Garlic pests can significantly reduce harvest volumes. To protect plantings from insects, you need to study the main parasites and methods of counteraction.
Garlic pests
Pests on garlic leaves are not very common - the plant secretes phytoncides that naturally repel parasites. But some insects still pose a threat to the crop.
Aphid
A small insect with a round yellow-green or black body densely clings to growing garlic from the neck to the arrows. The parasite feeds on plant sap and attacks crops in large colonies. Aphids can completely destroy garlic in a few days, so it is necessary to fight them immediately after detection. The parasite usually appears in garden beds in May and poses a threat to plantings until the fall, as it reproduces in waves.
It is quite easy to detect aphids by carefully examining the crop. In addition to the insects themselves, yellowing of young feathers indicates infection of plantings.The garlic becomes flabby and wrinkled, and the underground heads stop developing.
Aphids are also dangerous for garlic because they are carriers of fungal and viral diseases.
Root mite
The miniature pest of winter garlic has a translucent body up to 0.7 mm long. It appears in soil beds and grows from an egg to an adult in an average of 40 days. In the process of development, it eats ripening tubers; instead of juicy cloves, only rot is left.
Root mites appear on garlic heads in hot and humid weather.
Four-legged garlic mite
A common pest of winter garlic has microscopic dimensions - only about 0.2 mm. It is almost impossible to see the parasite with the naked eye. But you can pay attention to indirect signs indicating its presence.
A plant infected with a four-legged mite begins to curl in the middle and turn yellow at the edges. Then dark green or brownish spots appear on the underground tubers.
The four-legged garlic mite actively harms ripening heads at temperatures above 20 °C
Onion fly
A dangerous pest appears in garden beds most often in May. Reaches 1 cm in length, has a grayish body, the larvae of the parasite are white. The fly lays eggs in the ground next to the garlic or directly on the lower leaves. The hatching larvae of the pest make their way inside the developing cloves and actively eat them. As a result, the garlic heads soften and quickly rot.
Onion fly damages garlic in June and late July
Onion moth
The moth has a small gray-brown body and wings up to 1.4 cm in span. Adults do not directly harm the garlic heads, but they lay yellowish small eggs between the leaves. Greenish caterpillars emerge from them and begin to eat the plates. Irregularly shaped spots or light longitudinal stripes appear on the leaves, the garlic withers and gradually dies.
Onion moths are especially active in dry weather
Onion sharpener
The dangerous garlic pest in adulthood is a small butterfly with whitish-gray pubescent wings. Lays a large number of eggs on the leaves of the plant. The hatched butterfly larvae look like thick caterpillars with a pinkish body up to 2.5 cm in length.
Pests penetrate the garlic cloves ripening underground and eat the pulp. The crop eventually rots or dries out. Although the caterpillars begin to eat tubers in mid-summer, they are often only discovered in August and September when garlic heads are harvested. This is the particular danger of the onion sharpener - it is almost impossible to find out about its presence by indirect signs.
The onion borer reproduces very actively - up to 30 caterpillars can be present in one head of garlic.
Stem nematode
The garlic nematode is a small white worm that feeds on plant sap. In accordance with the name, the parasite lives on the stems of the crop. It is difficult to see the nematode with the naked eye, but brownish spots on the leaves allow one to suspect its presence. When severely damaged by the pest, the feathers of garlic become deformed.
The nematode begins to actively develop at a temperature of 12-16 °C and can appear both in spring and mid-autumn. The lifespan of the pest is no more than 20 days. A special feature of the parasite is its increased resistance to bad weather. In unfavorable conditions, it does not die, but simply falls asleep, while maintaining viability for up to 7-8 years.
Stem nematode begins to actively harm garlic in warm and high humidity conditions
Weevil
The small pest is a black or gray beetle with a curved proboscis, reaching about 3 mm in length. The parasite overwinters in the soil under plant debris, awakens in early spring and lays eggs on garlic leaves. Yellow-brown larvae with a body up to 6.5 mm hatch from them and begin to eat green feathers.
The phase of greatest activity of the weevil begins in May and continues until the end of June. It is difficult to see the pest on garlic, but its presence is indicated by white stripes on the above-ground parts. The weevil does not directly touch the cloves of the crop, but if the leaves are damaged, the nutritional processes of the plant are somehow disrupted. The vegetable begins to turn yellow and gradually dies, the volume and quality of the harvest decreases.
Both weevil larvae and adult beetles feed on garlic.
Tobacco thrips
Garlic in the garden is often damaged by thrips, a parasite up to 1.1 mm in length with narrow brown or beige wings. Insect larvae are white at birth, then turn yellowish-green.
Tobacco thrips settles in the axils of garlic leaves and lays eggs there.During one season it can produce up to three generations in open ground. The pest begins to massively damage garlic in June, and the first insects appear on the leaves in May. The journey from larva to adult thrips parasite takes an average of 2-4 weeks.
The pest feeds on the juice of shoots, leaves and flower stalks of garlic, causing necrosis and white stripes on the above-ground parts. The bulbs are usually not touched, but the cloves grow very small and weak. When damaged by tobacco thrips, garlic becomes vulnerable to infectious and viral diseases.
Tobacco thrips can reproduce in ripe garlic heads between the scales at a temperature of about 18 ° C
How to spray garlic against pests
Pest control on garlic is necessary. Insects reduce not only the volume of the harvest, but also its quality, making the heads unsuitable for consumption. To eliminate parasites, it is allowed to use both folk and commercial remedies.
Garlic pest control with folk remedies
Folk remedies help get rid of garlic pests when the plantings are slightly damaged. Their advantages include low toxicity - homemade infusions and decoctions do not impair the quality of the harvest.
Tansy decoction
Tansy decoction has a pungent odor and repels pests. Prepare the product according to this scheme:
- Pour 3 kg of fresh flowers into an enamel bucket.
- Fill the raw material with water to the top and bring to a boil.
- Keep on medium heat for about 15 minutes.
- Remove from the stove and cool.
The strained broth is poured into a spray bottle and sprayed on the growing garlic. Treatments are carried out 1-2 times a month throughout the season.
Yarrow infusion
Another home remedy works well against aphids and butterfly caterpillars. The infusion is prepared according to the following algorithm:
- Young shoots of yarrow are crushed in a volume of 800 g.
- Pour 3 liters of boiling water over the raw material.
- Leave covered for 40 minutes.
- Add another 7 liters of water to the infusion.
- Leave for 24 hours and filter.
The resulting product is used to treat the beds several times a season. If necessary, you can not only spray, but also water the garlic against pests - for example, against root mites living in the soil.
Pepper tincture
A fragrant tincture of hot pepper works well against aphids, weevils and tobacco thrips. They do it as follows:
- Pour 1 kg of fresh fruit with a bucket of water.
- Boil over low heat for an hour.
- When closed, place in a dark place for a day.
- After the expiration date, filter.
About 125 ml of the resulting concentrated product is diluted in 10 liters of clean water. The infusion is used to spray garlic every two weeks.
It is necessary to spray garlic against pests in sunny but dry weather.
Chemicals
You can treat garlic against pests in May or summer not only with folk remedies, but also with ready-made purchased products. It is recommended to use chemicals when the crop is severely damaged - more than 10% of the plantings. Homemade infusions in such cases usually simply do not produce results.
Karbofos
Karbofos is considered one of the best drugs against garlic pests. The product demonstrates high effectiveness against aphids, thrips, weevils and other insects.
You can dilute the drug for use as follows:
- About 60 g of dry granules are poured with a small amount of water.
- Mix thoroughly.
- Top up the concentrate with clean water to 10 liters.
Spraying is carried out in the morning or evening in the absence of bright sun.
For 10 m2 of garden when using Karbofos, it is necessary to consume about 1 liter of solution
Pirimor
The insecticide belongs to the category of toxic carbamates; it inhibits garlic pests, but does not cause damage to beneficial insects. The drug is diluted as follows:
- A concentrate is made from 30 g of a chemical and 200 ml of liquid.
- Add 10 liters of water to a homogeneous solution.
- Stir the product properly.
It is necessary to spray garlic with Pirimor at the first symptoms of pest infestation.
Pirimor and other chemicals for garlic should be used no later than 2-3 weeks before harvesting
Preventive measures
Many garlic pests can be successfully controlled. However, it is better to prevent the appearance of parasites at all. To do this, you need to follow the basic rules of prevention:
- Pre-landing preparation. Before sowing, garlic cloves must be disinfected in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. This will strengthen the crop’s immunity and eliminate possible pest larvae if they are already present in the planting material.
- Maintaining crop rotation. Each season, the garlic beds need to be moved to a new location. Returning the crop to the old site is allowed only after 4-5 years.
- Regular weeding. Many garlic pests first feed on self-sowing herbs and only then spread to the cultivated plant. In addition to weeding, it is recommended to loosen the soil - in this case, it will be more difficult for parasites to develop in the soil.
- Thorough autumn cleaning of the site. After harvesting the garlic, it is necessary to remove all plant debris and carefully dig up the bed.It is also advisable to immediately disinfect the soil with a solution of potassium permanganate or copper sulfate.
When growing garlic, it is necessary to water the beds on time and regularly apply complex fertilizers. Pests and diseases most often affect weakened plants that do not receive sufficient nutrients.
Conclusion
Garlic pests impair crop development and reduce yields. Some parasites only lead to shredding of vegetable heads, others are capable of completely destroying them. You can fight insects using folk and chemical means.
