Potato pests and methods of controlling them: description and treatment

Colorado beetle

The first place in the list of “enemies” of potatoes is occupied by the Colorado potato beetle. The striped orange-black insect is familiar to many summer residents for its gluttony. Having settled on potatoes, the beetle and its larvae feed on the leaves and shoots of the crop, leaving behind gnawed stems.

On a note! The pest is dangerous for all plants of the nightshade family: tomato, physalis, sweet pepper, eggplant.

The size of adult individuals (imago) does not exceed 12 mm, larvae reach 10-15 mm. Orange-colored caterpillars with a black head and two rows of black dots on the sides emerge from clutches of eggs in early summer. In their development, they go through four stages (ages), then they go into the soil and pupate.

Females lay from 300 to 750 eggs per season, the number depends on weather conditions and climate characteristics. Adult larvae crawl over plants in search of food, gradually capturing new areas of potato plantings and eating healthy bushes. Thanks to their wings, beetles fly considerable distances in search of food.

Pests are most active during the period of budding and flowering. If left unchecked, insect colonies can completely destroy potato plantings. It is difficult to fight the beetle, since the insects are resistant to chemicals and can go into diapause (hibernation) for 2-3 years, experiencing periods of hunger. Insects sense danger and at critical moments fall to the ground, pretending to be dead.

Birds, with the exception of turkeys and guinea fowl, are not interested in Colorado beetles, since a significant amount of dangerous toxins (solanine) accumulates in the cells of the pest’s body. Natural enemies that are dangerous to the larvae are ground beetles and ladybugs.

Cutworm caterpillars

The potato cutworm is an enemy of many plant crops. This is a butterfly whose caterpillars intensively eat plants such as potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, raspberries, lilies, strawberries, corn, iris, rhubarb, onions, hops, beets, cabbage, and cucumbers. It belongs to the noctuid family.

Their caterpillars feed on stems, leaves and rhizomes . They do this at night, living up to their name.

Cutworm caterpillar

Nematodes

The worst pest of potatoes (see photo) is the microscopic golden nematode. The worms, about 1 mm long, live in the soil for about 8-10 years. They overwinter as eggs and larvae in cysts, and when warmer, they penetrate into the root system of plants. Feeding on plant tissues and juices, they grow to adult individuals, which, after fertilization, lay eggs inside themselves and then die. There are several types of nematodes:

gall - damages the roots of the crop, potatoes in the ground;
stem - affects the ground part of plants, appears on tubers during storage;
soil - parasitizes the roots of potatoes.

When affected by a nematode, the bushes stop growing and turn yellow. During the flowering phase, the buds are small or absent, tubers are not formed. The pest appears when agricultural practices are violated, there is no crop rotation on the site, or when planting infected seed material

Pests in stored potatoes

Gradual warming of the climate creates suitable conditions for the development of new infectious diseases; potato pests also become more active when stored at elevated temperatures.

Potato moth

A quarantine insect that has become a real scourge of plantings in the southern regions of the country. It can often be found where vegetables are grown twice a season. In central Russia this is still a rare pest. However, widespread warming leaves no hope of localizing the insect only in the south. The damage it causes is comparable in scale to the harmfulness of the Colorado potato beetle.

Description of the insect: a small gray-brown butterfly with two dark stripes on the wings and long antennae. Its size is only 6-8 mm, it is almost invisible. Development from egg to adult takes 3-4 weeks.

Butterflies lay eggs on the underside of a potato leaf, sometimes in the ground. The eggs are small and pearly white.

Caterpillars emerge from the clutch, feed first on the leaves, and then gnaw through tunnels and move inside the tubers. Pests do not allow plants to fully develop, suppress them, and the tubers become unsuitable for food.

The caterpillars have clearly defined segmentation, a brown head, three pairs of legs, a pale gray color, and dark bristles. Body length 8-12 mm. The moth is capable of reproducing 4-5 generations per year, without pausing when the seasons change.

Important! Private potato storage facilities that do not have cooling units become a breeding ground for the reproduction and development of moths.

Treating tubers with pesticides against infection under such conditions is impossible. The pest leads a hidden life, feeds and reproduces at +8 °C.

After overwintering in a suitable warm place, the pest scatters across plantations of nightshade crops for further reproduction.

It is easier to destroy moths and their larvae in the field. You need to start with simple agricultural techniques:

select uninfected tubers for sowing;
plant to a depth of 15 cm;
burn plant residues after harvesting;
store potatoes only in disinfected cellars and basements;
grow early varieties in the infected area that are least damaged by insects.

The insecticides Lepidocide, Bankol, Fosbecid, Karbofos, Entobacterin, BI-58 cope well with moths, which are sprayed on the plant when the first signs of parasites appear.

Treatment interval – 2 weeks. Bioinsecticides Bitoxibacillin, Lepidocide must be used more often - once every 5-7 days. Only in this mode will they be effective in killing insects. They are also used to spray or soak potatoes in them before storing them in cellars.

In the fall, the site is dug up deeply, which helps destroy larvae and butterflies. Tubers are treated with methyl bromide before storage.

In spring, potatoes are sprayed with a solution of potassium permanganate. When planting, a handful of ash is added to the hole, which repels butterflies and prevents caterpillars from developing. Between the potatoes, fragrant plants are planted - calendula, basil, dill.

If a pest is detected in a storage facility, it is necessary to reduce the temperature to +2-3 °C by frequent ventilation and creating a glacier using bags of snow.

If possible, the stored tubers are soaked for 1-2 minutes in a mixture of 1% Lepidocide solution and 0.5% Bitoxibacillin, dried and returned to a disinfected storage facility. The temperature of the liquid during processing must be kept at +36 °C.

Stem nematode

These are tiny worms that damage tubers. Infection occurs through the soil. Despite its small size, the insect is recognized as one of the most dangerous quarantine pests. The worms are active throughout the season, developing in the stems of potatoes and tomatoes, feeding on plant juices. Parasites multiply quickly and remain in the soil for at least 10 seasons.

After harvesting, potatoes are clearly visible, covered with grayish spots with a metallic sheen. The upper shell begins to peel off, the pulp turns into dust. It will not be possible to store such a harvest; it will simply rot.

The harvested potatoes are sorted, discarding tubers with traces of parasite activity. The cellars are treated with a 3% ammonia solution, the walls, ceiling, and panels are whitened with 10-20% slaked lime. If potatoes are stored correctly, then recontamination does not occur.

Important! The best protection is maintaining crop rotation and planting uninfected tubers, liming the soil.

In spring, a handful of urea is added to the hole under the potatoes. In summer, it is advisable to use an infusion of chicken manure as a top dressing. The fight against the use of nematicides - substances that destroy herbivorous nematodes - has been successful. These drugs include:

Fitoverm;
Carbation;
Heterophos.

The solution or powder is evenly distributed throughout the entire area before planting and plowed.

Wireworm and false wireworm

The damage caused by the wireworm is comparable to the damage caused by the Colorado potato beetle. Wireworms are the larvae of the click beetle, which are omnivorous and damage all garden crops and cereals. Adults are not dangerous.

The larvae are caterpillars up to 2-3 cm long, with a hard chitinous covering of brown-yellow, brown color. They live in the soil for 3-4 years, damaging roots, stolons, and the lower part of plants. The larvae gnaw labyrinthine passages in the tubers, causing potato rot and spoilage. Pests carry viruses of dangerous diseases; potatoes are unsuitable for storage and food.

On a note!

The favorite plant of wireworms is wheatgrass, and the largest reserves of beetle larvae are located on land plots overgrown with this weed.

False wireworms are the larva of the darkling beetle and are very similar in appearance to real wireworms. The differences are in the life cycle, as these pests live for about a year. Plants are damaged by adult individuals, as well as worm larvae, which eat up seed embryos, roots of seedlings and stems near the root collar.

What is the most dangerous potato pest?

It cannot be said that potatoes have pests that do not pose any danger to the crop. If we consider the degree of damage caused and the speed of spread of the pest, the most dangerous of them should be identified:

Colorado potato beetle. This pest is familiar to vegetable growers in any region of the country. The damage it causes to potato plantings is very great. In addition, it is difficult to combat the pest due to the high adaptability of the Colorado potato beetle and its ability to move.
Wireworm or click beetle larva. The pest is also widespread throughout Russia, damaging not only potato plantings, but also other crops.
Potato nematode. A very dangerous pest when there is massive damage to potatoes. In this case, most of the plants are completely destroyed.

Potatoes are exposed to the negative effects of these pests at all stages of development.

Therefore, high-quality protection of potatoes from pests and diseases is possible if you have the appropriate knowledge.

Aphid

The worst potato pest, the aphid, is found in all regions. In nature, there are hundreds of varieties of this insect, differing in biological parameters. The potato aphid is a small insect, about 2-3 mm in size, greenish in color with a dark head. There are individuals with and without wings, each group has its own functionality (reproduction or movement).

Insects feed on plant sap and live in colonies on the underside of leaf blades. When potatoes are damaged, the upper tier of leaves begins to curl and dry out. The bushes wither, which reduces the crop yield. Aphids secrete honeydew, which the ants feed on and attracts flies. Sooty fungi quickly form on the leaves.

This species of aphid is polyphagous, feeding on the sap of a wide variety of crops. With a massive invasion of aphids, the threat hangs not only over potato beds, but also over plantings of tomatoes, eggplants, cabbage, cucumbers, zucchini, and roses. The danger of the pest also lies in the fact that aphids spread a large number of different viruses, infecting healthy potato plantings.

Wireworms in potatoes: how to get rid of them

These are beetle larvae that can reside and develop in the soil for several years. Under favorable conditions, the larvae awaken and begin to destroy the crop (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Symptoms of wireworm damage

Insects are especially active when the soil is insufficiently moist. They penetrate roots and tubers, gnawing holes in them, reducing the quality of products and making plants more susceptible to disease.

Cicadas

Most of the leafhoppers live in the southern regions of the country. The insects are similar in appearance to aphids, but have well-developed hind limbs. Thanks to their legs, tiny cicadas jump, and their wings allow them to fly around the entire site. They switch to potatoes from weeds (bindweed, thistle), and feed on the juice of the leaves of the crop.

In the south, potatoes are affected by the following types of leafhoppers:

white;
green;
bindweed.

The main danger lies in the transmission of various diseases by leafhoppers, including the insidious mycoplasma infection – potato stolbur.

Prevention

The basis of preventive measures is to prevent the appearance and spread of pests on the site. Effective prevention includes a whole range of specific measures, namely:

After harvesting, deep digging of the soil is necessary. This event helps to remove larvae and adult insects hidden in the soil for the winter. If the air temperatures are cold, the extracted insects will die.
Disinfect the soil. Safe disinfectant solutions are a weak solution of potassium permanganate, decoctions of herbs, infusions of garlic or onions, and urea solution.
In the spring, before sowing potatoes, you need to re-dig the area. It is necessary to remove weeds, plant debris and their subsequent destruction.
Before sowing, seed material must be treated in a solution of potassium permanganate or hydrochloric acid.
Before planting seed potatoes, pour a handful of wood ash or crushed eggshells into each hole.
Regular application of fertilizers to the soil is mandatory. The life activity of many pests is negatively affected by fertilizing based on nitrogenous compounds.
Sowing flowers (marigolds, calendula) and some plants (garlic, tansy, onions, dill) between rows of potatoes will serve as additional prevention against the spread of insects. The specific aroma of plant crops repels pests and protects potato bushes from death.
If signs of insect infestation are detected, drastic measures should be taken. If potato pests have multiplied, it will be more difficult to fight.

A full-fledged rich harvest is the dream of any gardener, to achieve which various methods and techniques are used. But one of the most pressing tasks is to protect plants from insect pests.

Potato spandex

Typically, this pest lived in the southern regions of the country, but due to climate warming, it began to be found more and more often in the middle zone and in the southern regions of the European North. The oblong-shaped bugs reach a length of 1.5-2 cm and fly across the area, damaging the foliage of various crops. Up to 10-15 bugs usually gather on a potato bush, completely eating up the above-ground part of the plant. In 2-3 days, only stems remain from the bush.

The period of activity of the spanka occurs in the middle of summer, when it is hot in most parts of the country. The larvae do not cause harm; the danger comes from adults that eat potato tops. Manual collection of the pest is not practiced, since the body contains a caustic toxic substance - cantharidin. If it comes into contact with the skin, it causes redness, abscesses, and ulcers. If the poison enters the blood through wounds and damage, it causes poisoning.

Wireworm (larva of click beetle)

Click beetle and its larvae (wireworms)

Small, dense, yellow and orange-brown worms, which can be found in abundance in almost any country house, are the larvae of the click beetle. This black or brown beetle itself does not cause concern, but its “children” are capable of causing considerable damage to plantings.

Why is wireworm dangerous?

Wireworms attack potatoes, carrots, onions and dahlias. Damaged plants become easy prey for parasites and diseases, are practically impossible to store, and lose their marketable appearance. If wireworms dominate the area, it is impossible to grow healthy root crops even with the use of strong chemicals.

Preventive measures against the appearance of wireworms

The fight against wireworms begins with the prevention and protection of plants from pests:

observe crop rotation (plant annual legumes before potatoes and dahlias);
lime the soil, preventing it from acidifying and caking;
remove all weeds, especially wheatgrass, in a timely manner;
do not leave piles of tops and leaves on the site;
do not thicken the crops.

How to get rid of wireworm

There are two main ways to combat wireworms - agrotechnical and chemical. The first is safe for plants and people, but long and labor-intensive. The second is fast, but very controversial from the point of view of the environmental friendliness of the resulting product. We will tell you about both options, and you can choose yourself.

The safest, but longest way is to install traps and bait based on natural products. To do this, you can put pieces of chopped potatoes, beets, carrots on sticks and stick them into the ground next to the plantings, to a depth of 15 cm. Once a day, the baits are removed, the wireworms are destroyed, and the vegetable slices are replaced with fresh ones. You can also bury half-liter jars in the area up to the neck, with coarsely chopped vegetables at the bottom. Once every 2-3 days, the jars are checked, the insects are destroyed, and the trap is returned to its place, changing the bait if necessary. You need to continue catching pests all summer.
If the number of wireworms has exceeded all reasonable limits, you can treat the soil against pests. For this purpose, the preparations Barguzin, Zemlin, Tabu are used according to the instructions, however, it is not recommended to plant anything in the treated area in the near future.

10 ways to deal with wireworms
Find out what wireworm looks like and how to effectively fight it.

Potato moth

A small gray-brown butterfly lays eggs in the soil, on the back of leaves, in storage, from which voracious larvae then emerge. It is they who pose a danger to potato tubers, and in plantings - to the leaves and shoots of the crop.

The larva is yellow or off-white in color, about 1-1.5 cm long, and eats potatoes in the ground. Biting into tubers, it leaves numerous convoluted passages, as well as excrement. Potato moth can be detected by a number of signs:

eaten leaves of tops;
withering tops of bushes;
dry or wet rot;
passages in potato tubers.

On a note!

Potato moth also damages tomatoes, eggplants, and sweet peppers.

Description of the signs of potato diseases - prevention, treatment and control

Late blight

Infected vegetable tops, which expose the entire plant to the disease, quickly die, and the tubers rot. The appearance of brown spots on nightshade leaves is the first sign of late blight. A white coating forms at the bottom of the leaf blade. Only after 2-3 weeks can spots typical for this disease be seen on diseased potato tubers. Brownish elongated spots will be visible on their cut. Sick tubers rot quickly.

Measures to combat them

We choose healthy tubers and use them to germinate them first. We carry out high hilling of plants, spraying potato tops 3-4 times using a 1% solution of copper sulfate, Bordeaux mixture, 0.4% Zineb, 0.5% copper oxychloride at weekly intervals.

Scab

With this disease, caused by protozoan microorganisms, young tubers become infected more quickly. Rough ulcers appear on the skins of vegetables.

Treatment

Planting healthy tubers treated before planting with formaldehyde (50 ml/10 l of water) for 3 minutes. Before planting potatoes in the soil, it is advisable to add ammonium sulfate, potassium magnesia, superphosphate (30 g/1 sq. m. each). Pour 2 grams of manganese sulfate into the holes and mix it with the soil.

Rhizoctoniosis

This fungal disease is characterized by damage to potato sprouts, roots, stolons and shoots. Dark lumps appear on vegetable tubers. In diseased plants, brown sores appear on the sprouts. The leaves on the tops curl and turn red.

Prevention

We regularly loosen the soil to prevent crust formation on it. We plant only sprouted tubers in the ground. We wet the potatoes with a 1.5% borax solution.

Alternaria (Macrosporiosis)

The appearance of brown spots on all parts of the plant during illness. Gradual death of leaves and stems, with the appearance of rotting ulcers on the affected tissues (this disease, by the way, can affect cauliflower and simple cabbage).

How to treat

We add a high dose of phosphorus-potassium fertilizers to the soil. We spray vegetable plantings weekly with 1% copper oxychloride or Bordeaux mixture. We process plants using drugs such as Polycarbocin, Rost-2 and Arceride. We use them according to the instructions, but constantly alternate them to increase processing efficiency.

Dry rot

During storage, the tubers dry out, becoming empty inside. A gray-yellowish coating forms on the skin.

Fight her

We grow disease-resistant potato varieties. When harvesting vegetables, we try to reduce any damage to the tubers.

Potato cancer

The disease (affecting tubers, root collars and stolons) requires strict measures. Growths form on them. Over time they resemble cauliflower. At first they are white, and then become brown.

Prevention only

We burn all the harvest and plant remains. We have not grown potatoes in the contaminated area for 5 years. The likelihood of infection of tubers is reduced by their pre-planting treatment with a 1% suspension of foundationazole for 0.5 hours. It is also possible to use a 0.5% benomyl suspension.

Wet rot

The disease manifests itself during storage. Vegetable tubers soften, become damp and rot. They have a disgusting smell.

Prevention

For long-term storage of potatoes, we select only undamaged and healthy tubers.

Ring rot

This disease leads to plant death and tuber rotting. With this potato disease, the stems begin to wither during the flowering period. They just fall to the ground. A yellowish mucus forms inside the stem. Then the tubers are affected. They become covered with cracks and brownish spots. The cut reveals softening of the vegetable pulp.

Fight her

We plant healthy tubers. We regularly inspect the bushes and immediately destroy diseased specimens.

Blackleg

This bacterial disease can affect potatoes at all stages of the growing season. Signs appear after germination. Plant leaves turn yellow and curl over time. The stem turns yellow and withers, and dark lesions are visible in the lower part. Diseased tubers transform into an unpleasant-smelling mass.

How to fight

In case of illness, we remove the affected specimens. We germinate the seed material. We discard diseased tubers. We remove the tops 10 days before harvest.

Viral diseases

Their signs are: ugly vegetable tubers, mosaic, speckled and wrinkled leaves. Viruses are transmitted by insect pests. Since there are still no effective means of control, we choose healthy planting material and comply with all agricultural technology requirements.

Spider mite

A very tenacious insect, reaching a size of about 0.6-0.8 mm. It feeds on plant sap and lives on the underside of leaves. Under normal conditions, it produces one generation per season, but in shelters where seed potatoes are grown, up to 4-5 generations of the pest emerge.

Leaves damaged by mites become covered with yellow or brown specks, and the tops wither and dry out. A characteristic sign of the presence of a mite on potatoes is a silvery small cobweb entwining the underside of leaves and flowers.

Wireworm

The wireworm is the larva of the click beetle. This type of beetle remains in the form of a larva for two to five years. And even as an adult, it burrows into the ground for wintering up to 10 centimeters deep. And in the larval state, the click beetle can be underground at a depth of up to 60 centimeters.

The wireworm damages young shoots and potato tubers. It bites, leaving behind holes in which rot settles. Some types of wireworm damage not only potatoes, but also buds and young shoots of grapes.

Wireworm

Today, more than 24,000 species of nematodes have been studied. They are parasitic roundworms. There are also free-living species.

Herbivorous nematodes damage the root systems of many plants. Potatoes are no exception. The result of the nematode's activity can be seen along the edges of the tubers in the form of soft, dark-colored parts.

Nematode

These are one of the largest representatives of the family of burrowing insects. The mole cricket belongs to the order Orthoptera. The length of this insect reaches 8 centimeters. Capable of flying to a height of up to five meters.

They live in burrows that they dig themselves. They lay about 500 eggs in a nest up to 15 centimeters deep, which is made in warm soil, such as a compost heap. The size of the nest generally corresponds to the size of the individual itself.

The mole cricket eats everything that is underground: roots and bulbs of plants, potato tubers.

Potato cutworm

An inconspicuous gray butterfly is capable of destroying potato plantings over a large area. Female pests lay up to 60-70 eggs, from which caterpillars emerge in late spring. The potato bollworm is an insect from the group of polyphages, in addition to potatoes, it damages plantings of carrots and onions.

Yellow or red-brown larvae reach a length of 5 cm and penetrate into the tubers inside the stem of the bushes. Due to the fact that the roots are eaten away, the tops wither and the bush quickly dies. The cutworm makes its moves in potato tubers, feeding on the tissues of the vegetable and leaving excrement in the cavities. After filling the cavity, the larva moves to another tuber. Damaged tubers rot, leading to serious crop losses.

Potato moth (fluorimea)

The potato moth is a historical neighbor of the Colorado potato beetle. In its homeland in America, it (or rather its caterpillars) has long been, since the times of ancient Indian civilizations, damaging potato tubers stored for storage. And only in the twentieth century did it “enter the world stage.”

This quarantine pest is nocturnal as an adult. The moth lays eggs on the underside of plant leaves (mainly from the Solanaceae family); the eggs hatch into larvae that begin to actively gnaw on the leaf blades. When the potato tops dry out, the caterpillars descend into the tubers and literally tear them up from the inside.

The pest overwinters in the open air in the form of an imago or pupa under plant debris in the upper layers of the soil, as well as in tuber storage facilities - at all stages of development.

The main reservoir of potato moths is precisely potato storage facilities, where insects actively continue their development, damaging tubers and thereby contributing to their rotting.

Appearance and symptoms of potato moth

An adult moth insect is a small butterfly of an inconspicuous brownish-gray color with long antennae and a wingspan of up to 15 mm. The active period is from April to October.

One female during her short life (just a few days) can lay up to 200 eggs, from which yellowish caterpillars emerge, reaching 13 mm in length in the last stages. The pupae are brown, enclosed in silver-gray cocoons.

In case of massive infestation, it is not difficult to notice traces of the presence of potato moth - the leaves of the plants in the beds are nibbled, the tops are drooping, the stems and leaves are shrouded in a white “web” (mainly in the upper part), the tubers are deeply penetrated by winding passages.

Measures to combat potato moth

Prevention and biological control measures against potato moth include the use of only healthy planting material, destruction of weeds, timely high hilling of bushes, harvesting before the tops dry out, storing only healthy undamaged tubers, as well as spraying vegetative plants with Entobacterin (50- 100 g per 10 liters of water) with an interval of 6-8 days.

Chemical measures - after detection of butterflies, immediate treatment of potato bushes with preparations: Inta-Vir, Inta-Ts-M, Molniya Extra, Shar Pei, etc. The interval between treatments is 10-15 days.

Potato flea beetle

Tiny black bugs were first discovered in the United States, then they moved to other continents. In Russia they are found everywhere, right up to the Far East.

The sizes of imago are from 2 to 2.8 mm, larvae are up to 12 mm. The caterpillars are white in color, emerge from eggs in underground clutches, and feed on potato roots. Adult beetles are leaf beetles and eat leaf blades on bushes. After an invasion of flea beetles, the potato leaves are covered with numerous holes and look like a sieve. Plants stop growing, dry out, and productivity decreases sharply. In addition, flea beetles spread viruses that infect weakened crops.

How to get rid of potato ladybugs?

The potato ladybug is a small bug with orange wings and body. There are black spots on the wings. The potato ladybug feeds on the leaves without touching the veins. Over time, the leaf begins to dry out and die.

The potato ladybug is practically indestructible. The only way to get rid of it is to spray the bushes with chemicals. But after some time, most likely, the beetles will appear again.

You can use special biological preparations. Their main advantage is that they are harmless to humans. But there is one significant drawback - when it rains, they are quickly washed off from the plants. Therefore, you need to spray the tops on a sunny day.

Potato ladybug

The scientific name is epilyachna, it looks like a ladybug, but the body is covered with whitish hairs and the number of black dots on the wings is much larger (28 spots).

A 4-5 mm beetle lays eggs on the lower surface of the foliage. In one litter there are up to 20 copies, while the total number of eggs per season can be about 300-500 pieces. The larvae are yellowish-green with numerous black fibers and eat leaf pulp. Caterpillars and adults leave only the veins of the plates, completely eating away the soft tissue.

Plants dry out, wither, and tuber formation stops. The cow is a carrier of dangerous viruses, which increases the damage caused by insects to garden plantings. In addition to potatoes, it damages tomato bushes, peppers, young shoots of cucumbers, pumpkins, and corn.

Protection and prevention

Preventing the spread of pests will help maintain plant health. First of all, for this you need to carry out deep plowing of the soil in the fall. This will help destroy any larvae remaining in the soil.

During the growing process, it is recommended to hill up and remove weeds several times. Such plants may contain adults and larvae. Hilling allows you to loosen the soil to a greater depth, which also helps eliminate young insects. In addition, before planting, you can treat the tubers with special preventive agents, and use insecticides during the growing process.

Facilities

There are effective folk remedies that will help prevent pest infestations. However, they are labor intensive and do not have the effectiveness of chemicals. At the same time, in small areas the use of folk remedies can be very effective.

During planting, you can throw some wood ash into the hole. It will repel insects and prevent larvae from developing. In addition, plants with a pronounced smell (for example, calendula, basil or dill) can be planted next to potatoes.

An effective means of protecting tubers is the treatment of planting material with a solution of potassium permanganate. The ash solution has the same effect. The ash is simply dissolved in a bucket and the potatoes are dipped into the liquid. Such treatment helps protect planting material from diseases and pests.

Slugs

The harm of this inconspicuous nocturnal mollusk should not be underestimated. Gastropods parasitize on beds with potatoes, carrots, and beets, preferring wet areas.

Slugs gnaw through the tissues of leaf plates, leaving holes and silvery marks on the surface, and damage roots and tubers. By doing this, they spoil the presentation of vegetables, reduce the quality and keeping quality of the crop. Mollusks carry parasitic helminths and pathogen spores, infecting not only plants on the site, but also domestic animals.

How to protect potatoes from pests

It's not just people who love potatoes. Many pests attack greens and tubers. To protect your plantings from them, you need to know several rules and requirements of agricultural technology.

Maintain crop rotation, swap crops and make sure not to plant crops next to each other that are affected by the same pests.
In the fall, dig up and remove weeds, debris and carrion.
In spring, properly prepare the soil before planting.
Treat potatoes before planting.
As they grow, carry out traditional methods of protection, hill up the beds and weed out the weeds.
In case of severe infection, use chemicals, but strictly follow safety precautions and instructions.

Medvedka

A large, menacing-looking insect (up to 5-6 cm) with a dark brown body, strong legs and powerful jaws. The mole cricket lives in the soil, making numerous passages and laying eggs. Harm is caused by imagoes and mole cricket larvae:

gnaw plant stems;
eat root crops;
damage potato tubers.

You can find out that a mole cricket has settled on the site both by damaged, withering bushes and by holes with heaps of earth on the soil surface (insect exits).

Ways and means of struggle

Each of these pests can be controlled using mechanical or chemical methods. The choice of method depends both on the pest itself and the scale of the infestation. It is possible to destroy insects manually only if their numbers are small, and if a large area is infested, it is impossible to do without the use of chemicals.

Mechanical methods

This method is most applicable in the fight against mole crickets and wireworms, or rather the click beetle.

To combat mole crickets, several options are applicable:

destruction of larvae and eggs during digging;
setting traps with poison or bait;
shoveling compost and manure in winter.

There is another effective method that has been proven over the years. In the second half of September, holes are dug 50-60 cm deep and filled with warm horse manure. The mole crickets will definitely settle in these pits for the winter. With the onset of frost, manure is removed from the pits and distributed in one layer. When exposed to low temperatures, mole crickets and their eggs die.

It is impossible to fight the wireworm mechanically, but the beetle itself, the click beetle, should be destroyed when detected. You can also install special baits on the site.

Chemical methods

Chemical control methods include treating the soil with preparations that destroy pests. Also, for prevention, you can treat the tubers before planting.

Chafer

The beetles begin to fly in late April and May, laying eggs in the soil. After about 3-4 weeks, larvae appear, which at the age of the younger stages are harmless to root crops. Starting from the second year, the insect develops a chewing apparatus, and from this time the larvae move to potato tubers and root vegetables in search of food.

The caterpillars are white with red or orange dots on the sides and live in the soil for about 4 years before turning into beetles. The larvae cause the greatest harm at the age of 3-4 years, when they require a large amount of food.

In search of food, they move 80-100 meters underground, gnawing the pulp of tubers. In a month, one adult larva can damage up to 10-15 bushes of a crop. Potato tops turn yellow, dry out, wither, tubers rot and deteriorate.

Potato pests photo description and treatment

Among the most common and dangerous pests of potatoes are wireworms, cutworms and cutworms, beetles, and the Colorado potato beetle. In this article we will tell you how to deal with them.

Wireworm

It is the larva of a click beetle; it gnaws young stems and damages potato tubers with grooves. The beetle's favorite habitat is lands where wheatgrass dominates.

Control measures

Regular weeding and loosening of potato plantings. Destruction of wheatgrass in areas adjacent to the site.
The need to alternate planting crops. The wireworm's digestive system does not adapt well to new crops and its activity decreases.
Deep digging in the fall with ash or lime.
• In the spring, a month before planting seed potatoes and in the fall after harvesting, sowing the planting areas with mustard.
Use of natural insecticides. Watering mixture (about 2 kg of coltsfoot herbs, nettle, celandine, dandelion in a bucket of water, infused for three days).
In areas with large wireworm infestations, chemical treatment with hexachlorane should be used. To treat one hundred square meters of land, take 100–150 g of chemical.

Scoop Gamma

It is a butterfly with wings of grayish-brown tones with white patterns. The main damage is caused by the caterpillar, which eats potato leaves and buds with flowers.

Control measures

Timely weeding.
Autumn deep digging.
Planting potatoes at an earlier date in order for the crop to mature before the butterfly lays eggs.
Regular inspection of the crop in order to identify and destroy egg clutches.
Pollination and spraying with chemicals. Such drugs as karbofos, fufanon and their analogues help well. Bacterial preparations, such as bitoxibacillin, are also used.

Cutworm gnawing

It is an earthy gray moth with small stripes on the back and sides. Its caterpillar gnaws young potato stems and gnaws holes in the tubers.

Control measures

Regular removal of weeds, which are a fertile environment for armyworm egg laying.
Manual destruction of egg clutches.
Spraying with blooming wormwood (pour about half a bucket of wormwood with boiling water, leave, strain and add 100 g of laundry soap). Instead of wormwood, you can use decoctions of tomato stepsons, milkweed and chamomile
Insecticides that are effective against cutworms are Arrivo, Decis, Bazudin, Sumi-alpha and others with a similar effect.

Khrushchev

This is the name of the larva of the May beetle. It has a creamy white color and a dark brown head. She looks fat and plump. By feeding on potato tubers, beetles significantly reduce the quality and yield of potato tubers.

Control measures

Manual sampling when digging the soil.
Shaking off beetles during the day when they are sleepy, collecting and destroying them.
Planting lupine in vacant areas. Its roots are poison for the Khrushchev that leaves this land.

Colorado potato beetle

It is the most dangerous of all potato pests. If it is discovered, destruction measures must be taken immediately.

The Colorado potato beetle is shaped like a semicircle with yellow wings with dark stripes and is the size of a corn kernel. The front of the back is spotted, and the legs and head are black.

The winter is spent in the ground under the remains of vegetation. In the spring, the beetles fly out and begin to intensively feed on potato seedlings and other crops of the nightshade family. On the back of the leaves, the female lays clutches of 30 to 50 eggs. After two weeks, the larvae emerge from the eggs and eat the potato leaves and flowers. The larva then goes into the ground to pupate. Due to the fact that beetles fly well, they spread very quickly.

Control measures

Timely detection of the beetle. It is necessary to regularly inspect potatoes and all nightshades growing nearby. If found, collect by hand and destroy by burning.
Adding wood ash to the soil before planting. Treatment of potato seedlings with ash.
Spraying with compositions made from natural raw materials: 1 piece of soap and 5 liters of ash per bucket of warm water. Or pour boiling water over two-thirds of a bucket of fresh wormwood and leave.
Treatment with chemicals. The use of modern chemicals such as Detis, Inta-Vir, Aktelik, Fitoverm, Colorado, Rovikurt, Prestige and others gives good results.

And one more tip:

With small populations of the pest and in small areas, it is better to start fighting manually or using natural raw materials. Use chemicals in cases of large-scale spread of harmful insects.

I hope that our article “Potato pests, photo description and treatment” was useful for you!

Rodents

Among the gnawing animals, potatoes are damaged by the ground rat and the mole rat. Rats belong to the group of voles and most often live in gardens near ponds and streams. Length – up to 25 cm, body covered with brown-black fur. Animals eat tubers, gnaw through plant roots, and set up entire storage facilities underground where they hide potato tubers and small root vegetables.

On a note!

The ground rat is very fertile. Gives up to five litters per year, the number of cubs in each is 2-14.

In favorable conditions, it multiplies very quickly, so if you notice an animal on the site (by holes in the ground, traces of damage to plants), you must immediately begin exterminating the pest.

Mole rats are large, up to 30 cm long, rodents that feed on root vegetables and potato tubers. The animal has no eyes, instead of them there are dense folds of skin. It lives underground, digging out complex passages with burrows, arranging nests and storerooms. Unlike moles, the mole rat is a herbivorous rodent and digs holes with strong teeth. Adult animals can eat as much food per day as they weigh (up to 1-1.2 kg). On the site, his activity is noticeable in the earthen mounds and numerous tunnels, into which you can even trip if you are careless.

Root-knot nematode

Nematodes

Nematodes are a pest of plants in the ground, the presence of which many gardeners are not aware of. These microscopic roundworms are inconspicuous, but they equally well damage the stems, leaves and roots of plants.

How dangerous is the root-knot nematode?

Root, or root-knot nematodes, differ from their counterparts in that they parasitize the root system of plants, forming growths (galls) of various sizes and shapes on it, which interfere with normal nutrition and water absorption, as a result of which the plants wither and die. Most often, root crops, potatoes, ornamental crops, as well as cucumbers, tomatoes and eggplants growing in a greenhouse suffer from the invasion of these creatures. In the absence of control over nematodes, you can lose more than half of the harvest, and the next year even 80%.

In addition to the fact that nematodes themselves are voracious and multiply quickly, they are carriers of many phytopathogenic organisms and contribute to the damage of plants by viruses.

Preventive measures against the appearance of root-knot nematodes

In summer cottages, golden potato and beet nematodes can most often be found. There are also those that selectively attack onions, flowers, and strawberries, but the measures to combat them will be similar. The following folk remedies are worth noting:

compliance with crop rotation;
selection of varieties resistant to nematode damage;
selecting healthy seed and disinfecting it before planting in hot water at a temperature of 50-55°C for at least 10-30 minutes;
spring watering of the soil in the area with hot (50-55°C) water to a depth of at least 15-20 cm and subsequent covering with film for slow cooling;
loose plantings, regular weeding and thinning;
planting natural phytoncides (marigolds and calendula) between rows and along the perimeter of the site;
timely removal of all plant residues from the site;
removal from the beds and immediate burning of nematode-affected plants;
autumn sowing of grain crops or green manure and subsequent digging with complete transfer of soil when frost occurs.

How to get rid of root-knot nematode

Unfortunately, it is possible to completely destroy the root-knot nematode on your own site only with the use of “chemistry”. Traditional and preventive methods can only temporarily reduce its numbers, but do not completely solve the problem.

If most of the soil is infested with parasites and only scraps of root crops remain, you should consider using one of three types of nematicides that are effective against root-knot nematodes.

The first and safest type includes preparations labeled “bio”, created either on the basis of plant extracts (garlic, marigold, calendula, neem), or on the basis of predatory nematophagous fungi (Arthrobotris, Paecilomyces) and their metabolic products. These products are highly targeted, but safe for humans, plants, pets and insects. They can be applied to the soil in parallel with seeds and fertilizers. Among such drugs are Nematophagin BT, Basamil, Fitoverm, Metarizin, Pecilomycin, Narcissus, Fitohit, etc.
The second type of nematicides includes more dangerous fumigants that attack the respiratory system of worms. These poisons are prepared on the basis of substances such as carbathion, nemagon, and methyl bromide. Fumigant nematicides are used to treat both the contaminated soil itself and the planting material (seeds, bulbs, tubers, seedling roots). These remedies work well against root nematodes, but are powerless against leaf and stem nematodes.
And finally, the most dangerous (and not only for nematodes) complex products prepared on the basis of chloropicrin are simultaneously fungicides, insecticides and herbicides. In fact, they destroy all life in the soil, leading to its complete sterility. Of course, you cannot use such soil this year; you must skip at least a season, so using such preparations in an ordinary dacha is unreasonable and unprofitable.

It is important to remember that all chemicals against nematodes are extremely dangerous substances. They must be used and disposed of in compliance with all requirements specified on the packaging and strictly according to the instructions.

How to get rid of nematodes on the site: chemicals and folk remedies
Do roundworms indiscriminately destroy all the plants on your property? It's time to start serious pest control!

Unfortunately, it is impossible to get rid of pests in the garden forever - the insects will come to you again from neighboring areas. But if you methodically deal with them every season, then you will still receive your harvest safe and sound.

Pest control methods

If any pests are found on the site, it is necessary to begin combating them as quickly as possible. Delay threatens crop losses and outbreaks of various infections in weakened plants.

Agrotechnical techniques and mechanical methods

By following the rules of crop care, you can prevent the appearance of pests on the site. Among the main methods:

mandatory digging of the site in spring and autumn;
loosening and hilling beds;
weeding.

Such measures help to remove larvae, egg laying, and adults to the surface, where it is easier to destroy the pest. After the autumn digging, the pests that appear on the surface will inevitably die from the winter cold.

Manual collection is effective in the fight against a number of insects. If there are small quantities of the Colorado potato beetle or potato weed, they are collected from the bushes by hand, not forgetting about gloves and accuracy.

Use of chemicals

Modern insecticides are effective means for protecting potatoes from many pests, and both universal and specialized preparations are produced. The “minus” is toxicity, so it is recommended to use it only when there are a large number of insects, strictly following the instructions.

From the Colorado potato beetle:

Decis and Karate are suitable from the group of pyrethroids;
from organophosphorus - Zolon;
Novodor is used against larvae, and Fitoverm, Bankol are used at all stages of insect development.

To exterminate potato ladybugs and moths:

Inta-Vir;
Spark;
Cyperon.

To combat potato stem nematode, Vidat is used, but the drugs Tagor, Imidor, Konfidor extra, Bi-58 are effective against aphids.

Granular products have been created against slugs on potatoes:

Ferramol;
Storm;
Meta;
Anti-slug.

The granules are scattered between the rows, but at the same time preventing access to the area for domestic animals.

You can save potatoes from mole crickets, beetle larvae (chafer beetles), and wireworms with the help of the drugs Bazudin, Medvetox, and Antikhrushch. Vallar (based on diazinon) was created specifically against cockchafer larvae. The easiest way to destroy potato flea beetles is with solutions of Decis, Calypso, Iskra; for the scoop, Sherpa, Actellik, Fufanon are used.

To treat tubers before planting, use:

Prestige;
Taboo.

Among the biological products for potato protection, Lepidotsid, Bitoxibacillin, Enterobacterin have been created and have proven themselves. They can be used at any stage of cultural development.

Folk remedies

In summer cottages, it is preferable to control potato pests using traditional recipes that are safe for humans and the environment. These are various decoctions, infusions of herbs, mullein, and ash, which are prepared immediately before use.

On a note!

Such compositions are effective against small numbers of insects, as well as for preventing pests.

From the Colorado potato beetle (all proportions are based on 10 liters of water):

infusion of wormwood. Pour 300 g of grass with water, add a glass of ash, leave for a day;
tobacco infusion. Dry stems, roots, powder are suitable. The amount of raw materials is half a kilo, infused in water for two days;
decoction of horsetail and dandelion. Take 200 g of each type of herb and boil for 15 minutes. The concentrate is cooled and diluted with more water (10 liters of water per 0.5 liters).

To destroy mole crickets and slugs, they make traps with beer, and wireworms are lured into “traps” with cut potatoes. After 3-4 days, all that remains is to remove the caught insects that have collected in the traps. You can get rid of potato moths and flea beetles by dusting the plantings with a mixture of wood ash, hot pepper and tobacco dust.

Many insects cannot tolerate strong aromas, so it is recommended to plant the following plants on potato beds and along their perimeter:

calendula;
fennel;
coriander;
lavender;
peppermint.

Thrips will not appear on the beds if the potatoes are sprayed with an infusion of garlic cloves or arrows (take 200 g of raw material per liter of water, leave for 4-5 days). A decoction of tobacco, an infusion of marigolds, and a solution of ammonia (2 tablespoons per bucket) have worked well on potatoes, helping to get rid of aphids, cutworms, and fleas.

Main potato pests

In addition to humans, various insects try to encroach on the potato crop, eating potatoes from the top tip of the tops to the last tuber. But in order to prevent the defeat of plantings and destroy those already settled, it is important to know who they are and how they live.

Colorado beetle

The Colorado potato beetle is a lover of vegetation of the nightshade family. Today, perhaps, there is no gardener or gardener who would not encounter a pest. They are capable of eating the foliage of eggplants, tomatoes, physalis, and potatoes at such a speed that it is impossible to deal with them manually. And in the fall, from the beetle, when there is no succulent foliage, you can lose part of the harvest.

Colorado beetles are unique in their own way. In just a couple of days they can completely destroy a potato planting. This phenomenon occurs due to the high rate of reproduction. One female lays eggs during the growing season, from which up to 700 specimens are born.

The main damage to potatoes is caused by voracious larvae that feed on succulent vegetation, spreading to neighboring areas. On average, three generations can appear per summer. Having eaten enough, the larvae go 10 cm deep into the soil, pupate there, and after a few days a new generation of beetles crawls to the surface, completely mature, and again lay eggs on the potatoes.

Description of beetles and larvae: the pest has a convex body, up to 10 mm in length. A distinctive characteristic is the hard fender flaps, striped with alternating colors of black and yellow.

If you bring your hand to the bug, it falls backwards, pretending to be dead.

The larvae are thick worms that crawl on the surface of potato leaves. Their bright red or orange body is divided into segments, with black dots visible on the sides. The head and paws are very hard and black. Active living creatures, if picked up, begin to crawl away.

Wireworms

Pesky worms that live in the ground eat potato stolons and succulent stems. Outwardly they do not show any symptoms, so preventive measures are taken against them rather than fighting. You can prevent their occurrence in advance, since their presence can be detected while digging potatoes.

Wireworm is a larva of a click beetle that has an elongated body and thick skin that cannot be crushed with your fingers. On one side of the body there are antennae. The worm has a yellow, white, cream color, and the head is brown. In the form of a worm, the larva can live up to 5 years, burrowing 60 cm into the soil.

Hard worms bite into the stems and tubers of potatoes with their powerful mouthparts, leaving passages in which mold appears and the plant dies. If the potatoes manage to survive, the tubers often have a gnarled appearance due to defective development.

Naked slugs

It is quite rare to see naked slugs on potatoes, but this phenomenon does happen. These "liquid substances" crawling on their bellies are molluscs without shells. Quite large pests, from 3 to 6 cm in length. You can imagine the harm they cause.

They operate at night, when it is cool and dew falls; they cannot tolerate dry weather, as they move with the help of special mucus. Mollusks feed on young potato tops, leaving behind huge holes of irregular shape. They do not touch the stem, stolons and central veins of adult potatoes.

Important! Slugs are carriers of bacteriological infections, namely late blight.

Chafer

Has anyone encountered the larvae of the so-called May beetle? Why is the beetle small and the caterpillar fat and juicy? Indeed, with such a size, the cockchafer larva can cause significant damage to the potato crop. It develops in the soil. If this happens in a fertile one, then its size increases.

The female pest flies out in mid-spring and immediately lays up to 70 eggs. After a couple of weeks, a thick white caterpillar worm appears, twisted into a ring. It has a segmented body of a milky color. Black or brown dots are drawn on the sides. The head of the caterpillar stands out clearly, which resembles some kind of brown shell.

The larvae of the pest have a distinctive feature: in the first year of life they feed on organic matter, enriching the soil with the products of their vital activity; in the second year they begin to cause harm by eating the roots and tubers of potatoes.

While eating the roots and nodules, the potatoes begin to wither; these signs are used to determine the presence of a caterpillar in the soil. If the wireworm leaves small passages reaching only a few millimeters in diameter, then from the caterpillars of the pest these passages exceed the diameter by several times. The holes are such that the pest itself fits in them.

Potato moth

Despite their tiny size, moths can cause damage to 80% of the entire potato crop. The butterfly is quite small, up to 8 mm in length. The pest is unpretentious to weather conditions and lays its eggs on the underside of potato leaves. There are up to 20 eggs in one litter.

Potato large aphid

A small pest from the order Hemiptera that eats potato leaves. The body length of the insect is 3-4 mm. Individuals come with and without wings. The color of aphids ranges from yellow to green. It can live on any plant, but it prefers juicy potato tops.

The potato aphid has a powerful piercing-sucking mouthpart. By piercing the surface of the leaf, the proboscis enters the cells and sucks out the juice. Leaves may dry out completely or partially.

At the end of summer, the pest can move from one garden to a neighboring one, where it lays its eggs.

After an aphid invasion, the leaf blades become covered with honeydew, a sweetish liquid that attracts third-party insect pests. In such a symbiosis, the crop is destroyed in a matter of days.

Mouse-like rodents

In some regions, vegetable gardens are often attacked by rodents. They spoil the entire crop available on the site, eating roots and tubers, as well as disrupting the growth of potatoes, digging them to the surface and partially gnawing them.

If you look at potato tubers where more than half are damaged, this means that the insect will not do that much harm. It's all because of little naughty creatures: moles, mole rats, house and field mice, rats. Even water rats living in water are not averse to eating potato roots if there is a vegetable garden nearby.

Nematodes

If there is a golden potato nematode on a plant, eating roots and tubers, it is difficult to notice it with your own eyes. This microscopic worm destroys tubers, living in the soil for several years. In the fall, eggs or cysts are laid, and with the warmth of spring, whitish worms begin to emerge and massively eat potato tubers.

Important! Infection with nematodes is determined by yellowed lower leaves of the vegetable.

Nematodes penetrate the root system of potatoes, live there, feed and reproduce. In the fall, when potatoes are dug up, the eggs fall to the ground, and the pest’s development cycle continues.

Medvedki

Mole crickets are large insects (up to 8 cm), digging holes in the ground and feeding on potato tubers and root vegetables (carrots, beets, celery). Individuals from the Orthoptera family are capable of flying, but not high, due to which they move to other areas.

Lays up to 500 eggs per clutch. This occurs in warm soil, at a depth of up to 15 cm. The eggs are clearly visible to the naked eye. They are yellow in color and round in shape. Destroys all types of rhizomes of cultivated vegetable and garden plants, except garlic.

Cutworm caterpillars

It's all because of the caterpillars, whose parent is the small moth moth. The grayish or beige moth has a body size of up to 2 cm. Dark dots are clearly visible on the wings, and the back and head are covered with thick hairs. They like to settle on potatoes in the darkest corners: under a fence, near tall plants (sunflower, corn).

The caterpillars are large and eat not only potatoes, but also some fruit crops: raspberries, rhubarb, strawberries. This is not the entire list of clear insect preferences. The eating procedure occurs at night. The caterpillars mainly gnaw on stems, leaves and roots.

Potato flea beetle

These small bugs eat potato leaves, moving very briskly through the bushes. The pest is slightly more than 2 mm long, has three pairs of legs and wings. The color of the beetles is black, its legs are brown. Provided by nature with some shine.

Flea beetle larvae feed only on the surface layers of leaves, leaving behind depressions or complete holes.

Adults eat all the greens, which can cause the potatoes to die. The larvae are able to descend along the stem into the soil, causing damage to nightshade tubers. Beetles do not settle in the garden alone; there are up to 100 specimens on a bush.

Cicadas

Cicadas are hemipteran insects that jump long distances. They come in various colors and sizes, mostly from 1 to 3 cm. It is common for the pest to live in anthills. During the day they come to the surface and feed on plant sap. They pierce the flesh of the leaves with their proboscis and extract the juice from them, infecting the potatoes with viruses. Those parts of the plant where the cicada has sat usually die off.

Potato pancake

Shpanka is a heat-loving bug with a memorable color. The body and elytra are black, and the head is bright red. There are white stripes on the fender flaps. The body is elongated, about 1 cm.

In the fight against spanka, the main thing is to detect it in time and get rid of it, otherwise you can lose the crop in a couple of weeks due to massive damage. Shpanka eats leaves and young shoots of potatoes.

Bedbugs

The potato bug is a small pest, up to 6-8 mm in length. It has a pale green color. In addition to potatoes, it can settle on roses and chrysanthemums, as well as cabbage. The bug has long antennae. Pests have no distinctive features.

Bedbug larvae do the damage. They suck juices from flowers, shoots and leaves. Infectious spots appear at the location of the nymphs, causing the potatoes to stop growing, the shoots to curl, and the flowers to fall off.

Who's eating potatoes?

But not only insects can spoil the potato harvest. Often a mouse or shrew gnaws on a potato. It is very easy to understand that it is rodents that spoil the tubers. Teeth marks are clearly visible on the tubers.

The larvae of the Colorado potato beetle can also gnaw on potatoes in the ground. The pest gnaws small holes in the tubers. If there are a lot of larvae, then the potatoes can be heavily eaten. When harvesting, you can sometimes notice larvae inside the potatoes.

Another tuber-munching pest is the wireworm. When eating tubers, it gnaws out “passages” in them, as if piercing them with wire.

While it is relatively easy to combat potato beetles that eat tops, underground pests are much more difficult to deal with.

How to deal with leafhoppers?

Cicadas not only eat parts of plants, but also suck out the juice from them, thereby causing damage to the crop. The cicada looks like a fly, only gray-green in color.

They fight the cicada as follows:

There should be no tops on the site after harvesting. The insect can lay eggs on it and in the spring the larvae will begin to actively hatch.
You can hang several feeders near the site. Birds eat cicadas, thereby preventing them from breeding on the site.
If the soil was heavily contaminated, then onions or garlic should be grown in this place for several years in a row.
An effective method of pest control is chemicals. The drugs Akarin, Calypso and Decis have proven themselves well. It is advisable to spray potatoes in warm, windless weather. The best time is early morning or evening. It is important to ensure that the drug gets on the lower part of the leaf, because it is on this side that the leafhopper eats the tops. If some of the solution remains after processing, then it must be poured out.
Garlic infusion will help get rid of the larvae that the leafhopper lays. Pour 300 g of garlic into 3 liters of water and leave for a week in a dark room in a closed container.