How to get rid of the comma-shaped shield on apple trees with folk and non-chemical means
When growing apples, many are faced with dangerous pests that can negatively affect the growth of trees and their fruiting. Often, gardeners have to remove the scale insects on the apple tree. This insect is difficult to spot as it camouflages well. They fight such a pest with various folk remedies and drugs. However, before using this or that control method, you should familiarize yourself in more detail with the characteristic features of the pest.
What is a scale insect and its types
The pest got its name from the fact that it has a special shield for protection. It consists of the remnants of larvae that are firmly glued together. Externally, the protective coating of the scale insects resembles dark tree bark.
Among the features of insects, they are distinguished by their small size, about 4-5 mm in length. They feed on the sap found in apple fruits and tree leaves. That is why many recommend getting rid of the scabbard immediately. If this is not done in time, then the ovaries, ripe apples and leaves will begin to darken and rot.
Signs that indicate the presence of insects include:
- cracking of the bark, which is accompanied by the falling off of branches;
- yellowing and curling of the leaves;
- slowing down the growth of trees, due to which they can dry out.
There are several types of scale insects that can appear on apple trees:
- Californian. It appears not only on apple trees, but also on many other fruit trees. When plants are damaged, black dots with light spots appear on the leaves.
- Comma-shaped. Apple comma insects are easy to spot as they are white in color. They have an oblong shape and grow up to 3-4 cm. Such insects tolerate temperature drops to 25-35 degrees below zero without any problems.
- False shield. The pest affects apple, gooseberry, currant, bird cherry, raspberry. Individuals differ from other varieties by a flat yellowish shield.
Reproduction of scale insects
For reproduction, females have to leave small oval larvae on the leaves. At a time, they lay at least one hundred individuals. After 1-2 weeks, the larvae grow up and gradually spread to other tree branches. Young individuals feed on tree sap, which they extract with the help of a special proboscis. It is gradually introduced into the surface of the leaves, after which the scabbards suck in the juice.
When the temperature drops outside, a dense shield appears on the surface of insects, which protects them from the effects of the external environment.By winter, all young larvae become adults. In the second half of March, when the sap begins to move in the trees, the scale insects are activated. New larvae are distributed over all parts of the plant, stick to the surface of the leaves and begin to feed.
If the scale insect is not eliminated in time, it will constantly multiply, and the individuals will completely cover the apple trees. This will damage the trunk and kill the trees.
Control methods
It is not easy to get rid of the scabbard on an apple tree, since it is covered with a durable shell that is able to protect individuals even from exposure to chemicals. Therefore, some gardeners prefer to manually clean the surface of the bark and leaves from insects. They are removed from most fruit trees with a scraper or an iron brush. If the branch is seriously damaged, then you will have to saw it off and burn it along with the scabbard and its delayed larvae.
In young plants, insects are removed not only by a mechanical method. In addition, the trees are treated with soapy water, which can destroy the larvae.
Before you start fighting the scabbard, you should familiarize yourself with several rules:
- first, the trees are treated with non-toxic solutions;
- plants are sprayed 1-2 times a week;
- to improve the effectiveness of the tools used, they are used alternately.
Folk remedies
Some are trying to eliminate pests on apples with special folk remedies. There are several effective remedies that will help cure trees:
- Soap solution. To prepare this mixture, mix 5-7 liters of water with three heads of chopped garlic and laundry soap. Plants are sprayed with the prepared solution five times a week until all parasites are killed.
- Onion remedy. To create an onion tincture against the scale insect, you have to grate one onion on a fine grater, stir in a liter of water and leave for 5-6 hours. After that, the liquid is filtered and used for spraying apple trees.
- Bitter pepper. When creating a solution of 2-3 liters of hot water, add 100 grams of pepper, after which the mixture is infused for 20-30 hours. Then add 20 grams of laundry soap to the filtered tincture.
Non-chemical agents for control
To eliminate apple scale insects, biological control methods are often used, which include:
- wasps, which are released on branches of apple trees, so that they begin to eat dangerous pests;
- a mixture of liquid soap, with which the surface of the leaves and twigs should be treated daily;
- neem horticultural oil, which destroys not only scale insects, but also other insects.
The above methods of control are considered the safest, since they are not capable of harming plants.
Conclusion
Scabbards are considered dangerous pests that infect apple trees and lead to their death. Before eliminating insects, you need to familiarize yourself with effective methods and methods of control that will help protect apple trees.
