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Every gardener wants to see his garden healthy and fruitful. But insect pests often attack fruit crops. Aphids on peach are a frequently occurring pest that, without timely treatment, quickly spread to neighboring fruit crops.
How dangerous are peach aphids?
Aphids are small insects that live in families. Aphids on peach can be of several types:
- large peach;
- green;
- blood;
- black.
Before you start fighting a pest, you need to know what the insect looks like and what the first signs of the disease are.
The large peach aphid is a common pest that primarily affects peaches. The peak of the disease occurs in July-August. At this time, insects form numerous colonies that are visible to the naked eye. Insects are located on the inside of the leaf blade and secrete sugary excrement, which, flowing onto the soil, attracts wasps and ants. Without treatment, the large peach aphid can produce 8 to 10 generations. Eggs laid in autumn overwinter in the bark of stem branches.
Green aphids are the main distributor of viruses Y, A, L, M and S. The insect causes the greatest harm to young seedlings by sucking out the sap, which leads to drying out and death of the plant. Damaged shoots freeze out in the cold, fungal diseases settle on the secretions, and weakened peaches are attacked by wood-boring beetles.
The blood aphid on peach is a dangerous insect that sucks the sap from the tree. The pest can be recognized by its massive accumulation on the inside of the leaf. Aphids have thick fluff and, when crushed, release a red liquid similar to blood. If the bloody aphid is not destroyed in a timely manner, the peach becomes deformed, ulcers appear on the shoots, and fruiting decreases.
Black aphids settle on the inside of the leaf blade. It can often be seen on young, weakened seedlings. When widespread, a sticky liquid appears on the buds and flowers of peach, which is secreted by the insect. The top of the shoot and foliage curl, the buds do not open, and fruiting decreases. Black aphids provoke the development of sooty fungus and powdery mildew.
Green aphids cause great damage to young, weakened seedlings. When infected, the leaves at the tops of the shoots curl and lighten, and the tree begins to shed flower stalks and formed buds.
The large peach aphid sucks all the nutrients from the bark and shoots, causing redness, curling and premature leaf fall.
Black aphids overwinter in peach bark and, with the arrival of warm days, attack young foliage and buds. Since the black aphid colony consists mainly of females, it is very difficult to get rid of it due to the regular appearance of offspring.
To recognize peach aphids, you need to look at photos of infected trees:
Signs of aphids on peaches
Before starting treatment, it is necessary to identify the pest. Aphids on peach can be recognized by the following signs:
- a colony of insects accumulates on the inside of the leaf;
- buds, leaves and flowers are covered with a mucous liquid;
- the process of the shoot tip dying off begins;
- pests feed on the sap of the plant, which leads to curling, drying out and dying of the foliage;
- the plant stops growing and developing;
- Fruiting is reduced or does not occur at all.
Measures to combat peach aphids
To protect a peach tree from aphids, it must be treated several times per season:
- the first treatment is carried out until the buds swell;
- repeated - during the appearance of foliage;
- further - during flowering.
It is necessary to get rid of aphids on peach at the initial stage of the disease, so as not to give the pests a chance to reproduce. There are several ways to get rid of peach aphids: mechanical, chemical and folk remedies.
The chemical method must be used extremely carefully so as not to destroy the young tree along with insects. In summer, during the period of fruit formation and filling, it is better to use mechanical and traditional methods of treatment.
Agrotechnical methods for controlling aphids on peach
When black aphids appear on a tree trunk, there is no need to immediately use chemicals. Since this can harm the plant and cause damage to the harvest.
Experienced gardeners recommend using one of the mechanical methods of pest control:
- Washing off aphids with water. Initially, the tree trunk circle is cleared of weeds, and the trunk and stem branches are cleaned. Next, a powerful stream of water is directed at the crown of the tree, thereby washing away numerous insects.
- Planting aromatic plants in the tree trunk. Peach aphids do not tolerate strong odors. Aromatic herbs will not only get rid of insect pests, but will also be an excellent preventive measure for many diseases. You can plant mint, calendula and marigolds around the peach tree. Planted dill will attract ladybugs, which will happily destroy the tree from aphids and other insects.
- In case of mass infection, it is necessary to promptly remove and burn the affected leaves.
- You can protect the tree from insects with a resin belt.
- A month before the onset of frost, the tree trunk circle is sprinkled with wood ash and spilled with hot water. Dissolved ash, penetrating the root system, oxidizes and repels peach aphids. Hot water also destroys insects overwintering in the soil and tree bark.
If the mechanical method does not give the expected result, you can use the chemical method. But it must be remembered that chemicals cannot be used during the fruiting period.
How to fight aphids on peaches using chemicals
Chemicals can be used in the spring before buds break, during flowering and a month before harvest. Insecticides are used for control. The chemical, penetrating the peach tissue, paralyzes the pests, after which they die en masse.
You can fight blood and other varieties of aphids on a peach tree with the following drugs:
- Karbofos;
- Aktara;
- Confidor;
- bottom;
- Topaz;
- Topsin.
How to get rid of aphids on peach using folk remedies
Most gardeners get rid of peach aphids using traditional methods. This method does not harm the plant, does not require additional costs, and can be used even during the formation and ripening of fruits.
Homemade recipes for getting rid of black aphids on peach are used not only by experienced gardeners, but also by amateurs:
- Onion broth with laundry soap. The collected husks are poured with water at the rate of 1:5 and boiled for 20 minutes. Next, the infusion is covered with a lid and left to infuse for 3-5 days. Before use, add grated laundry soap to the strained infusion. Spraying the crown is carried out with a clean, undiluted infusion.
- Garlic infusion. Chop 300 g of garlic and add 1 liter of water. Leave for 24 hours to infuse. Next add ½ piece of crushed laundry soap. The resulting infusion is diluted with 5 liters of water and the plant is processed.
- Spicy mixture. To prepare a healing medicine you will need in equal parts: cinnamon, pepper, mustard, salt, soda, wood ash. The prepared ingredients are poured with water, grated laundry or liquid soap is added and everything is thoroughly mixed. The resulting solution is diluted in a bucket of water and the processing of the peach begins. Spraying is carried out three times with an interval of 7 days.
- Tobacco infusion. 250 g of tobacco is dissolved in a bucket of water and left to infuse for 3 days.Add a soap solution to the prepared solution and begin treating the infected tree.
- Ammonia. Dilute 2 tbsp in a bucket of water. l. ammonia and add 1 tbsp. l. washing powder. Mix everything thoroughly. The wood is treated twice with an interval of 7 days.
- Infusion of citrus peels. Citrus peels are added to water and left for 3 days to infuse. The infected tree is treated with the strained solution in the morning or evening hours.
Set of preventive measures
To protect the tree and crop from aphid attacks, it is necessary to carry out timely prevention:
- In autumn, clear the tree trunk area of leaves, weeds and plant debris.
- Dig up the soil thoroughly.
- In the spring before sap flow and in the fall after leaf fall, treat the tree with Bordeaux mixture.
- A month before the onset of frost, whitewash the trunk. Before whitewashing, clean the trunk of lichen and moss with a wire brush or wooden scraper. Treat the damaged bark with iron sulfate and cover it with garden pitch.
- Perform sanitary pruning in a timely manner.
Conclusion
Aphids on peach are a serious problem that must be dealt with promptly. Regardless of the method used, it must be carried out carefully and in accordance with all the rules. Only in this case can you get a good harvest of tasty and juicy fruits.
My neighbor also grows peaches and of course this is not an easy task. And he had aphids (a very unpleasant sight). And of course I don’t know what he treated and treated there, but then it seemed to stop. When the peaches were sick, he was worried that the harvest would be smaller, but since he immediately took action, this did not affect the plant. Then he treated me again))
Gardeners often advise not to immediately resort to chemicals, but to try available agricultural techniques. So, first of all, we remove all the weeds, remove all the root greens. Next, we clean off the old bark on the trunk and branches.