How to effectively deal with aphids on cherries with drugs and folk remedies
With the appearance of juicy foliage on cherries, the summer resident is faced with pests and diseases. The most common insect pesting on fruit crops is aphids. She lives in colonies, feeds on plant sap from leaves, juicy young shoots. How to deal with aphids on cherries - this question interests every gardener, since many radical measures do not help.
Description of insects
The appearance of aphids can be detected by the black color of the shoots and leaves, which curl up strongly. The problem of damage to cherry, sweet cherry and other fruit trees lies precisely in the quantitative characteristics of the population. After all, they live in the tree in thousands.
In addition, in the process of their vital activity, pests produce a sweetish juice called a span. The span attracts other insects. Usually, where aphids are found, ants are always present in the neighborhood, which are not averse to feasting on aphid milk.
Since autumn, insects lay eggs on the host plant, in this case it is a cherry, and in spring, with the arrival of heat, the larvae hatch and begin to eat buds, milk leaves, and growing shoots. When the colonies eat everything, they begin to fly from one bush to another. It is important here to process all the plantings in the garden at once. Otherwise, you will not be able to expel the enemy from your territory. Do not forget about ants, they are also worth fighting with.
How dangerous is aphid
The insect is indifferent to the fruits, but if it has already settled on cherries, then goodbye foliage and young shoots. It completely de-energizes the green mass of the plant from the juice. The leaves begin to curl, the buds dry out and fall off. The remaining flowers develop poorly, the fruits grow clumsy, defective.
All these results of pest activity lead to a sharp decrease in the berry yield. Aphids are especially dangerous for young bushes or newly planted seedlings. The trees affected by aphids become sick, weak. They do not tolerate wintering well, and some may freeze.
It should be added to everything that weak cherries become more vulnerable to viral diseases. When insects pest, the foliage is abundantly covered with a sticky sweet bloom, which subsequently forms a crust. Thus, the plant receives a minimum amount of oxygen, and fungi of various etiologies settle on the foliage and bark of the tree.
Reasons for the appearance of aphids on cherries
You are probably wondering why aphids appeared in the garden? And there may be several reasons:
- Strong weediness of the garden area.
- The presence of ants.
- The cherry tree is strongly weakened.
In a garden overgrown with weeds, there is a lot of room for the development of pests and diseases. And aphids are among them. In the fall, eggs can be laid on weeds; if you do not get rid of them, then the parasite will attack in the spring. Winged individuals fly to fruit crops and begin to eat them en masse.
You've probably heard the phrase that ants milk aphids? This is how it happens. In the fall, ants stock up on aphid eggs, hiding them in the soil, and in the spring they take them out. Aphids begin to develop and secrete a span on which the ant family feeds. Here is such a symbiosis. In this case, all fighting forces must be directed to the destruction of ant colonies.
Signs of pests
It is very easy to detect and recognize aphid pest:
- the presence of twisted leaves;
- the presence of a colony of ants next to a cherry bush and on it;
- the current growth of shoots is densely covered with aphids, which makes it appear black;
- there are clouds of flying aphids near cherries and in the garden;
- the leaves become sticky to the touch.
It is quite easy to distinguish black aphids on cherry leaves from other harmful insects. The insect has a plump, almost transparent body on thin legs. The head has two large eyes and a pair of antennae in front. Sometimes there is a green insect. Some individuals have wings.
How to deal with parasites
When aphids appear on cherries, the measures to combat which we will highlight below, do not panic. The disease is treated simply, but in several stages. An integrated approach is important here, that is, the use of several effective techniques.
Mechanical method
The mechanical method will save cherries to a lesser extent. But if you combine it with spraying, the result will be positive. This method involves removing the lesions affected by aphids. Not lignified endings of shoots, leaves, inflorescences are cut off.
Important! You cannot break off, as you can harm the cherry: violate the integrity of the bark, accidentally cut off the entire shoot or break it. It is also not recommended to crush aphids; it is better to lower them into a container of water and cover with a lid.
Biological
Some gardeners do not practice the manual method and the processing of cherries with chemistry, since chemical elements penetrate the cherries, and when manually harvesting, branches and leaves can be damaged. The biological method is to attract birds or insects to the garden, which destroy pests. This method of struggle is absolutely safe, both for cherries and for humans.
Destruction should begin at the moment when the aphids proliferate as much as possible. To do this, in specialized stores they buy insects that eat the pest and release them into the garden. These "useful" insects include:
- wasps;
- hover flies;
- ladybugs and their larvae;
- lacewing.
Birds can be an alternative to beneficial insects. They are specially attracted to the garden, arranging all kinds of feeders, houses. These can be simple sparrows and tits, robins and beetles, like small birds that feed on insects.
This should also include the cultivation of some fungi that secrete bacteria that infect aphids, after which the insect dies. These bacteria are called avermectins. In addition to adult specimens, they actively eat aphid eggs. Such a means of struggle is Nemabakt.
Technological method
This method involves planting plants that have a negative impact on pests. These are usually strong-smelling herbs and flowers. Under the cherry you can place:
- onions or garlic;
- fennel;
- fragrant or spicy herbs;
- tagetes (marigolds), dalmatian chamomile, pyrethrum.
These plants are carriers of pyrethrins - insect repellent substances.
Chemical methods
The use of chemical preparations for black aphids on cherries can have both pros and cons.Insecticides work very effectively against aphids, but they can accumulate in different parts of the cherry, including the fruit, making them unusable for some time.
It is customary to use pesticides 20 days before flowering and 20 days before the main harvest. This technique is necessary to protect children from eating harmful berries and bees that pollinate cherries.
What drugs are used to treat cherry bushes:
- Aktara;
- Actellik;
- Inta-vir;
- Bi-58;
- Spark;
- Aktofit;
- Confidor.
These general action insecticides will help get rid of not only aphids, but also other pests. It is recommended to carry out two processing of the bushes, with a break of 10 days. The working fluid should be prepared according to the instructions and used at one time, using personal protective equipment.
Traditional methods
Home remedies and folk recipes have long been successful. Before running to the store for expensive insecticides, you need to see what else you can do to help cherries. The most effective recipes are:
- A solution of laundry soap and vegetable oil. The body of the aphid is enveloped by the components of the solution and prevents the flow of oxygen into the body, and the aphid breathes through the skin. Add 2 tablespoons of grated soap and 1 glass of oil to 2 glasses of water.
- A decoction of wood ash, which is used to irrigate foliage and shoots. 1.5 cups of sifted ash are boiled in 2 liters of water. Boil for half an hour. Dilute with cold water in a bucket to make 10 liters of slurry.
- Infusion of herbs: tagetes, potato tops, tomato (foliage), yarrow. Grind, fill with water and leave for 2-3 days. Processing is carried out twice, with a break of 10 days.
- Mix 10 liters of water, 40 grams of ammonia and 2 tablespoons of tar soap. Processed in the spring, before the leaves bloom.
- Infusion of garlic. Chop the chives (2-3 pieces), add 2 large tablespoons of vegetable oil and 1 spoonful of liquid soap. All ingredients are poured into ½ liter of water and infused for several days. Then filter and dilute - 2 tablespoons of concentrate for 1.5 liters of water.
There are a lot of recipes. It can be sprayed with a decoction of onion peels, a solution of calcined salt. Some folk preparations act as foliar feeding of cherries.
Prevention of occurrence
To minimize or prevent aphids, it is important to take the following preventive measures:
- Killing weeds, especially under cherry bushes, as they appear.
- Timely processing of trees.
- Conducting regular fertilizing to keep the tree healthy.
- Destruction of anthills in the garden.
These measures are simple, but their timely implementation will preserve the fruit harvest and prevent the problem from spreading to other fruit crops.
Aphids on cherries are an ordinary phenomenon. But if you don't pay attention to it in time, the plants may die. In addition, aphids will spread to cherries, apple trees, pears and other cultivated trees and bushes. Follow the proposed measures for removing aphids on cherries and get a large harvest of fruits and berries.
