Content
Fruit tree aphids are very small (up to 7 mm) winged or wingless insects that feed on the sap of young shoots and leaves of various trees and shrubs. They pierce the soft succulent tissues of plants with special proboscis and suck out plant juice, which contains many nutrients necessary for the favorable vegetation of garden crops. When there is a large accumulation of aphids on young shoots and leaves, the trees suffer from a lack of microelements absorbed by the aphid colonies and stop growing and producing new growths.
Some information about aphids
- There are more than 4 thousand species of aphids all over the world, about 1000 of them live in European countries, which includes Russia.
- Aphids lay eggs in the fall in the ground or in cracks in the bark of trees; in the spring, voracious caterpillars emerge from the eggs, and by the time fruit trees begin to bloom, they turn into an adult insect, ready to lay new eggs. During the spring-summer season, aphids are capable of producing at least three generations of offspring. Imagine this huge number of hungry insects that attack all the garden crops in your garden.
- Aphids differ from each other in color and body size, their different species prefer to settle in colonies on individual plants, even the names of subfamilies are given to them according to the type of crop: green apple aphid, plum aphid, peach aphid, gooseberry aphid, currant aphid.
- Whatever this harmful insect is called, all types of aphids have one purpose - to produce their own kind, and for this they need food, which they get by destroying cultivated plants in the garden and vegetable garden.
- Gardeners who discover aphids on fruit trees know that other pests will follow them - these are ants, or, conversely, having noticed ants, they determine that there is a colony of aphids somewhere nearby. This symbiosis of aphids and ants has been known for a long time; there is a misconception that ants eat aphids, so there is no need to destroy or drive them away. This is not at all true, ants live and even protect aphid colonies because of honeydew - a sweetish odorous liquid that aphids secrete. For ants, this is a delicacy containing many nutrients, which is why such a welded symbiosis of these insects occurs.
- Aphids can form colonies not only on fruit trees and berry bushes; many vegetables are attacked by them. Throughout the season, especially when new young shoots begin to form in the garden, and vegetable seedlings enter the active growing season, aphids begin their detrimental effect on garden and vegetable crops.
Consequences of insect attacks
Aphids on fruit trees, shrubs and vegetable crops can cause enormous damage to plants:
- plant leaves that have not received enough nutrients and moisture due to the invasion, aphids gradually dry out, curl into tubes, and then fall off without reaching the required growth;
- honeydew, secreted by aphids during their life processes, clogs the pores of leaves and stems, blocking access to sunlight, natural plant photosynthesis is disrupted and leads to the death of young shoots of fruit trees;
- these insects and ants, following aphids, are carriers of fungal and bacterial diseases, trees can become sick and die due to their fault;
- If you do not take measures to combat aphids on fruit trees, shrubs and vegetable seedlings, you can lose a significant part of the harvest or be left without it altogether.
Methods and means of pest control
You can get a decent harvest in your garden if all plants are protected from diseases and harmful insects. Gardeners spend a lot of time and effort fighting aphids on fruit trees, but this is necessary, because no one wants to give part of the crop they grow on their plots of land to voracious pests. In our article we will talk about means and methods of controlling aphids on fruit trees.
Methods
- Planting repellent plants on the site, which repel aphids from fruit trees and shrubs. Such plants include: garlic, onions, Dalmatian chamomile, coriander, marigolds.
- To attract aphids, Can plant away from garden crops, plants that this insect prefers: nasturtiums, begonias, poppy, mallow.
- Linden and viburnum are also favorite trees for aphids, should not be planted fruit and vegetable crops near these plants.
- Necessary regularly carry out preventive treatment of the garden and vegetable garden by spraying trees and bushes, spills areas of soil using chemical or folk remedies.
- Heat treatment of plants (pouring with hot water at a temperature of at least 70°) in early spring or late autumn. Aphids cannot tolerate high temperatures and quickly die from exposure to hot water. This method can be used for plants on which a large colony of aphids has settled and cannot be destroyed in any other way (currants, gooseberries, raspberries).
- If the plant is compact and low, you can use insect washing method from the leaves under the pressure of a stream of water from a hose or watering can, and then pour hot water onto the soil underneath.
- Hunting belts help protect fruit trees from ants, the main carriers of aphids on trees.
Chemicals may contain components that can cause allergic skin reactions and burns to the cornea of the eyes. Folk remedies also cause burning, itching, and redness of the skin. Be prudent.
Facilities
In specialized stores you can find a variety of chemical and biological agents that are used to control aphids (and other insects) on fruit trees, berry bushes and vegetable crops:
- Fitoverm — the biological preparation is produced in ampoules and bottles, after treating the plants it begins to act in 4-5 days, the aphids that eat the leaves sprayed with the product become motionless and die;
- Trichopolum - the product in the form of tablets causes paralysis in aphids, the drug is effective until it is washed off from the leaves by rain, it is safe for people and animals;
- Aktofit - the biological product also causes paralysis of insects when they eat the plant juice; 2-3 days may pass before the effect begins, then the aphid dies;
- Fufanon — phosphorus-containing product is quickly absorbed by all parts of plants: leaves, shoots, roots. The aphid, having tried this “treat”, dies within 24 hours. The drug retains its properties for up to 4 days or until the first heavy rain, it is very toxic, be careful.
- Arrow - begins to act after 2 days, destroying aphids and other pests, the validity period is from 2 to 3 weeks.
For those who are committed to maintaining the ecological balance in nature, there are less dangerous means of combating aphids. Gardeners who do not accept the use of chemicals on their plots have learned to treat their gardens and vegetable gardens with environmentally friendly solutions, infusions, and decoctions according to folk recipes. The video posted after this paragraph is about preparing an aqueous solution with the addition of ammonia. We advise you to read it.
The following video describes the use of soda, iodine and laundry soap in the fight against aphids on fruit trees. All these remedies are safe for both nature and humans, but we will not hide from you that such treatments with folk remedies do not work immediately and are not as effective as chemical and biological preparations. It is necessary to regularly spray all plants with them, at least 6-8 times per season. Be patient if you are for the environment.
Ants that accompany the appearance of aphids on a tree cannot fly. In the fight against them, hunting belts attached to the lower part of the trunk and branches of the fruit tree help. You can make such waist tapes yourself, or buy sticky fly tape at the store and place it in the right place. Watch the attached video, you will learn from an experienced gardener how this can be done in practice.
We mentioned earlier that one of the methods of combating aphids is to plant repellent plants that protect our fruit and vegetable crops, mainly flowers, seasoning herbs, trees and bushes with pungent odors. They are attractive to aphids, which shower them with attention and distract them from the plants we want to protect. The following video provides a more detailed list of such plants.
Conclusion
Whatever method of combating aphids on fruit trees you choose, the main thing is to achieve a favorable result, to destroy or expel pests from our garden. A healthy garden, carefully cared for tirelessly by hardworking owners, should produce a decent harvest that will only please, and not upset, gardeners.
A person has control over everything; he can achieve anything he sets his mind to. In this article, we decided to tell you about methods of combating aphids; we hope that we have completed our task. Read, watch videos and photos, we tried to help you. We wish your garden a long and healthy life without problems like pesky aphids.
