Who eats cucumber seedlings in the greenhouse and pest control methods

To obtain stable high yields, it is necessary to find out which of the pests eats cucumber seedlings in greenhouses and greenhouses. This is the biggest enemy of yields when growing vegetables indoors.

Pests that eat leaves and stems of seedlings

Let us consider in detail the most common types of insects that pose a danger to cucumber lashes in a greenhouse.

Spider mite

Most mites develop in hot, dry conditions. They are identified by the presence of a cobweb entangling young shoots. Ticks mainly live on the underside of leaves, hiding from direct sunlight.

The growth of affected plants is slowed down. The leaves covered with cobwebs turn yellow and die off. Insects actively reproduce on closely planted plants. More than 20 generations of pests grow during the year, which threatens to destroy the entire crop.

Control measures. Before planting seeds, the soil is treated with bleach. Affected seedlings are sprayed with preparations "Fufanon", "Bi-58", "Apollo", "Neoron", "Omite".

California thrips

These are small insects with transparent fringed wings and a narrow striped bristly body. Mature thrips feed on plant sap. Infected lashes twist, the fruits are deformed. Damage in the form of spots is noticeable on the leaf plates. Scars from multiple bites form a large wound. In such areas, plant cells die off, and a breakthrough forms on the leaf.

The productivity of thrips is extremely high. During the season, about 1.5 dozen generations of these harmful insects are born.

To destroy them, they use multiple processing of plantings with "Karbofos", "Aktellik", "Fitoverm". They also resort to folk methods. For this, infusions are used: garlic, tobacco, from celandine (for 1 liter of water, 100 g of a finely chopped plant).

Advice! The best method of dealing with any parasites and fungal diseases is cleaning last year's greenery, weeding from weeds and disinfecting the soil, containers and tools.

Slug

The moisture and heat, to preserve which the greenhouse is built, are attractive to slugs and favorable for their reproduction. These gastropods are found not only in the southern regions, but also throughout Russia. Outwardly, they resemble a snail without a shell: a soft body with a mucous surface, no limbs, the eyes are located on horn-like outgrowths. Slugs are active at night, and when it is light, they hide underground at a level of 8 cm.

Gastropods feed on both leaves and trunks of cucumber bushes, and begin to eat the plant from the youngest shoots, and then exterminate almost completely. When the first fruits appear, slugs switch to eating ovaries and ripe cucumbers.

Control measures. You can take advantage of the fact that the little bodies of slugs are easily wounded: mollusks will not crawl to landings if you sprinkle prickly sawdust, nutshells, needles or broken shell rock around the perimeter of the landings. Another mechanical method is to pick pests from leaves and stems at night.

The best chemical weapon against slugs, according to the experience of vegetable growers, is the drug "Groza". Its action lasts three weeks, over the summer it will take at least two treatments. Another remedy "Slime-Eater" is applied once a season, but the effect of it lasts only two weeks.These granular preparations are spread around the edges of the ridges and around the bushes.

Melon aphid

Aphids (plant lice) are small insects, no more than 6 mm in size, usually green or brown.

Damages plants in open beds and greenhouses. Very prolific - 20 generations can develop in a season. They feed on the entire above-soil part of the plant, populating it completely. Damaged shoots turn pale and dry out. In addition, aphids are dangerous because they carry viral tobacco and cucumber mosaics that cannot be cured.

Aphid - an almost invariable companion of ants that "graze" plant lice and get a sweet secret from them. Aphids reproduce quickly enough, in the fall a winged generation is born that can survive the winter. At comfortable humidity and temperatures above + 22 ° C, the reproduction process is accelerated.

Control measures. Folk remedies are effective against aphids, for example, a decoction of yarrow, wormwood. To increase the effect, any soap (20 g per 10 l) is added to the solution. In large greenhouses, spraying with solutions "TAB", "Aktellika", "Inta-Vira" is carried out.

Advice! In order not to expose the delicate seedlings of cucumbers to any treatments, settle carnivorous insects, natural enemies of aphids, such as aphidimiza gall midge, cycloned ladybug, in the garden or in the greenhouse.

Greenhouse whitefly

Whiteflies are small butterflies, completely white or yellowish, with powdery pollen on their wings. Eggs are laid on the underside of the leaf plates and covered with special pollen. The hatched larvae, firmly adhering to the leaf, are in this position for a month until they pupate.

Adults, like larvae, feed on plant sap, causing significant damage. In addition, whiteflies cover the leaves with honeydew with a characteristic sheen. Insect secretions are a favorable environment for the development of sooty fungus, a dangerous disease of vegetable plants. A bloom appears on the foliage, and it gradually dies off.

Up to fifteen generations of butterflies develop during the season. Insects are quite cold-resistant: females tolerate frosts down to –12 ° C.

Control measures. In the fall, after the harvest has been harvested, the greenhouse soil and stands are cultivated using sulfur sticks, which are set on fire and left overnight. And it is better to get rid of the top layer of the beds (about 7 cm) and replace it with a fresh one.

Preventive measures include getting rid of reserve weeds, disinfection of containers and seedlings, treatment with Actellik, Inta-Vir, Verticillin, TAB, Fosbecid.

Pests that damage the roots of seedlings

It is worth paying attention to insects that harm the root system of cucumber seedlings.

Cucumber mosquito

The main danger is the larvae. They are worm-like, white in color, usually transmitted with humus. They make moves in the stems and roots of cucumber seedlings. As a result, destruction and decay of the stem base occurs, which causes the death of the plant.

Control measures. Plants, soil and glass of the greenhouse are treated with insecticides. With the aim of exterminating the larvae, "Aktara", "Bi-58" and other systemic insecticides are used. Sticky traps are set up to capture adults.

Gallic nematoda

These worm-like pests are typical for greenhouses. Females have a whitish pear-shaped body up to 2 mm long. Eggs and larvae are resistant to low temperatures. After overwintering, the worms make their way into the roots of seedlings of cultivated plants. The female lays about 900 eggs. 8 generations of pests are capable of developing per year.

Root areas affected by pests look like growths and are called galls. Plants weaken, stop growing and die. In addition, putrefactive diseases often penetrate through damaged roots, which accelerate the death of the plant.

Control measures.The positive effect is achieved by growing hybrids that are resistant to nematode damage.

Medvedka

Medvedki are large brown insects with an elongated body and straight wings, up to 5 and even 8 cm in size. Distributed in the regions of the middle zone of the country. Adult insects hibernate, sinking deep into the soil. Hibernation ends by the onset of spring. The female lays up to five hundred eggs in one season.

They eat cucumber seedlings and mature bushes in greenhouses and garden beds. Larvae and mature individuals are busy digging up the soil, looking for food. They especially like wet soil, freshly watered beds. Moving along branched underground passages, insects cut off plant roots. They are also known to be fond of potato tubers and root crops. Their bears eat up, gnawing cavities, which leads to decay.

Control measures. Having found insect minks, vegetable growers fill them with an aqueous solution of black pepper, table vinegar, and kerosene. Ready-made chemicals "Thunder", "Grizzly", "Phenaxin" are also effective.

Wireworm

The wireworm is the larva of the click beetle, which is found in open and closed ground in regions with a temperate climate. In this form, the insect spends in the ground for a long time (2-5 years), feeds on roots and plant remains. In the first year of life, the larvae cannot significantly harm the cultural plantings, but then their appetite increases significantly, which provokes disease and death of the seedlings.

Fully protected by a cover of chitin, the larvae quickly penetrate into the stems of adult plants. Cucumber bushes infected with such a pest bend, the main trunk dries up.

Control measures. To catch the larvae before planting, traps are set in the beds containing the remains of plants or vegetables. A good effect is given by the use of the powdered agent "Bazudin".

General recommendations for protecting cucumber seedlings: what, how and how to process

To protect against pests, it is necessary to properly prepare the soil and strengthen the plants, observing the growing technology.

The following preventive measures will help this:

• disinfection of the greenhouse before planting by gas-flame treatment;
• removal of old plant residues from the greenhouse;
• heat treatment of soil;
• washing glasses and structural elements of the greenhouse with disinfectants;
• seed treatment before sowing with drugs for the prevention of diseases;
• whitewashing of the greenhouse foundation;
• regular inspection of cucumbers, carrying out insecticidal treatments if necessary.

Knowing about possible pests and what to do to get rid of them in time will help you get high-quality seedlings and a rich harvest of cucumbers.