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During the growing season, leaves, and later potato tubers, often become victims of insects. One of these is the potato moth, which causes the same damage to the crop as the Colorado potato beetle.
Potato moth is difficult to notice on leaves
What does a potato moth look like?
The potato moth (fluorimea) is an inconspicuous butterfly with a short, about 8 mm, body, a tiny mouth, deprived of the ability to feed, and long mustaches. The upper and lower wings are painted bluish; on the upper wings a pattern of circles and dashes of a darker shade is clearly visible.
The wingspan of the butterfly is 13-18 mm; at rest, the wings are folded along the body.
The larva of the potato moth is yellow-pink or gray-green with a longitudinal dark stripe on the back. The average length of one caterpillar is 10 mm.
A small caterpillar can cause a lot of damage
A small caterpillar can cause a lot of damage
Development and reproduction
The lifespan of a butterfly is 3-14 days.However, in such a short period of time she manages to lay about 100 eggs.
The ideal time for fluorimea is late spring and summer. In conditions of consistently warm weather, the full development cycle of the potato moth from egg to butterfly lasts about 30 days. In cold summer conditions, this will take 70 days.
The potato moth is a nocturnal moth. During the day, you can see it only by looking under a potato bush, on the lower leaves of which it usually hides, or by running your hand along the tops - the disturbed insect will leave its shelter and fly out of the bush.
A small caterpillar can cause a lot of damage
Signs of defeat
The coloring of the wings allows the butterfly to remain invisible on the leaves of cultivated plants, which makes it difficult to determine the beginning of summer.
However, the presence of this pest is indicated by the following signs:
- the appearance of gray spots on the surface of leaf blades (dry rot);
- visible traces of moves (thin white strokes);
- microscopic pits on the leaves, barely visible to the naked eye, filled with waste products of the potato moth;
- drying of apical shoots;
- the appearance of cobwebs on bushes;
- the presence of passages on the surface of tubers and the presence of small worms in them.
To diagnose potato moth damage to bushes, first of all, carefully examine the central vein on the outer side of the leaf blade. If there are cobwebs and small white specks, which are nothing more than larval excrement, then the moth has already begun its harmful activities.
Potato moth larva leaves characteristic marks on tubers
What harm does
The potato moth does not cause much harm to plants, which cannot be said about its larva. Almost immediately after birth, the small white caterpillar begins to make passages in the leaves and stems of the potato, feeding on their succulent tissues.
As a result of such activity, the growth and development of the above-ground parts of the plant slows down, damaged leaves and stems wither and dry out.
In addition, the seeds of affected potatoes cannot be used in the propagation process of this crop.
The potato moth also does not ignore potato tubers located at the surface of the soil - the larvae bite into the juicy pulp, making numerous narrow passages in it. Tubers affected by potato moths lose their marketable appearance and become unsuitable for consumption.
This pest is not afraid of temperature changes. Its larvae thrive in hot weather and when the thermometer drops below zero degrees.
Therefore, if the potato moth gets into the storage along with the potatoes during the harvesting process, it will continue its pest activity, laying eggs directly on the surface of the tubers, and before the onset of spring it can ruin the lion’s share of the crop.
One potato can contain several caterpillars at once.
One potato can contain several caterpillars at once.
Measures to combat potato moth
Ignoring the appearance of fluorimea in potato beds can cause loss of part of the harvest.To prevent this from happening, you need to fight potato moth in the garden at the first sign of its appearance.
Biological method
The biological method of killing moths involves spraying the bushes with preparations that have a detrimental effect on pests and do not pose a danger to plants and humans.
Such products are less effective than insecticidal preparations. However, unlike the latter, which are characterized by a long waiting period, biological products can be used several days before harvesting, which makes it possible to combat pests during the fruiting period.
All biological agents are used to treat not only potato bushes, but also tubers. In the latter case, the infected root vegetables are dipped into the working solution prepared according to the instructions for ten minutes, after which they are removed and dried well.
There are a huge number of biological products to combat potato moth. The only disadvantage of using them is that the processing will have to be carried out more than once. To forget about potato moth forever, it is recommended to spray the bushes every ten days.
Bitoxibacillin
A contact-intestinal drug that penetrates the body of the potato moth through the oral cavity along with food and through thin chitinous covers. Pests disappear five days after treatment.
Bitoxibacillin will help destroy not only potato moths, but also other pests
Fitoferm
An effective product used to combat a number of pests, including potato moth. The insects will die a couple of days after treatment.
Potatoes can be eaten within three days after processing
Lepidocide
It has a characteristic aroma that the potato moth does not really like. Penetrating into the intestines of the pest, the active substance of the drug destroys its walls and paralyzes the activity of the digestive organs.
Lepidocide destroys potato moth at all stages of its development. As a rule, insects die within two days from the moment of treatment.
The drug is used in the dosage indicated in the instructions.
Agrotechnical method
Agrotechnical methods of controlling potato moth are a set of measures that prevent pests from accessing tubers.
The following will help protect tubers from damage by larvae:
- regular hilling of bushes, preventing the appearance of tubers above the soil surface;
- timely removal of weeds from the garden;
- annual digging or plowing of the soil to a depth of at least 25 cm.
A layer of soil will protect the potatoes from damage
Chemical preparations for potato moth
The most effective way to combat potato moth is to treat the crop with chemicals. You need to spray the plants immediately after the butterfly appears, without waiting for the caterpillars.
The presence of the pest in potato beds can be detected by carefully examining the leaves or installing special pheromone traps with moth sex hormones.
To combat the pest, pyrethroids or organophosphorus compounds are used. Both of them, entering the body of the larvae along with the juice of the leaves, provoke paralysis, as a result of which the insect dies.
The list of pyrethroid insecticides includes the drugs Decis, Inta-Vir, Ambush, and organophosphorus insecticides - Zolon, Volaton, Foxim.
Potatoes should be sprayed with insecticides no later than 30 days before harvesting.
Folk remedies for potato moth
Some gardeners prefer to fight potato moths using so-called folk remedies.
To help cope with the pest:
- Wood ash, which is added to the holes when planting potatoes.
- A product made from ash and wormwood, for the preparation of which 1 tbsp. ash is combined with 1 tbsp. crushed wormwood and pour all 3 liters of boiling water and leave to infuse for two hours. The resulting product is filtered and sprayed onto bushes or tubers.
- Infusion of onion and wormwood - 200 g of dry crushed wormwood, 50 g of onion peel and 100 g of liquid soap are mixed and poured into 5 liters of boiling water. After the solution has infused well (5-6 hours), it is filtered and used for spraying plants.
Plantings need to be treated with such means at least 3 times per season.
Folk remedies are absolutely harmless to potato bushes
How to protect your potato harvest from moths
To get a good harvest of high-quality potatoes, you should take care to prevent damage by pests, including fluorimea.
The following will help reduce the likelihood of potato moths:
- growing early varieties of crops, the period of tuber formation for which ends before the beginning of the summer of potato moth;
- a thorough inspection of the potatoes before planting, removing all damaged and suspicious specimens;
- warming up the tubers before planting for two hours at a temperature of 40 °C;
- planting potatoes to a depth of at least 20 cm, followed by regular hilling of the bushes;
- installation of pheromone traps (1x10 sq. m);
- regular sprinkling, which will help destroy some of the butterflies;
- preventive spraying with insecticides at the time of budding and flowering;
- regular inspection of plantings for the presence of pests and timely destruction of the latter.
You can use a small spray bottle to spray potatoes.
Conclusion
Potato moth is a small but very dangerous pest that can destroy a considerable part of the crop in a short time. Timely detection of fluorimea and immediate destruction of insects will help prevent such troubles.
