themselves, adult individuals of the onion fly do not pose a danger, since they feed on the nectar of flowers. However, they lay eggs, from which larvae later hatch – these are the main pests.

The onion fly lays its eggs on the base of the bulb that protrudes above the ground, green feathers, or in the soil in close proximity to the bulb. After about a week (minimum 3, maximum 8 days), the eggs hatch into larvae, which begin to actively feed. They eat the flesh of the bulb and gnaw holes in it, starting from its bottom. If there are a lot of larvae, they can eat away large voids.

From this, the bulb begins to rot, emitting an unpleasant odor, and, of course, becomes completely unsuitable for either food or planting. Moreover, in order to completely destroy the bulb, the larvae will need only a couple of weeks.

The most dangerous for planting is the first generation of the onion fly, when the plant is in the stage of active growth. At the same time, it is not enough to remove the affected plants from the soil to get rid of the pest – the larvae of onion flies winter well in the soil in order to start new plantings next year (3).

Signs of an onion fly

If you notice that your onion or garlic began to turn white, and then turn yellow and dry, you should be wary. Rake the ground in the garden and sniff: if you smell rot, most likely the landing was struck by an onion fly.

You can finally verify this by pulling a few bulbs out of the ground and carefully examining them. You can even break it – damaged bulbs are usually soft and loose. It is not difficult to notice the larvae of the onion fly – as we already wrote, these are small whitish worms, somewhat reminiscent of small maggots.

The main signs of onion fly damage:

• feathers dry out, especially at the tips;
• the bulb softens and turns yellow;
• the plant emits an unpleasant smell of rot;
• flies fly over the plantings.

Causes of the onion fly

There may be several:

• infected planting material;
• incorrect crop rotation or its absence;
• in autumn the ground was not dug up;
• landing too late;
• unsuccessfully selected neighborhood of crops in the garden.

How to treat onions from onion flies

There are many ways to onion fly.

Folk methods

Tobacco dust. In order to scare off onion flour, during the period of its laying, it is necessary to pour the agent into the soil between the rows of onions at the rate of 1 – 2 kg per 10 square meters. m. Against the first generation of flies, two treatments should be carried out with an interval of 10 days, against the second – one.

Birch tar. A versatile and completely natural remedy that can be bought at any agricultural store and even at a pharmacy. Planting material is processed with a solution of tar in the ratio of 1 teaspoon per 1 liter of water – the seeds must be soaked in the solution for 30 minutes.

For watering, tar can be mixed with laundry soap. To do this, 10 tablespoon of tar and 1 g of soap are taken per 30 liters of water. Water the plants with the resulting solution 2-3 times with an interval of 2 weeks.

Sunflower ash or oak wood. Mix 250 g of ash in a bucket of water and water the plantings. Ash actively fights onion fly larvae, and is also an excellent fertilizer for the soil.

Salt. With a solution of salt (250 g per 10 liters of water), it is necessary to pour the soil between the rows, trying not to get the product on the plants. The first treatment is carried out 2 weeks after germination and only once. Also in a saline solution (3 tablespoons of salt per 2 liters of water), you can soak the sevok for 3 hours.

Ammonia. 3 art. dissolve tablespoons of ammonia in a bucket of water and treat the plants – this will scare away adult insects from them and prevent them from laying eggs. The procedure is best done in the evening, and the solution is prepared immediately before use, as it quickly loses its properties.

Preparations

Today, there are many chemicals on the market that have proven themselves in the fight against onion fly. However, if folk remedies are usually harmless to humans and animals that may end up in the garden (for example, a cat will come out for a walk), then chemical ones are most often poisonous, so they should be used with caution.

In addition, you can not use chemicals if you are growing onions on a feather.

Alatar. They are processed during the growing season (growth) of the plant. To do this, dilute 5 ml of the drug in 4 liters of water. This amount is enough to spray plants on an area of ​​​​100 square meters. m.

You will The agent is applied to the surface of the beds during planting, after which the soil should be loosened. Consumption – 50 g per 10 square meters. m.

Zemlin. It is applied to the soil surface during the planting of the bulbs simultaneously with loosening. Consumption – 30 g per 10 square meters. m.

Medvetoks. The drug is applied to the soil during the process of planting the bulbs, and then embedded in the soil with a rake. Consumption rate – 3 g per 1 sq. m.

Prevention from onion fly infection

There are several agricultural practices that will prevent the onion fly from infecting plantings.

Processing of planting material. Onion sets must be carefully sorted out, removing suspicious (soft, darkened and foul-smelling) onions. Before planting, it is advisable to soak the planting material in a solution of salt or tar (we talked about this in more detail above).

The all-rounder. Do not constantly plant the same crops in the same beds. If you begin to change plants in places from year to year, the eggs and larvae of the onion fly will simply die without food.

Loosening and autumn digging of the soil. The onion fly does not like to lay its eggs in loose soil, preferring dense soil. If during the summer the beds with onions are constantly loosened, the clutches will be significantly smaller. And in the fall, you need to dig up the site without breaking the clods of earth – they will contain the larvae that have left for wintering and they will die in winter.

Minimum watering. Onions do not like an abundance of moisture, but the onion fly, on the contrary, prefers moist soil. So water your onions as little as possible.

Removal of plant debris. The remaining parts of the onion may contain eggs or onion fly larvae, so carefully remove both green and underground plant parts after harvest (4).

Popular questions and answers

We talked about the onion fly with agronomist, candidate of agricultural sciences Sciences Denis Kostylev.

Sources of

1. Onion flies. Agricultural Encyclopedic Dictionary. Soviet Encyclopedia // 1989
2. Zhmakin M.S. Onion fly. All about pests, weeds and plant diseases // Moscow: Ripol Classic, 2011
3. Vyangelyauskaite A.P., Zhuklene R.M., Zhuklis L.P. Onion fly. Pests and diseases of vegetable crops // M.: Agropromizdat, 1989
4. Akhatov A.K., Izhevsky S.S. Protection of greenhouse and greenhouse plants from pests // M .: Partnership of Scientific Editions of KMK, 2004 – 169 p.