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Cabbage pests make it impossible to grow a high-quality crop. Before taking insect protection measures, it is important to know how drugs affect the human body.
Features of cabbage pests
Pests of white cabbage attack the plant during the entire growing season. Damage in the first weeks after planting, when the bush is not yet strong, poses a great danger. If the defeat is massive, then the head of cabbage will not be able to start.
During the entire summer season it is necessary to take measures for protection. It’s worth starting with the safest methods. If they do not bring the desired result, then you will have to use biological or chemical drugs.
Description of cabbage pests
A common cause of cabbage drying and death is pest damage. They attack at different periods of plant development.Insects breed not only on the trunk and leaves, but also in the root system.
Cruciferous flea beetle
Cabbage pests appear in greenhouses and in open ground at different periods. The cruciferous flea beetle begins to cause harm at the moment the seedlings emerge. Small beetles overwinter in the ground in plant debris. As soon as it gets warm, they crawl out of hiding and begin to eat all the cruciferous vegetables that they meet on their way. At first they feed on weeds, and then move to fresh cabbage seedlings, just planted in the ground.
The cruciferous flea beetle feeds on the top layer of leaf tissue
Cabbage fly
The cabbage fly is a gnawing pest. Eggs are laid near the plant in late May. After a week, the larvae appear. Their life cycle takes place in the lower part of the stem and root system. Damaged plants begin to rot. There is a noticeable wilting of the head of cabbage, and the lower leaves acquire a leaden tint.
Cabbage fly larvae are invisible to the eye, so the problem is often discovered after the plant dies
Cabbage whites
Cabbage white is a moth. There are black spots on her white wings. She lays about 100 eggs at a time. The caterpillars appear after a week and a half. They are very gluttonous and eat the whole cabbage in a short time. They leave only veins. As the pest moves along the leaves, it leaves a smelly, green trail. Therefore, the affected head of cabbage can be detected from afar by its unpleasant odor.
After watering, the trail left by the caterpillars emits a particularly strong, unpleasant aroma.
Aphid
Aphids are the main sucking pest of kaputa. Prefers to live on the lower part of a young leaf. In spring, the pest settles on weeds and then flies to young seedlings. Numerous attacks on cabbage occur in June and then in August. At this time, it is necessary to carry out preventive treatment.
Aphids prefer young cabbage leaves
Thrips
Thrips suck out the juices and leave a large amount of excrement on the leaf, which looks like black dots. The first manifestation is whitening of the leaf plate. In the advanced stage, the leaves become browner, then dry out and fall off. They are afraid of constantly wet areas. Therefore, pests are most active during dry periods.
To prevent thrips from spreading, the soil is treated regularly throughout the summer season.
Cruciferous bug
The cruciferous bug is a brightly colored insect. Yellow, white, and red stripes stand out against a black background. Damages cabbage foliage. The pest sucks out plant juices. The leaves begin to change their natural color to yellow. Marble spots form on the surface. The head of cabbage stops forming. Its structure becomes soft and ugly. The young plant dies quickly.
The greatest harm to cabbage comes from the larva that emerges from the eggs. She has no wings, so she is completely attached to the head of cabbage, feeds on it, quickly destroying the entire plant.
Cruciferous bugs can be collected by hand, significantly reducing their numbers
Cabbage moth
The cabbage moth flies from one plant to another and lays several hundred eggs. Over the summer, 6 generations of pests develop. Each individual grows quickly and devours cabbage leaves around the clock.Small green caterpillars cause damage to the plant.
If you do not fight the cabbage moth, then the number of individuals will increase every month
Slugs
Slugs eat the pulp of leaves at night. During the day they sleep in the shade of cabbage. If corroded edges are visible on the head of cabbage, then you need to look for a pest nearby.
Slugs can hide in the most secret places of a head of cabbage
Medvedka
Mole cricket is a pest of cucumber and cabbage roots. Leads a nocturnal lifestyle. It begins to gnaw at the root system, thereby affecting the root zone of the stem.
The mole cricket lives underground and occasionally crawls to the surface at night.
Owl butterfly
The cutworm butterfly is a nocturnal pest. Lives in warm regions. She lays about 2,700 eggs on the underside of cabbage leaves. After about 6-8 days, colored caterpillars appear. For wintering, they bury themselves in the ground to a depth of 10 cm. In warm climates, the pest forms 3 generations per season, in cold climates – one.
The cutworm has beige-brown wings.
Wireworm
The wireworm is a small beetle. It makes a hole in the underground part of the cabbage plant. As a result, the stem and root begin to rot.
The wireworm larva looks like a piece of copper wire
Stem lurker
The larvae of the stem stalker live in the stems of seedlings. They eat away passages in them that harm the cabbage. The seedlings begin to lag behind in growth. After they are transplanted into the garden bed, they begin to wither and dry out completely.
The stem stalker gnaws holes in the leaf blade
How to deal with cabbage pests
Pest control of cabbage in open ground is divided into 3 methods:
- Chemical. This is a quick, but not safe method for human and animal health.
- People's Doesn't always bring the desired result. Promises to destroy pests with herbal infusions. Not all recipes are healthy.
- Biological. Requires a lot of time and system processing. Completely safe for the body.
Biological products can be combined when preparing mixtures against cabbage pests. The agents have a systemic and contact effect on the insect’s nervous system. Gnawing pests stop feeding after 6 hours, and the death of sucking pests occurs after about 10 hours.
Most often gardeners use:
- Aktofit. It helps destroy aphids, cabbage whites and moths, cutworms. It also gets rid of gnawing and sucking pests.
1 treatment is enough, after 12 hours the problem will be eliminated
- Bicol. Fights against aphids, bedbugs and other sucking insects.
Bicol is completely safe for humans
- Verticillin. Gets rid of whiteflies and aphids.
The product will help get rid of pests at any stage of crop development
- Nemabact. Used against wireworms, cabbage flies, thrips, locusts, and mole crickets.
The drug can be used on any planting area
- Pecilomycin. Fights nematodes.
An effective remedy against pests that eat crop roots
How to save cabbage from pests using folk remedies
An infusion will help against aphids. To prepare it you will need:
- onion peel – 500 g;
- water – 12 l;
- liquid soap;
- tops – 2 kg.
Step by step process:
- Boil 5 liters of water.
- Pour boiling water over the tops. Cover with a lid.
- Leave for 4 hours. Place on low heat. Cook for 3 hours.
- Strain. Measure the volume, add 2 times more liquid.
- Boil 2 liters of water. Pour in the husk.Leave for 2 days.
- Add another 2 liters of water. Pour in a little liquid soap.
- Combine infusions.
Spray the heads of cabbage with the resulting mixture.
You can get rid of caterpillars in simple, safe ways:
- Combine 200 g of ash with 10 ml of shampoo and 5 liters of water. Stir and leave for 1 day. Strain and spray with a spray bottle.
- Sprinkle with baking soda regularly.
- If there is not enough cabbage, then manual harvesting is effective.
Garlic broth is used as a universal remedy for almost all cabbage pests.
Another trick is eggshells, which look like the wings of a white butterfly. The pest, seeing the shells, mistakes them for competitors and flies to another place.
Eggshells can be placed on tall sticks to repel butterflies
A decoction of tobacco helps against aphids. You will need:
- water;
- tobacco leaves – 450 g;
- soap – 50 g.
Step by step process:
- Pour 2 liters of water over the leaves. Boil for 2 hours.
- Strain. If the soap is bar soap, you can first grate it. If it’s liquid, add it to the broth immediately.
- Combine with a bucket of water.
Controlling cabbage pests with vinegar is an effective folk method. It especially helps against fleas and whites. You will need:
- vinegar 70% – 10 ml;
- water – 5 l.
Step by step process:
- Combine water with vinegar.
- Spray the plant generously from all sides. The procedure can be repeated weekly.
The mesh will help protect the heads of cabbage from insects
How to save cabbage from pests using chemical means
This method is extremely undesirable, since the cabbage forms a head of cabbage, which prevents the remainder of the drug from being washed into the ground.As a result, the chemical will end up on the table with the harvest.
If the situation is catastrophic, then the method is used until the head of cabbage begins to form. This period lasts the first few weeks after the cabbage seedlings are planted. After this, preference should be given to the traditional or biological method.
In spring, seedlings can be sprayed with the following compounds:
- Alatar;
The product destroys up to 28 types of pests
- Aktara;
The drug can also be used for indoor plants
- Decis.
Decis is bred strictly according to the instructions in the instructions
There are also adapted means. This means that they are intended exclusively for controlling cabbage pests:
- Bankol;
The product is active against larvae and adults of pests
- Iskra-M;
The drug contains active ingredients - malathion and karbofos
- Fury.
Fury paralyzes the nervous system of insects
Prevention of pests on cabbage
If you do not carry out systematic preventive measures, you can lose the entire harvest. It is important to follow agrotechnical measures, since a healthy plant resists pests better, and in case of damage, cabbage recovers faster.
Preventive measures:
- Weed control. It is necessary to regularly remove grass from the area. This will help to significantly reduce the number of pests that reproduce on weeds in the spring, and subsequently move to the planted cabbage seedlings.
- In autumn, it is necessary to remove the remaining plant debris and dig the soil deeply. This preparation helps reduce the number of cockchafers, wireworms and mole crickets.
- You can buy beneficial insects in stores that eat pests.Lacewing and cocinellid larvae help kill aphids. You can cope with thrips with the help of a predatory mite and the orius bug.
- Early planting in open ground will help the seedlings grow stronger before pests appear.
- The easiest way to prevent cruciferous flea beetles and white butterflies is to protect the beds with covering material.
As a preventative measure, plant next to cabbage:
- Garlic. The volatile substances released help repel the cabbage fly.
- Tomatoes and dill. Prevents aphid attacks.
- Borago. Slugs are afraid of this grass.
- Sage. The aroma released from the plant drives away the armyworm.
- Mint and wormwood. The cabbage white caterpillar and the cabbage fly do not like them.
Preventive measures do not guarantee 100% protection. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly pay attention to plantings and, if pests are detected, take more severe measures.
A massive pest attack can be seen from damage on the leaves.
Advice from gardeners
Simple tips will help you get a bountiful harvest:
- Cabbage pests do not like mustard powder. It is scattered around the plant.
- If you sprinkle cabbage leaves with soda, you will get rid of caterpillars.
- Special traps will help you collect slugs and snails. The soil between the rows is moistened. The newspaper is soaked in mash, kvass or beer. Lay out overnight around the heads of cabbage. The pests will become drunk and will be easy to collect.
Conclusion
Cabbage pests significantly reduce yields and spread infections. Therefore, it is necessary to regularly carry out comprehensive treatment of the beds.
