A drooping plum tree, gnawed young shoots, crumbling fruits and satisfied caterpillars on the remains of leaves are a familiar picture in the garden of a careless gardener. And all because of a lack of desire to pick up a sprayer and devote an hour or two to processing the garden. True, not all novice gardeners are so careless. Some would be happy to do something to save the harvest, but there is not enough experience and knowledge on how to spray plums in the spring. But what is there to know if all plum diseases and pests are known, the means of control have been tested and tested. The only thing is, if this is not included in the overall scope of work, it is better to space out the treatment against diseases and living creatures over time. It does not matter in what sequence the work will be carried out, the main thing is not to mix several drugs at once in one place.
Spring treatment plums from pests
It is recommended to spray the plum orchard immediately after the main spring procedures: cleaning the rows, pruning, fertilizing. You should not delay cultivating the garden, since harmful living creatures that have overwintered and hidden in the ground and on trees “wakes up” with the arrival of constant warmth. Time will be lost, and you can’t count on a harvest. Therefore, you need to take a sprayer and start a confrontation with plum tree fruit lovers.
Fruit mite- lives on a tree constantly, but in different manifestations. In the summer, as adults, the eggs laid by the female survive the winter. At the beginning of spring, before the buds open, before the mite appears, it is recommended to treat the tree, which combines two things: on the one hand, it is a poison for harmful living creatures, on the other, it is fertilizing. Stronger means that can be used to treat plums in the spring are “DNOC”, karbofos, “Cidial”, “Acartan” or colloidal sulfur. For greater efficiency in killing insects, the drugs should be alternated. Use some before flowering, others after.
Aphid- there is nasty stuff about everyone fruit crops Oh. Ants contribute to its appearance. If you start using protective solutions in a timely manner, aphids are eliminated quite easily. There are options within your means. You can use chemicals right away, but before you treat the plum tree against pests in the spring with strong solutions, it’s better to try folk recipes. For example, infusions of tobacco, onion peel, wormwood or garlic infusion with the addition of a small amount laundry soap. Then, for greater importance, add a urea solution (700 grams per bucket of water). Such remedies are quite effective, but more preventive. Guaranteed destruction of the pest is achieved by using chemicals in the form of preparations “Sherpa”, “Decis”, “Artelik” three times per season. The first time before flowering, the second after, the third after fruiting. “Nitrafen” or “Oleocuprite” work well against aphid eggs.
Plum moth- a harmful worm that chews out the pulp of the fruit. There are no particular difficulties with how to treat plums against worms, the main thing is to start the procedure for saving the harvest on time. On time - this means at the first signs of the appearance of a caterpillar on ripening fruits. Since the pest is quite serious, spraying of plums in the spring is carried out with the chemicals “Decis”, “Iskra”, “Kinmiks” or “Fufanon”. As an option - karbofos and chlorophos. The frequency of treatment is three times every 15 days. To avoid a new infection, spoiled fruits are torn off and destroyed.
Weevil– destroys greenery. Pest protection can vary. If without chemicals, then install fishing belts “Alt” or “ Clean house». Chemical protection this is karbofos, metafos or “Aktellik”, “Corsair”. Spray before and after flowering.
Plum sawfly– the worm mainly feeds on the ovary and fruits. You can start fighting the sawfly folk remedies. Infusions of pine concentrate or wormwood are suitable. As the pest multiplies, but before flowering begins, the plum is treated with Cyanox, Rogor, karbofos or chlorophos. If the first treatment did not give a 100% result, immediately after flowering ends, do the second one.
Moth– a rather large caterpillar, up to 6 centimeters in size, eats leaves and buds. Before deciding how to treat plums in the spring against pests such as moths, prevention should be carried out. First, the land is cultivated in the inter-row and tree-trunk circles. After this, but before flowering begins, Zolon, Nexion, phosphamide or chlorophos are sprayed onto the plum tree.
Fruit moth– if left unchecked, it can destroy all the leaves. Among the folk remedies, an infusion of hot pepper helps. For a bucket of water, take half a kilogram of dry or a kilogram of fresh. Boil for one hour, then leave for a day. Before use, add 40 grams of laundry soap to the solution. Spray twice a month. From chemicals Antia, Nexion, Metathion or chlorophos, metaphos help. Treatment with Nitrafen before flowering also helps.
Bark beetle– the name determines the essence of the pest. One of the reasons contributing to the appearance of the beetle is the gardener’s abuse, as a result of which the tree becomes fattened. The primary destruction of the bark beetle is carried out before bud break with trichloro-5. As the living creatures emerge from under the bark, the plum is sprayed with metaphos or chlorophos. In this case, the entire tree should be thoroughly wet. If there are a lot of beetles, repeated treatment is possible after 15 days.
Spring treatment of plums for diseases
The next treatment of plums in the spring from pests and diseases, or rather its second half. It begins with spraying plum trees immediately after winter with a universal preparation for all types of nasty things - a urea solution (700 grams of urea dissolves in 10 liters of water). In the future, each disease is treated separately.
Spotting- a fungus that attacks leaves and causes them to fall off. Without treatment, the tree may remain “naked.” Measures to prevent spotting begin with caring for plantings, clearing them of damaged and diseased branches. At the same time, in early spring, the ground around the plum tree is sprayed copper sulfate(1%) or Nitrafen. Along the green cone, the tree is treated with Bordeaux mixture (100 grams plus a bucket of water). The second similar treatment is done after flowering.
milky shine- a fungus that can destroy the entire plum tree. As a preventative measure, if you can call it that, it is recommended to choose only zoned varieties for planting. In early spring, after the branches have been pruned, fresh cuts must be covered with garden varnish or oil paint. Correct and complete fertilizing also reduces the incidence of plum disease. In autumn, whitewashing of trunks is mandatory.
Moniliosis ( gray rot)
– affects all parts of the tree. Mechanically damaged fruits are the first to get sick. Best time for the occurrence of the disease - season from high humidity and prolonged flowering. All measures to prevent and treat the disease are identical to those for plum spot diseases.
Gum treatment– thick streaks on the trunks, similar to resin, this is exactly it. Apart from following the rules of agricultural technology, there is nothing to recommend. Old and damaged branches need to be removed, and the “wounds” should be healed with garden varnish. It is recommended to disinfect newly formed “wounds” with gum discharge with 1% copper sulfate.
Plum pox (sharqa) – viral disease, which is carried by ticks and aphids. There is no treatment. Prevention of smallpox - timely destruction of designated pests. Diseased parts of the tree or the entire tree are destroyed.
Plum rust- in appearance, the leaves look like this - brown, “rusted”. The disease is fungal, so fungicides are used, as an option, Bordeaux mixture. The first time the plum is treated when the disease appears, the second time after two to three weeks. All damaged and fallen leaves and branches are burned. In the fall, after harvesting, it is recommended to do another treatment with copper oxychloride (dilute 40 grams of the substance in 10 liters of water).
Coccomycosis- the appearance of red spots on the leaves. Over time, they turn yellow, then brown, and the leaves fall off. The disease can be prevented by spraying Bordeaux mixture or copper oxychloride on plum trees. Proportion: 100 and 40 grams per bucket of water, respectively. Three sprays are done. During the period of bud release the first, after flowering the second, after harvesting the third.
This is how to treat plums in the spring against pests and diseases using folk remedies and chemicals. That's enough about the bad, otherwise some gardeners will be afraid of so many problems. All these problems, of course, exist, but not in one place and not at the same time. There is nothing to be afraid of here, you just need to follow the rules of agricultural technology. If any of the above appear in the garden, the suggested recipes will help you quickly cope with the “misunderstanding” that has arisen.
Before tree treatment is carried out, it is necessary to determine optimal time to carry it out. Typically spraying is carried out in spring or autumn. Let's consider the main features of each time.
in spring
To protect plantings from gypsy moths, you need to spray twice:
- before flowering;
- after the end of the flowering period. It is worth noting that you need to very carefully choose what to treat the plum after flowering in order to avoid the accumulation of toxic substances in the fruit.
As you can see, how to treat a plum in the spring depends on the purpose for which the prevention is performed. However, you can use universal means, which provide protection against several types of insects, viruses and pathogenic bacteria, as well as fungi.
In addition, preventive actions in early spring involve whitewashing the lower part of the trunks with lime. This action will destroy the nests of harmful insects.
In some cases, spring spraying is delayed, as it involves several successive treatments at certain time intervals. As a result, trees will need to be sprayed in early June. This is the only way to effectively protect plantings from a specific pest or pathogen.
in autumn
The key to success in the drug
We sorted out the processing time. Now you need to find out how to treat plums against diseases and pests in order to effectively protect the future harvest. Moreover, the success of the entire event directly depends on how correctly the drug was chosen.
From diseases
If the first symptoms of the disease occur, in order to effectively fight the disease, you must first find out the type of disease. Most often, this stone fruit crop is affected by the following diseases:
- marsupial disease. Very dangerous. If it is present, the fruit is covered with a white-gray coating, which is the result of the vital activity of the fungus. In this case, the plant must be treated with Bordeaux mixture (3%). Spraying is carried out both in early spring and autumn;
- perforated spotting. Symptoms: gum discharge, ulcers on branches. For control, a solution of Bordeaux mixture (1%) should be used;
- moniliosis The disease affects buds, fruit branches, fruits, flowers and leaves. When plum leaves appear, spray with Bordeaux mixture (3%). Next, the trees are treated twice with an interval of 2 weeks with a solution of Bordeaux mixture (1%).
Remember that for maximum success, work must begin immediately when the first symptoms of the disease are detected.
From pests
Plums are most often attacked by the following types of insects:
Be sure to spray at any time of the year if cobwebs or any other signs of pests are noticed on the trees.
We follow the instructions
An important point in processing plum trees is preparing a solution of the required concentration. You need to be especially careful when breeding chemicals(for example, benzophosphate, karbofos, etc.). In this case, deviation from the required concentration may cause a chemical burn to the plant. Here it is important to strictly follow the requirements for preparing the solution specified in the instructions.
Video “Planting and fertilizing plums”
From this video you will learn how to properly feed and plant plums in the garden.
Plum is one of the fastest-growing and highest-yielding among stone fruit crops. It can be successfully grown in regions that are characterized by harsh weather in winter period. In terms of winter hardiness, it is second only to cherries. Depending on the variety and growing zone, plum yield can be very high - more than 200 kg of fruit per tree. But for this you need to follow high agricultural technology.
EATERS OF FRUITS AND LEAVES OF PLUMS
The quality and quantity of the harvest is influenced by many factors, but one of the main ones is the physiological state of the plants, their resistance to pests and diseases. It is also important to what extent the trees are additionally protected from attacks by harmful organisms. Every year, significant damage to the plum crop is caused by the black plum sawfly, eurythoma, or plum thickipe - pests from the order Hymenoptera, as well as plum and eastern codling moths from the order Lepidoptera. It is possible to limit the number of phytophages if you control their vital activity during critical periods of development. To do this, you need to know how pests reproduce. are born, grow and feed. and when they are most vulnerable.
with sucking mouthparts (mites, aphids) and leaf-eating phytophages (moths, leaf rollers, moths, silkworms, hawthorn, lacewing, American white butterfly, or ABB). Rosaceae develop in one generation during the growing season. variegated golden and combative leaf rollers. Two or three generations per growing season are produced by currant, willow, reticulated, omnivorous and other types of leafrollers. Among the moths, the plum is damaged by the winter moth and the fruit moth. fluffy, moon-shaped and other species of this family.
Pests of the second group include codling moths - plum moth, oriental moth (it also damages shoots), sawflies, plum moth. goose and May beetles(adult insects supplement their “menu” with leaves). The most common phytophage from the second group is the black plum sawfly. In plum plantations heavily populated by the sawfly, up to 95% of the ovary falls off. Under the infected trees in the trunk circles lies a large number of fallen fruits with black exit holes on each. They were done by the larvae, leaving for cocooning in the soil after completing their development cycle.
The plum moth and plum moth, multiplying uncontrollably in plum plantations, occupy an “honorable” second place in terms of harmfulness after the sawfly. If the development of the larval stage of the codling moth takes place in the stone, then the larvae of the plum moth feed in the pulp of the fruit. During this period, they make a passage around the seed to the stalk, gnawing at the same time the vascular system in the plant tissues and disrupting the circulation of nutrients. Fruits damaged by codling moths and moths are prematurely colored purple and fall off.
The habitat of the eastern codling moth has formed; the species is widely distributed in all peach and plum growing areas. In the fight against the eastern codling moth. in addition to spraying with chemicals, they are effective mechanical methods- if damaged, wilted shoots of all fruit crops (especially peach) are cut out and burned in a timely manner, this will limit the number of the pest.
Scale insects and false scale insects are included in the third group of phytophages. They suck juices from the leaves and bark of branches, which leads to drying out and death of young trees. As a result of the toxic effect of the saliva of the Californian scale insect, longitudinal and transverse cracks appear on the trunk and branches. When feeding, the acacia false scale excretes a large amount of honeydew, on which sooty fungi then develop, contaminating the leaves and branches.
The California scale insect and the American white butterfly are quarantine pests - if they appear in fruit plantations, protective measures must be taken regardless of the number of individuals.
WHEN TO START SPRAYING A PLUM OR DO YOU COUNT EVERYTHING!
In order to carry out all the necessary protective spraying on time, it is necessary to rely on indicators of the economic harmfulness of pests (Table 1). The number of pests is determined visually by shaking them off trees, as well as installing and periodically cleaning pheromone traps. Before each spraying, which is carried out during the growing season, the degree of damage to trees by pests is first examined and it is decided whether it is advisable to treat the plants with chemicals.
The number of fruit sawflies is determined during the white bud phenophase, until the air temperature exceeds 10 °C. To do this, in the morning, when adult insects are inactive, they shake the tree branches and count the fallen individuals. More effective method control the development of this pest - white glue traps. If the number of adults in the trap exceeds the threshold (Table 1), then treatment is necessary. After treating plums with Aktara preparations 25% w.c. g. or Confidor Maxi (Table 2). which is carried out against sawfly adults before plum blossoms, repeated treatment (against larvae after flowering) is no longer necessary, since these drugs have a long period of action (21 days).
Owners of country houses and personal plots sometimes it is difficult to decide on the advisability of treatments against the plum moth - they simply do not have enough data for this. Firstly, in order to predict the number of pests in the current season, you need to know how many insects there were in the previous one. Secondly, the number of codling moth butterflies during the growing season is determined using pheromone traps. They allow you to control the population density of a species and signal the need protective measures, If quantitative composition butterflies exceeds the economic threshold of harmfulness (ELT).
If pheromone traps are not freely available, you can rely on the first indicator - the degree of harmfulness of the species in the previous year. If 2% of the crop was damaged, then this year anti-codling moth treatments are necessary. For spraying to be effective. It is important to set the processing time correctly. The basis for their determination is the phenophases of fruit trees, weather indicators and direct observations of pests.
The period of spraying against the plum moth is determined by the sum of effective temperatures of 200 °C (threshold 10 °C), at which the first generation caterpillars begin to hatch. Against this pest, in addition to Matcha, Lufox and biological products (Table 2), pyrethroids are also effective - Decis Profi, Karate Zeon, Arrivo, Fastak, approved for sale to the public. There is a limiting factor in their use - the air temperature should not rise above values 20 ° C. At more high temperature ultraviolet rays destroy active substance drugs and their effectiveness decreases. Insecticides from the pyrethroid group should be used during the hatching period of moth caterpillars, in the morning or evening time days.
According to the experiments of scientists at the Institute of Horticulture, drugs of a new group - regulators of insect growth and development (Match. Lufox) are very effective against lepidoptera, and their effect does not depend on weather conditions. The duration of the toxic effect of Matcha and other insecticides of this group is 28-35 days after their use. The match is effective against caterpillars of codling moths, leaf rollers, moths, and mites. The effect of the drug is manifested in the inhibition of chitin synthesis in caterpillars during the transition from one age to another; as a result, the treated individuals cannot complete this process and die.
The spectrum of action of the drug is expanded due to the ovicidal effect - when females lay eggs on the pre-treated surface of leaves or tree bark, caterpillars do not hatch from them. Match, 5% k.e. and Lufox 105 EU, k.e. should be used on plum varieties of different ripening periods at the end of May - the first ten days of June, during the peak summer of butterflies, mass oviposition and hatching of caterpillars. Plum plants of medium and late dates ripening is sprayed a second time (with one of the above insecticides) 28-35 days after the first treatment. Late varieties Plums are sprayed against the plum moth three times during the growing season.
Among the diseases that affect plums, the most common are cleasterosporiasis (hole spotting), fruit rot, red spotting (polystigmosis), cytosporosis, rust, gommosis (gum disease), plum pockets, plum pox or plum pox ( viral disease). In all plum growing regions, clusterosporiasis “dominates”. Polystigmosis affects trees mainly in the southern regions. Other pathogens of plum diseases are found everywhere, to varying degrees.
To obtain stable and high-quality fruits, scientists recommend an integrated protection system (IPS) for plums, developed at the Institute of Horticulture. It is aimed at combating both pests and diseases, and takes into account the characteristics of their development and spread. According to the IZS, highly effective drugs are used to protect the garden.
ECO-METHODS FOR PEST CONTROL OF PLUM
For connoisseurs of environmentally friendly products, there is a simple method of protecting fruits using microbiological insecticides. Bitoxibacillin (BTB), lepidocide, and gaupsin are effective against plum moth and other species of lepidoptera. The production of these environmentally friendly and highly effective drugs They are seriously engaged in the Odessa Engineering and Technology Institute "Biotechnics", at the Institute of Plant Protection (Kiev), as well as in some regional plant protection stations. The drugs are available in liquid form, with a consumption rate of 100 ml per 10 liters of water. Two treatments are carried out against each generation, with an interval of 8-10 days.
If possible, you should abandon the use of chemicals against plum moths or reduce their quantity and rate of application (the so-called economically feasible reduction), since insecticides applied in the summer destroy beneficial insects that can keep populations of mites, aphids, and leafminers on sub-threshold level.
Goldentail
To reduce the consumption of chemical insecticides, herbal preparations with insecticidal properties are used. Hot peppers are effective against aphids and codling moths. (1 kg of fresh or 0.5 kg of dry pods is poured into 10 liters of water, kept for two days, boiled for 1 hour, cooled and left for two hours). The prepared broth is stored in dark place in well-sealed containers. Before flowering use 0.2
l of concentrate, after flowering - 0.1 l per 10 l of water. A decoction of wormwood is also used as an insecticide. To do this, during the flowering period, the leaves and upper parts of the plant are collected, then half a bucket of fresh or 700-800 g of dried mass is poured into 10 liters of water, left for 24 hours, boiled for 30 minutes, cooled and 10 liters of water are added.
ADDITIONAL MEASURES FOR PEST CONTROL OF PLUM
When carrying out protective measures on fruit-bearing plums or other crops, it is advisable to use pesticides and mineral fertilizers together. Tank mixtures of insecticides, fungicides and fertilizers are simultaneously effective against insects and pathogens, have a wide range of protective effects, and prevent the emergence of resistant populations pests, create favorable conditions for plant development.
Combined compounds of insectofungicides with mineral fertilizers (nitroammophosphate, urea or ammonium nitrate) are highly effective. Using mineral fertilizers with a consumption rate of 30-50 g per 10 liters of water, the technological quality of the working solution improves - suspensions and emulsions are more stable, they better wet the leaf surface and “stick” well, remaining on it. By adding fertilizer to the working solution, you can reduce the consumption rate of insecticides by 20-30%.
In addition to protective measures, it is important to maintain agricultural technology high level. Care fruit trees includes watering and fertilizing. Plants need an additional portion of moisture in the summer, in the heat, and in late autumn they also need moisture-replenishing watering. Fertilizer feeding (root and foliar) improves the physiological state of trees and increases their resistance to adverse environmental conditions.
In addition to biological, chemical, mechanical and agrotechnical methods of protection important place Immunological also occupies a place in the IRS. By cultivating plum varieties that are resistant or tolerant to one or more types of pests, it is possible to reduce the number of protective sprays and still obtain good harvests quality fruits.
The plum borer massively damages the fruits of the varieties Vengerka azhanskaya, Stakhanovka, Vengerka kozievskaya, Katerina, Velyka sonya, Pombrion, Perdrigon mugasty, less so - Renklod green, Vengerka opishnyanskaya. Victoria, weak - Peach, Early, Edinburgh, Hungarian Italian, Prince, Anna Shpet.
The plum varieties Renklod Kievskiy, Ugorka Azhanskaya, and Anna Shpet are relatively resistant to klyasterosporiosis.
The varieties of plums most vulnerable to plums are common Vengerka, Empres, Vengerka Italiana, and Renklod collective farm. Chachanskaya Rodna and Hungarian Wangenheim are relatively stable. Kirke, Valor, Oneida, Early blue, Herman, Renklod Ulena, Anna Shpet, Hungarian Azhanskaya. The varieties Rutgersteter and Renclad Altana are tolerant. Renklod Kyiv, Opal, Stanley, Sanctuss gubertus, Chachanskaya naiboliya, Chachanskaya lepotika, Chachanskaya early, Ganita, Top, Voloshka, Oda, Titmouse.
Plums have many pests, but the greatest damage is caused by those that spoil the fruit.
- Plum moth
The pest spends the winter under the bark or in the cracks of a tree in the form of a caterpillar. With the arrival of warmer weather, it pupates, and small brown butterflies appear during flowering. They lay white-green eggs on set fruits or the undersides of leaves. This continues until August (in warm latitudes the cycle is repeated twice).
Pests pupate and overwinter in the ground at a depth of up to 20 cm. In early spring, when upper layer the ground warms up to +8–10 °C, adult insects - small flies - fly out.
Sawflies destroy flowers the hardest, starting with the very early varieties, lay eggs in them. The caterpillars appear along with the fruit setting, first eating them completely, and then, when the plums become larger, they penetrate inside and eat away the pulp around the pit. Affected plums fall off.
- Plum papilion
Adult insects do not harm plants, but the fight in early spring begins with them in order to scare them away from planting.
How to spray plums in spring?
The first necessary measure is to treat plum plantings with fragrant solutions and infusions with the arrival of warmer weather, even before flowering, to repel adult insects. For these purposes the following are used:
- wormwood (decoction or infusion) – 1 kg of raw material per 10 liters of water;
- pine needles - 2-3 kg of raw materials are infused for 3 days in 10 liters of water;
- soap solution (40 g of soap per 10 liters of water), to which 30 g of kerosene is added;
- For spraying, you can dilute any odorous substances in water - mustard, laundry soap, garlic, yarrow, tomato tops, tobacco dust, etc.
These products are good because they can be used many times, and treatments are stopped 3-4 days before harvesting the fruits.
Spraying with insecticides several times a season helps - “Karate”, “Calypso”, “Fufanon”, “Karbofos”, “Chlorophos”, “Benzophosphate” and others. It is important to follow the dosage and dilution methods as indicated in the instructions! On mature tree with careful processing it takes 2-4 liters, it doesn’t hurt to spray the ground around it. It is better to change the drugs every time so as not to cause the insects to become addicted.
Spraying is carried out 4 times:
- in early spring, as soon as the sap begins to flow in the trees, but the buds have not yet opened;
- at the time when the first leaves appear;
- just before flowering;
- after flowering, when the fruits have set but have not yet begun to ripen.
Repeated treatments will destroy all pests, since the period of activity is different for everyone. Spraying with chemicals later is not recommended, otherwise the fruits will be dangerous to eat.
In the fall, it also doesn’t hurt to treat plums for worms. Since pests overwinter in the garden, their population can be reduced by spraying with 1% Bordeaux mixture. This is the prevention of not only pests, but also fungi.
Additional pest control measures
Along with spraying, other methods will help in combating the pest for greater efficiency:
- removal of plant residues and weeds under and near plantings;
- periodic loosening, and in spring and autumn - deep digging of earth around tree trunks, and the radius around should be no less than the crown (in this way some pupae and caterpillars are destroyed);
- manual collection of those fruits (from trees and ground) that show signs of damage (it is better to heat-treat them - boil or burn them, but they can be buried to a depth of at least half a meter, generously sprinkled with ash or lime);
- before insects mate and reproduce, you can set traps - containers with a sweet liquid (for example, compote), in which a considerable part of the pests drown;
- feeding birds (flycatchers, starlings, sparrows, etc.), hanging birdhouses and nesting boxes around the garden;
- planting the garden with plants with a pungent odor (marigolds, mint, calendula are suitable);
- wrapping the trunk with burlap or cardboard soaked in a poisonous solution (a catching belt for worms).
Any methods will help against pests if the neighbors in the area also fight them, since all these insects can fly. And timely prevention is the decisive and most safe way preserving the harvest. Comprehensive measures will help against many pests and diseases, and by autumn plum trees will delight the gardener with their abundance.
The animal world is organized according to a cruel principle: one eats the other.
Plants are also living beings; predators are rare among them. But they themselves are food for numerous vegetarian lovers.
The plum is adored not only by people and birds, who do not harm it.
Gardeners know how very disappointing it can be when plum pests destroy a crop grown with love.
To avoid this, listen to the advice.
Characteristics of plum pests
Most insects that harm plums stay close to their “dining room”.
They overwinter on a tree or colonize the soil underneath it, and in the spring they immediately attack the garden pet. She sometimes has to suffer from several types of uninvited guests at once.
She can’t feed everyone, she needs ours urgent help. To cope with the invasion, it is necessary to “know by sight” the voracious aliens.
Ticks
Plum gall mite
The gall mite was named for its remarkable ability: it forms growths - galls at the base of young shoots. This is the home of ticks; inside the galls there is a whole cluster of them.
Gall mites are serious pests of plums. After overwintering in the galls, they begin to feed, damaging young shoots.
They wake up early, +15° is already the “working” temperature for ticks. They form new dwellings; these galls are clearly visible and stand out in a bright, red-brown color.
By summer, the galls “camouflage” - they take on the color of the bark on which they formed. Ticks feed on the sap of the shoots, young branches dry out and die.
In two to three seasons, the death of the tree is possible.
It is not easy to fight a tick; it is protected, hidden in its house. Over the summer, several generations hatch, and they live and feed in the same gall.
But the biology of the pest requires its relocation in the spring. The mite emerges from overwintering areas, finds live buds and invades them.
For two weeks, while it is busy “moving,” the tick is open and vulnerable.
Red fruit mite
A very common harmful insect. Measuring just under half a centimeter (0.4 mm), the bright red female is very fertile.
It lives for a month and manages to lay a hundred of the same red eggs. It gradually becomes brown in color.
Eight generations of mites per season greatly deplete the tree. These plum pests do not spare it.
In summer, the eggs are visible on the lower plate of the leaf; they are located closer to the food. Eggs intended for wintering are prudently laid on shoots.
When there are many of them, the tree looks red after the leaves fall.
Nature has provided for everything: the larvae hatch just before the plum blossoms. When the flowers bloom, the mite is already mature.
The leaves appear and immediately become food for the fruit mite. The leaves dry out, the plums that have had time to set fall off or grow small and wrinkled.
Yellow plum sawfly
The insect is inconspicuous, yellow-brown, up to half a centimeter long. A seemingly harmless small “fly” with transparent wings.
Don’t be touched by this graceful insect, rejoicing that it’s warmer. Just by the word “sawfly” it is clear that it has a hard time on the plum tree.
The pest does not saw the trunk; the larva eats the ovaries. The sawfly year begins before the plum buds open.
This beautiful fly (each of them!) will lay fifty eggs in the middle of the flowers. Maybe more - up to 60.
He cuts a bud and puts an egg into each one. After a week and a half, slippery yellow-brown “tadpoles” - larvae - will emerge.
The appetite of young sawflies is excellent: each larva is capable of destroying five fruits during its growth.
If you don’t help the plum tree, it won’t have enough fruit for all this voracious company.
We help like this:
- In our garden we focus on biological products (entobacterin or lepitocide). We destroy wintering larvae using the usual method: digging up the surface layer of garden rows and especially - tree trunk circles. Digging - late autumn. Then many plum pests of all kinds, who have settled down for the winter next to the tree, will freeze to death.
- Watch the buds pop out. Before flowering, sawflies sit on the branches and wait. Pick a cloudy day, lay down some bedding and shake the tree. Frightened sawflies will be trapped and can be easily destroyed. This is a mechanical method. Manual, but very effective work.
- In case of severe damage, sometimes it is necessary to use organophosphorus pesticides, these are: metaphos, karbofos, and other derivative groups. But this is a last resort measure. It works effectively and decomposes into harmless components relatively quickly. But there is toxicity, it’s not for nothing that insects die.
- You can try to confuse the insects. Without waiting for the sawfly to fly out, a little earlier, treat the plum with fragrant infusions. Wormwood is suitable: wormwood has a pungent smell, not like plum. It’s even simpler: dilute pharmaceutical pine concentrate, which is used for baths, and spray the plantings. Plum pests do not consider spruce food and will be disoriented.
Black plum sawfly
The pest is similar to the yellow one, even the size of adult Hymenoptera is the same - 5 mm.
But the wings are transparent - black, with brown veins clearly visible on them. The body is also black.
Only the female lays fewer eggs than yellow sawflies - up to 30.
But thirty plums stolen from the harvest by each successor of the family is a considerable amount.
Larvae are white with green tint or yellow. They feed on the pulp, get to the bone, and touch it.
The plum is falling. At this point, the larva is well-fed and ready to pupate. All that remains is to crawl into the ground and do it.
They fight against the black sawfly using the same methods that are listed for destruction - the yellow one.
Plum pollinated aphid
These aphids have many faces. They differ in appearance and function in the colonies they form.
Aphids, like other plum-damaging insects, time their appearance to coincide with the flowering of the tree.
Only the emergence of female founders occurs at the end of flowering. They are wingless and light green in color.
They settle in colonies at the bottom of the leaf, causing the leaves to curl downwards. Wingless foundress aphids give birth to winged females and males several times during the warm season.
The harm of aphids is great: they suck the juice from leaves and fruits, and the tree withers. Aphids secrete a sweet liquid that ants love so much.
But this sweet environment is also favorable for feeding pathogens of fungal diseases. They “eat up” the fruits that the aphids did not have time to eat.
Treating plums against aphids will give results if it is timely. Spraying should begin early, before the buds open.
From home remedies, use the best available: ash-soap solution. Ash is an alkali, it burns the loose covers of aphids, destroying them. Soap helps the homemade preparation stick to the branches.
More treatments are needed: one after bud break, the second after flowering. It is recommended to spray with 15% karbofos, depending on the situation.
When the infestation is not severe, try to stop the pest without poisons.
Suitable:
- Ash-soap solution. Pour a bucket of boiling water over the ash (kilogram). Leave for two days, add 100 g of dissolved soap to the strained infusion. Top up to 10 liters and spray the plum as needed.
- Infusion of marigolds. Marigolds are dried whole. To process plums, fill a bucket halfway with marigold grass. Pour boiling water to the top and leave to steep for two days. Aphids cannot tolerate the pungent odor of this plant. Strained infusion with the addition of 50 g of soap (laundry) - effective remedy from plum aphids.
- Laundry soap solution. A two-hundred-gram piece of laundry soap in a bucket of water will help organize an uncomfortable shower for the aphids. She probably won't want a repeat. Rub the soap and it will dissolve easier.
- Orange peel. A kilogram of dried peels, filled with warm water, is infused in warmth and darkness for three days. Take a bucket of water. The solution is ready for spraying.
Any of the products must be applied so that they “get” the bottom of the leaf, where the harmful aphids are located.
The families of most other plum pests will not like these compounds either.
Common plum moth
Despite all the “ordinariness,” the pest is unusually voracious, which is also reflected in the name.
If you see a drop of gum on a plum fruit, a codling moth caterpillar is probably in charge there.
The moth itself is a nondescript gray butterfly with a brown tint. It is similar to a moth (house moth), but larger: its wingspan in summer with open wings reaches one and a half centimeters.
The awakening of butterflies is also focused on plum blossoms.
The eggs of the plum moth are beige-milky, with a green tint. She puts them away - at night, for each one she chooses a “personal” plum, separate.
Occasionally, a second and third egg can be placed there. Can populate fifty fruits. A few butterflies, and the harvest is no longer yours.
Lays eggs on shadow side- bottom. The years of butterflies are extended - up to two months. The period is determined by the climate of the region: below +14° the female stops laying.
The hatched dirty white caterpillar examines the fruit and selects the entry site. He does this thoroughly - he can crawl along a drain for several hours.
Having found a convenient place, it weaves a web around it and crawls under it. Gnawing through the peel, it prudently does not eat it: having made its way inside, it closes the “door” with the peel.
The plum is trying to heal the wound and secretes gum. From this trail it is clear: there is an uninvited guest inside.
While feeding, the caterpillar changes color: it turns red. She makes her way to the place where the petiole is attached. If the plum fruit is unripe, it gnaws through the pit.
When ripe, the flesh near the seed is eaten away, leaving excrement everywhere along the way.
The moth fattens like this for about a month, then gnaws through the attachment of the stalk. If there is a touching fruit nearby, the caterpillar will move there too.
After finishing the feeding cycle, the caterpillar emerges and pupates. It is interesting that even in warm climate zones, some pupae go into hibernation for future overwintering.
The remaining butterflies fly out and continue to reproduce. Plum pests know how to play it safe.
Knowledge of the biology of the pest makes it easier to plan measures for its destruction.
Control measures include methods:
- Biological.
- Attracting entomophagous insects. Sow plants in the garden that attract entomophages (buckwheat, phacelia, clover). Plant flowering shrubs. Entomophages - beneficial insects that destroy harmful ones - need nectar and these fruit pests themselves. Trichogramma, Elasmus - these entomophages are specially bred, and then gardens are populated with them. In addition to the ordinary Trichogramma, there is even a codling moth (yellow codling moth Trichogramma). She lays eggs directly into the moth's egg clutches. At the same time, it also frees the garden from leaf rollers.
- When using beneficial insects, remember that they are vulnerable to poisons; do not poison them with pesticides. During treatments, entomophages die along with the pests.
- An old method is baiting female codling moths. Jars with fermented compote, beer, and yeast fermentations are hung in the crowns. You can use kvass. Butterflies fly to the smell and drown. In the morning the “catch” is removed, it is better to cover the jars. In the evening the traps open.
- Night (or twilight) smoke from compounds toxic to the codling moth. Mix straw with tops of tomatoes, potatoes, nightshade, wormwood - whatever you can find at home. Lay out in piles or rows. You can add manure. Task: to organize the smoldering of the mass. The smoke will be toxic to the codling moth and other insects. The plum pests will partially die, the rest will prefer to leave. Two hours of smoking is enough. It is advisable to repeat the dose periodically during the summer.
- Chemical method. If you choose it, look for modern, possibly gentle plantings, beneficial fauna and you.
The following scheme is effective:
- With the beginning of the summer of the plum moth, plum processing begins immediately. It is not difficult to determine the days when the first females emerge. Place fermented compote or kvass in an open container in the garden. Wait for the catch. The first “butterfly in compote” is a signal to start processing.
- Use drugs of the pyrethroid class. The group got its name from chamomile (pyrethrum). Paralyze insects. Their advantages:
- Similarity in action to natural protective substances;
- Selective toxicity or selectivity - while affecting pests, beneficial insects and fish are spared;
- Minimally toxic - valuable for the gardener himself;
- Reliable adhesion;
- Resistance to the light effects of the sun;
- They are not washed off by rain.
They performed well in gardens: permethrin, cypermethrin.
Neonicotinoids are another group of insecticides that eradicate pests with minimal inconvenience for the gardener. They are good:
- Active action against pests;
- Selectivity;
- Economical;
- Neonicotinoids are not volatile;
- Not dangerous to humans;
- Stands, last a long time.
These include: Confidor, Actara, Mospilan, Calypso - these drugs are used in Russia.
Pyrethroids and neonicotinoids can be combined to enhance their effects.
- Repeat treatment after three weeks with a combination of other drugs. The hormonal (for insects) insecticide “Sonnet” disrupts the synthesis processes of the codling moth, and it dies. The neonicotinoid “Bankol” has a paralytic effect, and codling moths of any age die. These drugs are compatible.
- Do not neglect environmental methods; combine them with “chemistry”. Carry out and handmade described above.
Wrinkled sapwood
A seemingly harmless insect causes a lot of damage to a tree. After overwintering under the bark, the larva pupates in the spring until May.
Then the beetle flies out. Extended years - a month and a half.
The beetle itself damages the vegetating plum: it gnaws out depressions along the trunk. Favorite places are closer to the buds and branching shoots.
Plum pests vary greatly. The female penetrates the bark and makes a uterine passage up to 3 cm under it. This is the mating room.
On both sides of the gnawed passage, the female makes further indentations for the eggs. Sometimes there are more than a hundred eggs. Oviposition lasts three weeks. Afterwards, the exhausted female dies, closing the opening to the uterine canal with her body.
A week later, the hatched white, brown-headed larvae are already boring holes under the bark in all directions.
They pupate by July. Another two-week cycle and new beetles fly out. They feed and lay eggs.
The next generation of larvae, having gained mass, goes into winter without pupating. In the spring the cycle will repeat.
In the fight against sapwood, take into account:
- It will not settle on a healthy tree. Weak branches damaged by frost or improper care should be removed - prevention is better than war against a pest.
- Damaged branches are noticeable. Cut out and burn these along with the wintering sapwood - before the beetles fly out.
During the summer season, use insecticides. Then the beetle will hide.
Gypsy moth
The butterfly is large – the wingspan is 8 cm. The color is light brown, with ornaments. The caterpillars are also large – 7 cm.
Polyphagous: they attack stone fruits, pome fruits, and berry crops. Caterpillars are “fluffy” - covered with hairs.
Oviposition of butterflies is record-breakingly prolific: a female can lay up to 600 eggs.
Places them everywhere: suitable places– stumps, fences, walls outbuildings, tree trunks. They spend the winter there.
The caterpillars hatch and eat leaves in the spring, and by summer they pupate directly on the tree.
Due to their hairiness, they “fly” - the wind carries them easily for kilometers. The summer of butterflies is in the middle of summer. Then the cycle repeats.
You have to fight more manually. Found clutches of eggs are scraped off and burned.
Before the plum blossoms, in the spring, you can treat the garden with insecticides, taking into account their toxicity.
Permethrin, its combination with mospilan, or other combinations of drugs from the modern pyrethroid group with neonicotinoids are suitable.
General rule: insecticides are not used during the flowering period.
Caterpillars are collected by hand and glue traps are placed on the trunks.
Plum papilion
Polyphagous pest of the Hymenoptera family. A small fly half a centimeter long. Black color. Two pairs of transparent wings with black veins.
It affects stone fruits; plums are mainly included in the diet of the fat plant (hence the name).
The centipede flies out after it blooms. She needs an ovary - eggs are laid there, in the very bone, while it is soft.
The harmfulness is great: one female - 40 eggs, the same number of damaged plums.
White legless larvae gnaw the bone completely. The plum falls off along with the larva. The larva overwinters in fallen fruit.
Having finished feeding, it pupates. The color of the pupa is white; it turns black before the fatty leg emerges.
The fight against the fatty leg begins with mechanical methods. Collect all fallen fruits and seeds on the ground.
They inspect the tree and remove damaged plums. What is collected is burned.
General measures are also used: digging up the garden (preferably twice: in autumn and spring), traps with fermented liquid.
It is important to strengthen the plum and follow agricultural practices.
Of the chemical and biological methods, the same ones as those described for the codling moth are effective: plum pests are powerless against them.
Rose leaf roller
A small butterfly of a brown, inconspicuous color. It does not harm plants itself, but its offspring (caterpillars) are extremely voracious.
It affects plums and other stone fruits. Caterpillars eat everything: buds, fruits, leaves. Sometimes even young bark and upper layers of branches.
When the leaf roller invades, the leaves curl, which gives the insect its name.
The summer of butterflies is from late spring until almost autumn. You will have to track the pest all season and fight it.
Twisted leaves, inflorescences folded into clumps, ovaries in a web are signs of a leaf roller on the plum.
Control is always based on the biology of the pest:
- The leaf roller overwinters under old bark in the egg phase. This fall, the bark is carefully scraped off and burned along with the collected leaves.
- The autumn whitewashing of the trunks should be supplemented with the spring whitewashing of leaf rollers until summer. In spring, whiten the skeletal branches as well.
- During the growing season - collecting and destroying curled leaves, hanging baits (kvass, compote), twilight smoke in the garden.
Bacterial preparations are better: bitoxibacillin, fitoverm. Although harmless to humans, they infect and destroy the leaf roller.
Traditional methods - as against the codling moth. You can add an infusion of horseradish roots to them.
A kilogram of roots per bucket of water - leave for two days. Boil and let stand again for two days.
The resulting infusion is a concentrate and will last for a long time. Take 120 g, dilute it with a bucket of water, and you can spray the plum. Add a little soap for stickiness.
Several applications will be required (every 15 days approximately).
Whatever plum pests try to enter your garden, they can be stopped.
Prevention is preferable, so it is advisable to follow all the agricultural practices recommended above.
A well-kept garden is easier to maintain. Help the trees in time - they will thank you with excellent juicy fruits.
See you soon, dear readers!