Contents
Sorrel is the source of the very first vitamins that we get in the spring. This unpretentious, devoid of whims of a perennial plant pleases us with strong green leaves on the thawed earth. They contain a lot of vitamins, iron, organic acids. It is for a record amount of vitamin C and a pleasant sour taste that many people love sorrel, they often use it in salads and first courses. It has a general strengthening effect on the body, traditional medicine uses it in the fight against various diseases, but there are also contraindications to the use of this wonderful vegetable. But gardeners sometimes face such an unpleasant problem as sorrel pests.
How to deal with pests
It would seem that sorrel leaves are so sour that not a single pest will tempt them. But with the beginning of summer, they can surprise the summer resident with a change in color, holes, then it is already clearly visible that someone else will harvest the crop – the leaves are so strongly eaten. Unpretentious bushes that easily endured the winter may stop growing and even dry out in the middle of summer.
All this indicates an attack by pests. They themselves are not averse to eating the leaves or roots of the plant, in addition, they also suffer all sorts of diseases. Proper agricultural technology involves growing sorrel in one place for no longer than 3-4 years. The meaning of this, among other things, is also in the desire to protect plants from diseases and parasites. If you do not allow weeds into the garden, remove plant debris in time, this will greatly increase the chances of eating the crop yourself, but still will not save the owners from pest control if they have already appeared in the garden.
Of course, modern science can offer many means, the impact of which will quickly get rid of uninvited guests. But these same remedies will make the use of sorrel dangerous to our health. That is why the processing of plantings by them should be carried out in the fall, and not in the middle of the season. Many people prefer to fight diseases and pests with folk remedies, they usually involve protecting plants with natural remedies. The best and most harmless way to deal with parasites is mechanical extermination, but it is not always effective.
Planting aromatic herbs, such as coriander or basil, chamomile or calendula, often helps to scare away pests. For each parasite there are special tools, the effectiveness of which has been tested by time.
Video “Protection of plants from pests”
Informative video with useful tips for protecting plants from pests.
Leaf beetle
The holes in the leaves are most likely the work of the leaf beetle. At the end of wintering, which it spends in the beetle stage, it begins to actively eat sorrel leaves. It lays eggs on the reverse side of the leaves, during the summer 2 or even 3 generations of parasites develop, which actively feed on the plant. The best remedy for it is pyrethrum tincture, this wonderful flower can decorate flower beds, and its tincture can save the sorrel crop. She needs to spray the plants several times during the summer.
aphid
If an aphid appeared on the site, and it first settles on shrubs or trees, then this is a direct threat to the leaves and the entire sorrel plant. The aphid eats the leaves of bushes and trees while they are young, as soon as they become coarse (or there are none left at all), the aphid prefers to move to the garden, vegetables become its goal, and among them sorrel. The aphid reproduces very quickly, lives on the underside of the leaves, sucks the juice out of them. The result is yellowing, withering of greenery, weakening of the roots, death of the plant.
Aphids provoke the appearance of another pest – a spider mite, which is evidenced by a web that begins to appear on inflorescences or young leaves. Prevention can be the expulsion of ants from the site, which diligently care for aphids and protect them. It’s good if ladybugs or lacewings settle in the garden – they can save vegetables. They fight aphids with infusions or decoctions of tomato greens, burdock, dandelion, garlic. You can apply an infusion of ash mixed with laundry soap.
sorrel sawfly
This insect with two pairs of wings also gives several generations over the summer, which actively feed on sorrel greens. The closer autumn is, the more damage it causes, caterpillars of the oxal sawfly eat the leaf completely, leaving only a skeleton of veins. It hibernates as an adult insect under plant debris. It is possible to save a bed from it only if there are no weeds on it, and plant residues do not cover the ground. And the tincture of chamomile pharmacy will help to fight – they make an infusion, add laundry soap to it, spray the sorrel in a week.
Winter Scoop
A butterfly with brown, very dark, almost black wings appears at the end of May, it brings a lot of trouble to the gardens, as its caterpillar feeds on vegetable leaves. It grows up to 5 cm, leaves large holes on the sorrel leaves, and closer to autumn gnaws plants near the ground. Winters in the soil, loves deposits of plant residues. To get rid of it, you need to dig deep into the soil in the fall. She is distracted from the sorrel by placing or hanging vessels with molasses or something fermenting at a height of 1 m above the ground.
Then there is a chance that she simply will not notice him, which means that she will not settle her voracious offspring on him. To defeat the winter scoop that settled in the garden, an infusion of burdock is perfect. They need to treat the plants 3-4 times a week.
wireworm
If a click beetle wound up in the garden – a small creature (up to 1,5 cm), then the sorrel is in trouble. It hibernates in the soil, with the beginning of summer the females lay their eggs almost at the very surface. The larvae, and these are wireworms, develop underground for a long time – 3-4 years, feed on the underground parts of plants. The drier the earth becomes, the deeper they burrow into it, feeding on roots. Pupation occurs at a depth of up to 15 cm.
Wireworms love acidic soils, an abundance of weeds. If we do not allow the growth of weeds, especially wheatgrass, deacidify the soil, dig it well to a depth of 20 cm, do not leave sorrel to grow in one place for many years, then there is a chance to protect it from the larvae of the click beetle. These larvae leave wire passages in root crops, they are very fond of potatoes. With it, you can distract the wireworm from the sorrel by spreading the cut potatoes between the plants on the surface.
Slugs can also harm sorrel greens if it is too wet in the garden. They are fought with tincture of bitter pepper. Sorrel roots are often undermined by bears, if they are already wound up on the site. But it doesn’t mean at all that all diseases and pests will attack your sorrel at the same time. With proper care, it usually grows well and pleases its owners with vitamin leaves.
Video “How to get rid of aphids on any plant”
Demonstrative video on how to get rid of aphids on any plant.
