Cucumbers are one of the most favorite vegetables on our table. Many farms grow them and, probably, there is not a single dacha that does not have a neat cucumber bed growing.
It is quite difficult to obtain a rich harvest of this crop. Cucumbers are a demanding plant and very sensitive to many diseases and pests. Often these vegetables are grown in greenhouses, where harmful insects, which have the opportunity to reproduce year-round, are most active. Success in growing cucumbers largely depends on the timely detection of pests and their destruction.
Spider mites on cucumbers in a greenhouse
Signs of spider mites on cucumbers
The spider mite is an insect almost invisible to the human eye that can destroy the entire crop of cucumbers.
This is a common pest and is found not only on cucumbers, but on many other garden crops and even flowers. This small and almost invisible insect reproduces very quickly and is capable of destroying an entire plant in a short time. And if you don’t start fighting it in time, it can populate the entire greenhouse.
Pests on cucumbers - spider mites
Greenhouses and greenhouses are his favorite place. It is very warm there, almost always the temperature is around 30 degrees. And a warm climate is very suitable for the reproduction of spider mites and for the development of their larvae. Therefore, in hot weather it can also appear on ground cucumbers. It overwinters in the corners of the greenhouse or in fallen leaves, and in the spring it moves to seedlings.
The parasite feeds on the cell sap that is in the plant, thereby destroying the chlorophyll that the plant needs for life.
Damaged cells die and the plant weakens. White spots on cucumber leaves are one of the signs of spider mites. Because the tick itself is difficult to notice. After all, its size does not exceed one millimeter. First, white dots appear on the leaves, then spots appear on the underside of the leaf, and eventually the leaf turns yellow and dries out.
The second sign is that a very thin light web appears on the plant. It seems to envelop the plant like a cocoon.
Cobwebs on a cucumber are a clear sign of spider mite infestation
Other signs of this parasite are more general. These include weakness of the plant, slowing of its growth, and the base of the cucumber begins to wither and dry out.
Pest control measures
This parasite is difficult to fight. Since he quickly gets used to various poisons. Therefore, it is important to know which methods of controlling whiteflies are the most effective.
First, take a good look at the plant. Cut off the dried leaves and burn them. If the plant dries out completely, you will have to dig it up and burn it to prevent further spread of the infection. Lightly infected plants can be sprayed with chemical and organic preparations.
Biological products include substances that do not harm the plant, but kill parasites. The best of them: Fitoverm, Akarin, Kleschevit.
Fitoverm - when it gets on the body of a tick, it paralyzes its nervous system and thereby kills it.
The drug begins to actively act 6 hours after spraying in the greenhouse. In open ground after 10 hours. And the duration of its action in a greenhouse is up to 20 days, and outdoors up to 15.
The substance is quickly removed from the plant - on the third day after spraying the crop can be harvested.
But as already mentioned, the tick quickly gets used to this product, so it should be used rarely. It is best during the period of flowering and active fruiting.
Akarin - acts on parasites in the same way as Fitoverm, with one significant difference - ticks cannot develop immunity to it. Therefore, the product can be used for a long time. In the greenhouse, it begins to be active 4 hours after application.
Tick-borne ticks also act on the nervous system of the parasite, causing paralysis. The product works better in hot weather; at temperatures below 20 degrees its degree of action is significantly reduced.
In a greenhouse it lasts up to 10 days, in open ground for a week. Unfortunately, the drug does not kill larvae, but only mature individuals. And over time, they develop immunity to it. But the drug is quickly removed from the plant. The fruits can be eaten 2 days after spraying with Kleschevit.
In addition to biological products, there are acaricides. These are powerful chemicals. Floramite, Oberon, Apollo, Nissoran are the most popular of them. They guarantee quick elimination of spider mites.
Floramite - acts on ticks by increasing their activity. After some time they stop eating and die. The product is valid for 4 days, but can only be used once a year. The advantages of this drug include the fact that it is not washed off by rain for 6 hours, and the fruits can be eaten 3 days after use.
Oberon - effectively destroys ticks in all stages of growth - from larvae to full-fledged individuals. The duration of the drug lasts up to 25 days.
Apollo - the drug deprives ticks of the ability to reproduce. Destroys larvae.
It is a potent remedy and can be used no more than 2 times per season.
Nissoran - under the influence of this drug, the larvae die, but the adults do not, but they lay larvae that will not be able to reproduce. The product is effective for up to 50 days and is not addictive to parasites.
Please pay special attention that all acaricidal drugs are dangerous for people. If it gets on the mucous membrane, rinse it with running water. Treat plants only in closed clothing and gloves. Do not eat treated fruits immediately after spraying with the preparations. After handling medications, wash your hands well and rinse your mouth.
In addition to chemicals, there are also folk remedies to combat ticks. But they are used only if the area of infection is small. Among these remedies: ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, soap and herbal decoctions.
- 2 tablespoons of 3% hydrogen peroxide are diluted in a liter of water and sprayed on infected plants once a week for a month.
- 30 ml of alcohol is diluted in a liter of water and sprayed on the plants and walls of the greenhouse. This is also a nitrogen supplement for the plant.
Among the herbs, infusions of dandelion, sorrel or calendula help well in combating pests.
- 200 grams of calendula are infused in 2 liters of water for 5 days and sprayed on infected plants.
- Pour a kilogram of dandelion greens into a bucket of water and leave for 8 days, then also spray the cucumbers.
Infected leaves are treated with soapy water. To do this, 100 grams of soap are grated and soaked in 5 liters of water for 5 days.
All folk remedies are washed away by rain. And after that they must be applied again. Remember that they can only be used for mild damage; if they do not help, you should turn to other methods of pest control.
Video: Spider mites on cucumbers
Who cuts the seedlings
A problem that many summer residents face: the cucumber seedlings, which were vigorously greening in the greenhouse just yesterday, have disappeared today. Stumps stick out of the ground, and cotyledon leaves lie nearby. Unknown pests chew through the stem and snack right at ground level.
It is difficult to determine who has eaten the cucumber shoots, since it could be a wireworm or a cockchafer larva. Gray cutworm caterpillars often gnaw young stems of cucumbers; they can be found if you dig up the ground next to a dead plant.
May beetle larvae should be collected while digging the ridge before planting cucumbers. Treat the sprouted plants with onion or garlic infusion; the worms do not like them. Chemicals are more reliable means of controlling pests (khrushchev). To get rid of it, you can safely recommend the following medications to summer residents:
- Nemabact;
- Aktara;
- Antikhrushch.
Wireworm
Wireworms are found in most regions located in the temperate climate zone. A wireworm is a larva of a click beetle that lives in the soil for a long time (2-5 years). In the second year of life, the larva eats the roots of the plant, leading to its death.
The wireworm, thanks to its dense chitinous cover, can easily penetrate the stems of adult cucumbers. The main vine of the cucumber, in which the wireworm has settled, becomes bent over time and gradually dries out.
You can reduce the number of pest larvae using traps. They are arranged in the spring in thawed soil, seasoned with chopped vegetables. To save cucumbers, the drug “Bazudin” is buried along the perimeter of the ridges; it is released in powder form.
Fall armyworm
The winter armyworm is a large (up to 2 cm) butterfly with a wingspan of about 5 cm; it lays eggs on any plants, including cucumber seedlings. If the stem of the seedlings at ground level has become thin or a stump sticks out of the ground instead, it means that the young cucumbers in the greenhouse are being destroyed by the fall armyworm caterpillar.
Caterpillars can reach a length of 5 cm, they are brown or dark gray (almost black) in color. Voracious pests live in the soil, eat underground parts of plants, and primarily damage the roots. To protect the root part from the cutworm, you need to add one of the following preparations to the holes before planting the cucumbers:
- Initiative;
- Zemlin;
- Bazudin.
As a preventive measure, when digging the soil, select and destroy caterpillars and larvae. Removing weeds is also an effective preventive measure against the fall armyworm and its larvae.
Melon aphid on cucumbers
What do aphids look like on cucumbers?
There are many varieties of aphids. They differ not only in appearance, but also in the juice they consume. Cereal aphids drink the juice of rye, oats and wheat, apple aphids - fruit trees. The melon aphid feeds on the juice of cucumbers, zucchini, and melon. Its size is small - no more than 4 mm in length. The body is light green in color, oblong, pointed at the back. The legs are black, thin, rather long.
Photo from Wikimedia
These pests on cucumbers feed on the sap of the plant. Signs of their appearance are yellowing leaves, underdeveloped shoots, and drying fruits. The plant is covered with a thin, transparent film, the leaves curl up.
Fighting aphids on cucumbers
Aphids secrete a special juice called honeydew. Ants love to eat it. Therefore, they create entire colonies of aphids, protect them, and lead them to feed on tasty areas. And often, in order to remove aphids, you need to start fighting the ants.
But the appearance of aphids is not always associated with them; it happens that they themselves fly into the greenhouse. Therefore, if the presence of ants is not detected, then the infected plants can be treated with chemicals and folk remedies.
Among the insecticides, Metaphos, Decis Lux and Inta Vir work well against aphids. They are sold in ampoules or tablets, which should be diluted in water according to the instructions. This solution is sprayed on the leaves of infected plants on both sides.
The last treatment must be completed 20 days before harvest. Remember to take precautions when using these substances.
Among biological products, Fitoverm and Actofit are used. They cause less harm to the plant and are safe for humans. Parasites die from their use on the third day.
Traditional methods used:
- Solution, 7 tablespoons of 9% vinegar in a bucket of water.
- Or pour 300 grams of celandine into a bucket of water and leave for a day. Strain before use.
- You can prepare a solution from 50 grams of ash and 70 grams of grated soap. Dissolve them in a bucket of water and spray the plants. Apply the solutions once a week until the parasite disappears completely.
But we must remember that these drugs are not potent, and in case of large accumulations of aphids, chemicals should be used.
Reasons for eating cucumber leaves
Slugs love warmth and moisture, but not heat, so in places where it is warm and humid, there are usually a lot of them. In years when there is a lot of rainfall, under every leaf, under every branch and even garden tools lying on the ground, you can see dozens of these voracious pests. Even if, walking through the garden, you did not notice a single pest or its slimy trace on the leaves, you should not be sure that they are not on your site. Slugs are true nocturnal inhabitants; during the day they, as a rule, rest or move slowly in places hidden from view and the sun, but at night they come out in search of food. Slugs harm not only cucumber leaves; their diet includes young shoots of cabbage, tomato leaves, strawberries and even potato stolons. The damage begins with the fact that a round and through hole suddenly appears on the leaf, but if you do not notice the “work” of the slug in time, then only the petiole and veins will remain from the leaf.
Pests on cucumbers - thrips
What are thrips
Thrips are small insect pests. They feed on plant sap and often live under leaves.
Finding them is very difficult because they are quite small. The length of their body does not exceed one and a half millimeters. They have an oblong body, brown in color.
Pests on cucumbers - Thrips
They overwinter in the upper layers of the soil or in fallen leaves. They love warm climates and high humidity, so a greenhouse climate is ideal for them. Dry air can kill them, but not their larvae.
Although it is difficult to notice them themselves, it is impossible not to notice the traces of their presence. White spots with black dots appear on the leaves; if you do not start fighting in time, holes will appear, then the leaf will dry out.
Signs of thrips damage to cucumber
In addition to harming the plant by sucking sap, thrips are often carriers of infections.
How to get rid of thrips
There are several methods to combat them:
- agrotechnical,
- biological,
- chemical.
There are also traditional methods, but they are ineffective.
The agrotechnical method of control involves the removal of all weeds and dead grass after the end of the season. Deep digging of the earth and removal of the top layer in which parasites overwinter.
The biological method is to introduce thrips enemies – predatory mites and bedbugs – into the infected area.
But the simplest method is the use of chemical drugs against thrips, such as Karbofos, Vermitek and Fitoverm.
Cucumber mosquito
The insect becomes active in the closed ground of greenhouses in February-March. It looks like a dark gray mosquito with a brownish tint. The adult size is up to half a centimeter in length. The translucent larva looks like a white worm about 6 mm in size with a black head. They cause the main damage to cucumber seedlings by gnawing the roots of the bushes. Females lay eggs on the ground or in cracks of cucumber vines.
The pest enters the greenhouse with planting material and organic fertilizers. Damaged seedlings wither without receiving root nutrition. In addition, cucumber mosquitoes transmit herbivorous mites, viral and fungal diseases.
As a preventive measure, the most important measure is to grow strong, healthy cucumber seedlings. Weakened plants are most attractive to insect pests. In addition, the following methods are used:
- soil for seedlings and in the greenhouse is disinfected thermally (boiling water) or using chemicals;
- adult mosquitoes are caught using sticky traps;
- destroys larvae with a solution of Aktara, Actellik, Iskra, BI-58 or any other systemic insecticide;
- The glass of the greenhouse is treated with the same preparations or Thiophos.
Whitefly on cucumbers in a greenhouse
Description of whitefly
Whitefly is a moth with white wings and a yellowish body. It is no more than one and a half millimeters in length. Has small mustaches.
She prefers a warm and humid climate, so greenhouses are her favorite place to live. In the south, it can live in the ground, but in the middle zone it is too cold for it. It overwinters in compost, in uncleaned leaves in a greenhouse.
The whitefly feeds on plant sap and can literally drink them all.
The consequences of whiteflies on cucumbers are disastrous: they stop developing, become brittle, white spots appear on the leaves, then they curl up and dry out.
A sticky layer may appear on the leaves - traces of the vital activity of the parasite. This plaque attracts ants and fungi into the greenhouse. Which looks like a black coating, completely covers the leaves and prevents already weakened plants from receiving sunlight.
How to treat cucumbers against whiteflies
This parasite is very difficult to fight. Because in the larval stage they are covered with a waxy coating, and they are not afraid of chemicals. After some time, butterflies hatch from them and the whole process is repeated again. Therefore, it is easier to prevent their appearance in the greenhouse than to try to remove them later.
To begin, carefully inspect the purchased seedlings, checking the leaves above and below. Be sure to quarantine it separately from other cucumbers. If after 3 weeks everything is in order, you can plant it in a greenhouse.
Do not move plants from an already infested greenhouse to a new one. This way you can spread the whitefly throughout the entire area.
Since these moths love damp and warm areas, be sure to ventilate the greenhouse. Avoid crowding of plants.
If infection does occur. Then use chemical preparations for whiteflies such as Fitoverm, Fufanol, Karbofos. Use them according to the instructions.
Chemical preparations such as Aktelik, Kamandor and Aktara are best used only outdoors, otherwise you may inhale chemical fumes. To prolong the effect of the preparations, add soap to them for better adhesion to the leaf.
If there are few whiteflies, then you can try to get rid of it using traditional methods.
- Prepare a solution of tar soap and dilute it with water in a ratio of 1:6. Spray the plants with it every 7 days until the parasites are completely eliminated.
- Garlic solution works well to reduce the butterfly population. To do this, grate 3 cloves of garlic and add a liter of water. Leave for a day in a dark place, then strain and spray the plants.
- Yarrow infusion also helps well in the fight against this moth. Pour 100 grams of fresh herbs with a liter of warm water and leave for 2 days. Then strain and spray the plant. No more than once every 7 days.
Medvedka
One of the most common pests of cucumbers in greenhouses in central Russia. Adults survive the winter in hibernation, emerging in early spring. Moving in the ground in search of vegetable root crops, they at the same time chew through the roots of plants. The mole cricket prefers moist, warm soil rich in humus, so watered and manured beds in the greenhouse suffer more. The stems and leaves of affected seedlings gradually dry out, deprived of root nutrition.
This type of pest can be suspected of causing the death of cucumber seedlings by the presence of numerous tunnels in the soil. The best prevention in the fight against it is to thoroughly dig the soil to a depth of 20 cm. This allows you to destroy the nests, clutches and passages of the insect. If the seedlings have already been planted, various folk methods of counteraction are used:
- Soapy water (brown laundry soap is used) or a solution of water with black pepper and vinegar is poured into the noticed burrow entrances. 1-2 liters of liquid is enough for the pest to come out of its hiding place;
- They make honey traps in the greenhouse - they dig glass or plastic containers into the ground, coated with honey on the inside to a quarter of the height. Cover the top with a piece of metal and straw. The mole cricket is attracted to warmth and a sweet smell;
- The mole cricket goes just as well for beer. The bottle with it is installed in the same way, but dropped in at an angle;
- They also prepare a so-called egg dessert for it - the dried shells are crushed and mixed with homemade or unrefined (fragrant) sunflower oil. This mixture is added in the greenhouse to each hole for planting seedlings or seeds. The mole cricket does not snack on the root of the cucumber seedlings, but is distracted by a delicacy that is destructive to itself. For plants, the remains of the shell will become additional fertilizer.
A radical remedy that helps to quickly save seedlings is the drug Thunder. It is advisable to use it before the plants have been planted, but if necessary, it can be used at any stage of the growing season (it is added to the passages and burrows of harmful insects).
Flies in a greenhouse with cucumbers
Types of pest flies on cucumbers
Everyone knows what ordinary flies look like, but the pest that interferes with the growth of cucumbers is the sprout fly. This small gray fly, no more than 6 mm in length, lays larvae in the ground. This is where they spend most of their lives and eat everything that comes their way. Most often they eat seeds - they penetrate inside and eat the pulp. Such a seed, of course, will not sprout. Those seeds that survive are seriously damaged, and a full-fledged plant will not grow from it.
In cucumbers, flies penetrate the stem of the sprout and drink all the juices. Such plants dry out quickly and stop developing. In beds with a fly, the sprouts hardly sprout, or they emerge from the ground very thin and sluggish.
Protecting cucumbers from flies on cucumbers
To combat such flies, several methods are used at once: agrotechnical, biological and chemical.
Since the fly lives in the ground, it must be dug up in spring and autumn and all plant debris must be removed. Organic fertilizer should be applied deep into the soil, because most often flies lay larvae in manure remaining in the upper layers of the soil. Try to disinfect your own seeds. Or plant the seeds directly as seedlings. The fly won't be able to do anything to her.
Biological methods include introducing its enemies to fly-infested areas. Such as beetles of the genus Aleohara and ground beetles.
You can fight flies on cucumbers with chemical solutions such as Fufanol and Kemifos. Insecticides are applied to the soil and sprayed on the plant seedlings.
Traditional methods of struggle are also used: a fly in the ointment is diluted in a bucket of water and the cucumber sprouts are watered. Infusions of wormwood and tansy help well.
Whitefly
When, after touching a slightly grown cucumber seedling, a cloud of white or yellowish butterflies rises from it, this is an invasion of whiteflies. The insect loves warmth, so it spreads quickly in greenhouses. Both adults and larvae eat plant sap and leave behind honeydew on the foliage. This is a favorable environment for the rapid development of a dangerous disease of vegetable crops - sooty fungus, which can quickly destroy cucumber seedlings.
The size of white-winged butterflies is about a millimeter in length. They create clutches on the back side of leaf blades and cover them with special powdery pollen. For a month, the larvae remain there, attached to the surface of the leaf, until they pupate. In the southern regions, they easily survive the winter because they can withstand temperatures dropping to -12 °C.
Preventive measures to combat whitefly on cucumber seedlings include the following:
- in the fall, after harvesting, sulfur bombs are set on fire in greenhouses and left overnight;
- the top layer of soil in the beds is replaced with fresh one;
- Be sure to remove and burn tops and plant debris from the greenhouse.
Folk remedies are good only in the very early stages of plant damage, when single individuals are noticed on individual bushes of cucumber seedlings:
- inspect all the leaves from the back side and wash off the insects with a solution of laundry soap. In addition to removing pests, an alkaline environment suppresses the development of sooty fungus pathogens on plants;
- hang sticky traps in the greenhouse - pieces of thick cardboard or plywood measuring 20x30 cm or A4 format, painted blue, yellow or orange (these shades are especially attractive to whiteflies) and covered with a layer of honey-vaseline mixture. One such trap is enough for 2 m2 of planting;
- They make infusions and decoctions with odors unpleasant for whiteflies - garlic, tobacco, dandelion, yarrow - and carefully spray cucumber seedlings with them.
If the pest population is large, chemicals are used to save cucumber seedlings. Greenhouse posts, crossbars, containers and the plants themselves are treated with Actellik, Verticillin, Inta-Vir, Fosbecid, TAB.
Cucumber nematode
How to recognize a nematode on cucumbers
Nematodes are small worms, no more than one and a half millimeters in length. It is almost impossible to see them with the naked eye. There are many varieties of these pests. Some of them attack the stems. They live inside and feed on plant sap. They can be detected by thickenings and swellings on the stem. These blockages prevent nutrients from passing through and the plant begins to die. Some worms live in the leaves and suck out the sap. White spots first appear on such leaves, then they turn yellow and die. There are worms that live on the roots of plants, creating entire colonies there. They fill the roots and prevent nutrients from passing higher up the plant.
Signs of nematodes on cucumber roots
In addition to the destructive effects they cause themselves, nematodes carry various diseases that are dangerous to plants.
Nematode control
It is difficult to fight nematodes. You can use agrotechnical control methods: observe crop rotation, warm the seeds before planting, choose plant hybrids for planting that are not prone to this disease. Be sure to remove all plants from the garden bed in the fall; you can remove the top layer of soil and mulch the plantings.
Chemicals are divided into two types depending on the area of application. There are those that penetrate into the ground in the form of gas. These are Nemagon, Carbation and Methyl Bromide. And there is a poison that poisons parasites through the surface of the plant. Such preparations are used for spraying on the stems and leaves of plants. These are Kabofos and Phosfamide. Or they make the plant poisonous to nematodes, like Dimethoate.
But there are drugs that have a double effect; they are very poisonous, so planting can be done no earlier than 50 days after treatment or even in the next season.
There are also safe preparations made from extracts of garlic and calendula. But they have a very limited spectrum of action and are not always effective.
Oddly enough, the most effective way to combat this parasite is the folk method - pour boiling water over the garden bed before planting the plants. The worms cannot withstand high temperatures and die. But we must remember that the water temperature should not be lower than 55 degrees and it should be watered to a depth of at least 20 cm. After the procedure, you can cover the ground with film so that it cools more slowly. Most of the parasites can be killed in this way, but some may go deeper into the earth.
Who eats seedlings eats cucumber seedlings in the garden
Last year, in the greenhouse of the Rostov Botanical Garden, two acquaintances of the graduate students of the Faculty of Biology started a vegetation experiment on growing cucumber seedlings under controlled conditions of temperature and humidity.
Everything was thoroughly prepared for the start of the greenhouse experiment: high-quality varietal seeds, complex fertilizers, growth and development regulators. But there was one omission: they did not take into account the presence of pests in the greenhouse . A small thing, but one that had a big impact on the result. Cucumber seedlings were damaged by a dangerous pest of pumpkin crops - the greenhouse whitefly. In order not to repeat such mistakes, let's try to figure it out: who eats cucumber seedlings? And how to deal with the pest?
Ants in a greenhouse with cucumbers, what to do
Fighting ants on cucumbers
You can use mechanical methods to combat them.
- Dig up the ground and put the found eggs in a bucket, fill it with water and take it out of the greenhouse.
- A very effective method is to destroy the queen ant. It is larger than ordinary ants and has wings. Without it, the ant family cannot exist. But you need to dig carefully, without damaging the roots of the cucumbers.
- If there are still not many ants, you can constantly loosen the ground, not allowing them to make their tunnels.
- You can cover the ground with a thick fabric that does not allow light to pass through, such as a tarp, and press it more firmly to the ground.
Among the chemicals used are Karbofos, Gnome-2 and Muratsid. The ants cannot withstand insecticides and leave.
You can use biological methods to combat ants: plant strong-smelling plants near or in the greenhouse: mint, rosemary, lavender. Or spread out dried herbs such as garlic, wormwood, mustard.
You can use traditional methods of struggle, but they are not as effective as those described above. The easiest one is to pour boiling water over the ground where the ants are found. You can treat the soil with an oil-vinegar mixture. They are combined in equal proportions and watered, then covered with film. You can dig up the ants' nest and pour kerosene on it. Take 10 tablespoons per bucket of water. Other methods can be found in the article - How to get rid of ants on your property.
Folk remedies for insect control
In small plots, summer residents try to fight cucumber pests with folk remedies. Infusions of many plants are used: wormwood, marigolds, celandine, horse sorrel, dandelions, tobacco, onions, garlic, hot peppers, etc. Decoctions and infusions can be used once a week, repeated spraying can be done 3-4 times during the season.
Before sowing, cucumber seeds are disinfected with aloe. To do this, the planting material is kept in an aqueous solution of aloe juice (1:1) for 6 hours, washed in water and dried.
To combat aphids and whiteflies, you can use the following recipes:
Recipes for flea infusions:
Recently, the use of a 70% solution of vinegar (1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water), a solution of ammonia or hydrogen peroxide (2 tablespoons per 10 liters of water) has received positive reviews. In spring, young plantings are treated from below and above with these products.
Add 25–30 g of laundry, liquid or tar soap to decoctions and infusions for spraying plants so that the sprayed substance stays on the leaves longer.
Slugs
How dangerous are slugs for cucumbers?
Slugs are gastropods with very well-developed jaws. They are so strong that they can bite the stems of plants and bite through the fruits themselves.
Pests on cucumbers - Slugs
In addition, these parasites are very voracious. And they eat everything: fruits, leaves, stems, and even roots of plants. They also have a good sense of smell, which allows them to accurately find food.
How to get rid of slugs
At the beginning, it is worth saying that you need to use means of combating them in the evening, when slugs crawl out of their hiding places.
If there are few of them on your site, then use folk remedies. They are easy to use and effective. Place a couple of tablespoons of cornmeal in the jar and turn it on its side. Slugs love flour, but do not digest it. That's why they die after eating this kind of food.
They also love the smell of beer. Pour some into a glass and place among the cucumbers overnight. In the morning, remove the glass with the pests that have entered it and place a new one.
You can sprinkle the ground under the cucumbers with coffee grounds, since slugs cannot stand the smell of coffee and will not come close to this bed.
They also cannot stand the smell of ammonia. Dissolve a tablespoon of alcohol in a liter of water and spray the plants with this solution.
You can sprinkle the ground with something sharp, such as crushed shells. Slugs cannot crawl on thorns - this will hurt their body. To combat them, you can sprinkle the beds with pine needles, fine gravel or even coarse sand. If a toad or hedgehog accidentally gets into your garden, do not drive them away; these are excellent slug hunters and their first enemies.
If there are too many of them in your garden, then use the chemicals Thunderstorm and Meta.
You can find out about other ways to combat slugs here.
What to do, what to process
Sowing cucumbers for seedlings
A large amount of planting material is sold already processed. If the purchased seeds have an unusual color, then they do not need to be soaked in protective solutions. The remaining seeds must be treated with chemicals before sowing.
Advice. You can create a special enveloping composition from a flour paste and any biologically active protective drug. All seeds must be dipped in this mixture and then left to dry on a saucer. The prepared seed will be reliably protected from insects.
After the seedlings appear, they need to be sprayed with a solution containing a broad-spectrum chemical. If you find that someone is eating the stems or leaves of cucumbers, you need to know how to treat the plants in the greenhouse. Targeted chemicals must be used against a specific type of pest.
Black flea beetle
Signs of black flea beetles appearing on cucumbers
The flea is small in size, up to 3 mm, and has an oblong body. She has the most varied colors.
It feeds on the leaves and roots of plants. It eats holes right through in the leaves, leaving them as a sieve. It becomes active in the spring, when the soil temperature warms up to 15 degrees. And thanks to its high speed of movement and great appetite, it can eat all the cucumber seedlings.
Pest control measures
The official name of the black flea beetle is cruciferous flea beetle. This name was given to her for her love of cruciferous plants. The flea in the wild eats mainly these - cress, shepherd's purse and wild radish. Therefore, try to remove these weeds from the beds in a timely manner. You can cover the beds with dense dark fabric such as spunbond; plants will not grow under it.
Shepherd's Purse
Also, the black flea does not like strong odors. Therefore, dill, coriander, and garlic are planted in the greenhouse along with cucumbers. You can plant flowers - nasturtium or calendula.
Among the folk remedies there is a very unique method:
- Young cucumber plants are sprinkled with ash or chalk. It is better to do this in the morning, while the leaves are still wet from dew. It is believed that the flea beetle does not like dirty plants and does not touch them.
- You can sprinkle mothballs between the rows of cucumbers.
- You can spray the plants with a solution of 9% vinegar. Dilute 200 ml of vinegar in a bucket of water and irrigate the cucumbers. Instead of vinegar, you can use any aromatic oils of coniferous trees or tinctures of carvalod or valerian. 15 drops are enough per bucket.
- An infusion of tomato tops and garlic is also prepared. To do this, take equal amounts of ingredients. The greens are finely chopped and poured with 10 liters of warm water. Leave for 3 hours, filter and spray the plants. You can use a pet flea shampoo. 50 ml of this product is diluted in a bucket of water.
- You can use sticky paper. Walk along the rows, waving it and touching the plants; the fleas will jump in different directions from fright and stick to it.
Insecticides used include Arrivo, Aktara and Sherpa. They are safe for seedlings and humans.
They are used in the most extreme cases, when there are too many fleas and there is no other way to deal with them.
Spraying is best done in the evening, when pests gather on the leaves.
Do I need to control pests?
Is it possible to bury cucumber seedlings?
Chemical control of insects is carried out only if any type of pest is found inside the greenhouse. Until this point, it is necessary to carry out comprehensive preventive measures.
Note. If the enemy of cucumbers, despite all efforts, has settled inside the greenhouse, it is necessary to take urgent measures aimed at saving the crop. Otherwise, the pest will be able to destroy all the plants inside the shelter in the shortest possible time.
At best, bushes gnawed by pests will produce a very low yield. The fruits of weakened plants will have an unattractive appearance. Often, cucumbers on eaten bushes become deformed and are not suitable for preservation and sale.
The action of pests on the stem and leaves
Preventive measures against pests of cucumbers
Very often, the appearance of pests on cucumbers is the result of incorrect actions on the part of the gardener. To avoid this, follow these rules:
- Try to maintain crop rotation. Do not plant cucumbers in the same place for 3 years in a row. Alternate their planting with planting crops of the nightshade or legume family.
- Start preparing the soil in the fall - dig up the soil in the garden bed, free it from weeds. In the winter, open the windows in the greenhouse so that the ground freezes; in the spring, light sulfur bombs in the greenhouse, pour boiling water over the ground and cover it with film for 3 hours.
- Treat the seeds with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
- Weed the beds regularly. Many pests feed on weeds.
- Plant strong-smelling plants next to cucumbers: dill, basil, garlic.
- Maintain temperature conditions in greenhouses. Ventilate often and avoid high humidity.
- Tie up the cucumbers. This will make them easier to inspect.
- Pinch and pick cucumbers often. Overgrown plants create favorable conditions for diseases and pests.
- If a plant is too damaged by disease or pests, do not spare it and call it up by the roots. And then burn it. This way you can save the rest of the plantings.
- Stick to the fertilizing and watering calendar. Spray the plants periodically, for example with a solution of milk and iodine. Check their leaves often.
Diseases
Anthracnose
Round, blurry spots on the leaves, which subsequently merge and give the leaf a burnt appearance. Such leaves dry out and crumble. Sometimes mucus pads, mostly orange in color, form on the lashes and stem.
Control measures: at the very beginning of the disease, treat with the drug “Hom” or “Colloidal sulfur”. The drugs are diluted as follows: 40 g per 10 liters of water.
White rot
It appears as a white flake-like coating on which black dots begin to appear. The plant withers and dies.
Powdery mildew
It appears as a white coating on the leaves, as if the leaves are sprinkled with flour. After some time, the plants die. Favorable conditions for occurrence are low temperatures and watering with cold water.
Downy mildew
More often occurs during the fruiting period. Green oil spots appear on the leaves, which increase in size over the course of a week, the leaves turn brown, as if burned, and dry out within three days.
The reason for its occurrence is either/or a sharp change in day and night temperatures, watering with cold water or cold rain, or strong condensation on the film.
From folk remedies - spray with whey: 3 liters of whey + 1 teaspoon of copper sulfate + 7 liters of warm water. You can also spray with undiluted serum.
Brown spot
It spreads to fruits (brown sores with liquid release) when watered with cold water by sprinkling, and not to the root, as required by agricultural technology. With high humidity and a sharp drop in temperature to +12 degrees. The disease, if not responded to in time, can destroy crops and plants in 1 week.
Diseased fruits, even trimmed ones, are unsuitable for food! They are poisonous!
Gray rot
It is especially common on non-self-pollinating varieties. It appears in the form of slimy gray spots on the stems, most often near the branches, in the axils of the leaves. Favorable conditions for the development of the disease are low night temperatures, watering with cold water, dense conditions and poor ventilation. A huge number of barren flowers appear, up to 10–15 in one axil, which rot and affect the healthy stem.
Pests damaging the roots of seedlings
It is worth paying attention to insects that harm the root system of cucumber seedlings.
Cucumber mosquito
The main danger is the larvae. They are worm-shaped, white in color, and are usually transmitted with humus. They make passages in the stems and roots of cucumber seedlings. As a result, destruction and rotting of the base of the stem occurs, which causes the death of the plant.
Control measures. Plants, soil, and greenhouse glass are treated with insecticides. To exterminate the larvae, Aktara, Bi-58 and other systemic insecticides are used. Sticky traps are set to catch adults.
Root-knot nematode
These worm-like pests are typical for indoor soil. Females have a whitish pear-shaped body up to 2 mm long. Eggs and larvae are resistant to low temperatures. After overwintering, the worms make their way inside the roots of seedlings of cultivated plants. The female lays about 900 eggs. Eight generations of pests can develop in a year.
Parts of the roots affected by pests look like growths and are called galls. Plants weaken, stop growing and die. In addition, putrefactive diseases often penetrate through damaged roots, which accelerate the death of the plant.
Control measures. A positive effect is achieved by growing hybrids that are resistant to nematode damage.
Medvedka
Mole crickets are large brown insects with an elongated body and straight wings, up to 5 and even 8 cm in size. They are widespread in the regions of the central zone of the country. Adult insects overwinter by plunging deep into the soil. By the onset of spring, hibernation ends. The female lays up to five hundred eggs during one season.
They eat cucumber seedlings and mature bushes in greenhouses and garden beds. Larvae and mature individuals are busy digging up the soil and looking for food. They especially like moist soil and freshly watered beds. Moving along branched underground passages, insects cut off plant roots. Their passion for potato tubers and root vegetables is also known. Their mole crickets eat them up, gnawing out cavities, which leads to rotting.
Control measures. Having discovered insect holes, vegetable growers pour an aqueous solution of black pepper, table vinegar, and kerosene into them. Ready-made chemicals “Grom”, “Grizzly”, “Phenaxin” are also effective.
Wireworm
Wireworm is the larva of a click beetle that is found in open and closed ground in regions with a temperate climate. In this form, the insect spends a long time in the ground (2-5 years), feeding on roots and plant debris. In the first year of life, the larvae cannot significantly harm crops, but then their appetite increases significantly, which provokes disease and death of seedlings.
Control measures. To catch the larvae before planting, traps containing plant or vegetable remains are installed in the beds. The use of powdered product “Bazudin” gives a good effect.
Soil treatment before sowing seeds
Caring for cucumbers begins even before planting - with cultivating the soil at the site of future beds. The purpose of these actions is to prevent damage to seedlings and seedlings by root and basal rot. The soil may contain pathogens of fungal and bacterial infections that remained there from previous “owners” or got into the garden bed or greenhouse along with organic fertilizers. They weaken the root system of young plants and often lead to their death.
To treat the soil, use bacterial fungicides Gamair and Alirin-B. 1-3 days before sowing the seeds, dilute 2 tablets in 10 liters of water and thoroughly water the soil in the open garden bed and in the greenhouse.
Diseases of cucumbers often develop due to improper sowing. For example, cucumber seeds were sown in unheated or overly wet soil. Planting seeds too deeply into the soil also negatively affects the immunity of the crop.
House mice and voles
There is an opinion that mice eat only grain. This is not so: the animals do not miss the opportunity to feast on the fruits, and the cucumbers are eaten almost completely. You can suspect something is wrong based on indirect signs - the presence of small holes in the area. This is where the poison should be placed in order to reduce the population size in the area.
If for some reason you don’t want to poison mice, you can try to scare them away.
- As a temporary measure, you can moisten old rags with ammonia, kerosene, cologne and place them between the rows. Voles and house mice do not like these smells and will not feast on cucumbers.
- Place dried burdock or string next to the cucumber bed - mice don’t like it when something sharp hurts their skin.
- Place tansy, chamomile, coriander or wormwood along the rows. The smell of these plants repels rodents.
The measures listed above have an effect only for a short period of time. Usually after rain you need to renew the products.
If you start poisoning mice, try to lock the cat in the house and not let it outside for at least a few weeks. Otherwise, the animal may die.
Treating cucumbers against diseases during planting
Long-term protection against a large number of pathogenic fungi and bacteria will be provided by the Previkur Energy fungicide. Water the soil in the greenhouse with a solution of the drug (3 ml per 2 liters of water) immediately after sowing the seeds or 2 weeks after that for the emerging shoots.
If you grow cucumbers through seedlings, then when planting the plants in a permanent place, repeat the treatment with Baktofit (20 ml per 10 l of water) and Fitosporin-M (5 g per 10 l of water). Pour 100-200 ml of solution into each well. After 3 weeks, water the seedlings again - at the root.
Who eats the seeds
The larva of the sprout fly causes great damage to cucumbers. All pumpkin crops suffer from this pest. Many summer residents complain about poor germination when sowing seeds. In some cases, the problem is in the seed, but if it is impossible to find its remains in the hole, this means that someone is eating all the cucumber seeds.
The seeds are eaten by germ fly larvae. This insect is gray in color, its body reaches 5 mm in length, and the pest's years begin in the spring. The fly lays its clutches in damp places and prefers to lay them on manure that is poorly embedded in the soil. Larvae appear within 10 days; over the summer, up to 3 generations of the pest can appear.
On the advice of experienced gardeners, the drug “Ant” can neutralize the larvae; when you plant seeds, you need to mix it with the soil and sprinkle it on the surface of the hole.
Information about pests and methods of combating them will help you take the necessary measures in time to save cucumber seedlings.
Source
May beetle larvae
When young foliage appears on birch trees, the invasion of May beetles (they are also called beetles) begins. They eat lush greenery and mate there, on the trees. Then the queen buries herself in the ground and, having laid eggs, dies. The larvae are safe for planting in the first year, but in the second year of life, by the end of May, they become a serious threat to plantings, actively eating the roots of all plants. After three years, the larva becomes a beetle and, although it no longer harms cucumber seedlings, it switches to eating the leaves of any fruit bushes and trees.
The most harmless, but time-consuming way to combat cockchafer larvae is to deep dig the soil in a greenhouse and manually select the larvae. The following activities also help:
If such methods do not bring results, use the drugs Nemabact, Aktaru, Antikhrushch according to the instructions in the time available during the plant growing season.
Pre-sowing treatment of cucumber seeds
Further preventive control of rot and other fungal diseases consists of soaking the seeds before sowing. Treatment of cucumber seeds with biological pesticides stimulates the strengthening of plant immunity, improves their resistance to adverse factors and increases seed germination.
For pre-sowing treatment of seeds, dilute Fitosporin-M (4 g per 10 l of water) or Trichoderma Veride 471 (3 g per 10 l of water) in water and soak the seeds in the resulting solution for 1-2 hours. Baktofit (2 g per 1 liter of water) can also help against rot, in which you keep the seeds for 3-6 hours. After the procedure, drain the solution, place the seeds in the shade and dry thoroughly. Now they are ready for sowing.
Pre-soaking cucumber seeds in a solution of another biological fungicide, Sporobacterin, will help protect against a number of diseases. Prepare a 1% solution of the drug and place the seeds in it before sowing for 6 hours. Immediately sow the treated seeds in open ground.
Processing cucumbers during the growing season
The greatest number of treatments is necessary for cucumbers during the growing season, because at this time various kinds of diseases, of which cucumbers have a great variety, make themselves felt.
Control of cucumber diseases in open ground and greenhouses
The majority of cucumber diseases are caused by pathogenic fungi. With improper agricultural practices and favorable conditions, they can infect vegetables at different stages of their development. Therefore, repeated treatment of plants is often required to combat the disease.
Measures to combat powdery mildew on cucumbers
At very high temperatures (25°C and above) and especially with high humidity, the risk of cucumbers being affected by powdery mildew increases many times over. This disease does not “touch” the fruits - only the leaves dry out, but in diseased plants the cucumbers grow small and not juicy. Because of this, yields can decrease by 30%, and in greenhouses, where plants suffer from powdery mildew more often, by 60%.
To combat powdery mildew, spray cucumbers growing in open ground (optional):
If necessary, treatment with these drugs can be repeated.
Alirin-B is suitable for protection against powdery mildew and greenhouse cucumbers, just make the concentration less - dissolve 5 tablets in 10 liters of water. For closed ground, you can also use spraying with solutions of Baktofit (10 ml per 10 l of water) and Fitosporin-M (1 g per 10 l of water).
How to fight peronosporosis on cucumbers
Downy mildew (downy mildew) is considered one of the most terrible diseases of cucumbers, which in severe cases can lead to complete loss of the crop. A factor contributing to the development of the disease are drops of water (dew) that remain on the leaves of the plant for more than 6 hours in a row. Most often, plantings are affected by downy mildew at the beginning of fruiting. The disease develops very quickly: the leaves dry out, fall off, and the fruits stop developing and setting. To prevent this from happening, the fight must begin at the first signs of the disease. Preventative spraying is also recommended.
In open ground, the following drugs are used to protect against peronosporosis: Fitosporin-M (2 g per 10 l of water), Consento (20 ml per 5 l of water), Trichoderma Veride 471 (30 g per 10 l of water) and Gamair (10 tablets per 10 liters of water). Manufacturers recommend starting to use the first two drugs first for prophylactic purposes, and then repeat spraying several more times with an interval of about 10 days. The other two fungicides can be used at the beginning of flowering or fruiting, and repeated treatment after 15 days.
In greenhouses, the two-component fungicide Previkur Energy (30 ml per 20 liters of water) is used to protect plants from downy mildew. Water the plants with the solution 2-3 days after planting in a permanent place. Carry out the next waterings (no more than 5 during the entire growing season) at intervals of 2 weeks.
How to deal with white rot of cucumbers
In greenhouses, cucumbers are highly susceptible to white rot. This is facilitated by high – about 90% – humidity and fairly low temperatures. The disease can deprive summer residents of most of their harvest. To combat white rot in protected soil, use Gamair (10 tablets per 15-20 liters of water). Carry out the first spraying at the very beginning of flowering or fruiting, and repeat spraying after 15 days.
Who eats cucumber seedlings in the garden
Greenhouse owners will agree that the main pests of cucumbers that affect adult plants and seedlings are whiteflies, wireworms, mole crickets, slugs, and fall armyworm caterpillars.
How to protect cucumbers from mole crickets
Cucumbers suffer from mole crickets both in open ground and in greenhouses. The pest is especially widespread in central Russia. It is possible that you have a mole cricket if cucumber seedlings or already grown plants dry out.
