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Potatoes have always been the second bread. This tasty and healthy vegetable is present on the table of almost every person, and the dishes that can be prepared from it are difficult to count.
It grows in almost every garden plot. Therefore, it is so important that the efforts that gardeners make to grow second bread pay off with good harvests. Potatoes, like any garden crop, have their own diseases and pests. But the scale of damage that the nightshade beetle, which came from Colorado, can cause to plants from the state of Colorado is simply impressive.
Damage caused by the Colorado potato beetle
The damage that the Colorado potato beetle causes to plants from the nightshade family is obvious.
- The leaf mass of plants decreases, which leads to a decrease in yield.
- Plants experience stress, which also does not improve the conditions for their development.
- The growing season of bushes eaten by the beetle ends prematurely, which leads to a shortage of harvest.
- By moving through plants, beetle larvae contribute to the spread of late blight, and wounds on various parts of potato bushes are a gateway to infection.
How to deal with leaf-eating pests
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The ruthless pest must be fought. You can collect the larvae by hand. Of course, this method is completely environmentally safe, but very labor-intensive. Beetles will have to be collected daily, but this does not guarantee complete destruction of the pest. The beetle can fly long distances, so it will appear again and again. There are many folk ways to combat this malicious pest. But often they are ineffective, and treatments have to be repeated.
Chemicals against beetles
When the beetle infestation is large, and even more so if a lot of potatoes are planted, you will have to resort to the help of chemicals.
Products used to protect cultivated plants from insect pests are called insecticides. There are a lot of such drugs based on various active ingredients. Most often, their spectrum of action is quite wide.
One of these drugs is an effective remedy for the Colorado potato beetle. This product copes well not only with it, but also with many other pests of garden crops.
Drug Napoval
Napoval contains 2 active ingredients:
- Alpha-cypermethrin. In a liter of suspension its content is 100 g. A substance from the permetroid group, synthesized by analogy with a natural insecticide based on the pyrethrum plant, familiar to many chamomile.It affects the nervous system of cold-blooded animals, including the Colorado potato beetle, by destroying cell membranes, which causes paralysis of the nervous system of the pest. The drug acts upon contact with it and when it enters the intestines of an insect. Half of the drug decomposes into safe substances in 69 days.
- Imidocloprid. A liter of suspension contains 300 g. This substance belongs to the class of synthetic neonicotinoids and also acts on the nervous system of cold-blooded animals, disrupting the conduction of nerve impulses. Lethal if it hits any part of the insect. The effectiveness of the substance is very high; only about 10% of individuals remain alive. Penetrating into potato tissue, imidocloprid, due to chemical reactions, turns into chloronicotinic acid, which is an antidepressant for potatoes. Consequently, it has a double effect: in addition to suppressing the Colorado potato beetle, it also heals potato bushes, increasing their productivity.
Mechanism of action
Imidacloprid is able to penetrate the tissues of potato plants. Moving through the vessels, it quickly penetrates the leaves, making them poisonous to both beetle larvae and adults. This effect lasts for about 3 weeks. All this time, potato plants remain poison for beetles of any age. And even vagrant individuals will not be able to damage the plants. The effect of the drug will be noticeable within a few hours. And in a couple of days it will reach its peak. Pests of any age are affected. It will be in effect for almost another month. The frequency of treatments is 2, but at least 3 weeks must pass before digging up the potatoes. Weather conditions do not affect the effectiveness of the drug.
Mode of application
The instructions included with the drug recommend diluting 3 ml or one ampoule of Napoval in water. Its maximum quantity is 9 liters, when there are few pests. The minimum is 6 liters for a high degree of infestation with larvae and beetles. After thorough mixing, the solution is poured into a spraying device and the potato plantings are treated, trying to wet all the leaves.
This amount of solution is enough to treat an area of two hundred square meters. Advice! It is better to carry out the treatment when there is no wind or rain, then the preparation will not be washed off with water, and the wind will not interfere with completely moistening all the potato leaves.
Toxicity of the drug and safety measures
On the spot, it has a hazard class of 3, it is moderately dangerous for humans, but all animals can suffer greatly from its action, therefore it is strictly prohibited to carry out treatments near water bodies or to pour the remaining solution there, so as not to harm fish and other aquatic inhabitants. But the drug is very toxic to bees. For them, it has the first - the highest hazard class.
Potatoes should not be processed during flowering.
There is information that contact with the drug can cause poisoning of pets.
You can go to the treated area to carry out manual work no earlier than 10 days; mechanical work can begin earlier, after 4 days.
The treatment should be carried out in special clothing, gloves and a respirator must be worn.
Advantages
- Recently developed.
- Does not have phytotoxicity.
- Has high efficiency.
- Thanks to two active ingredients, the Colorado potato beetle does not become addicted to the drug.
- Moderately dangerous for all warm-blooded animals and humans.
- The range of pests it affects is very wide.
- There are no weather restrictions for use.
- Relieves stress in plants, increasing their productivity.
- Small consumption rate.
- Low price.
Potato plantings need protection from such a dangerous pest as the Colorado potato beetle. The drug Napoval can help with this.
