• Repair
• Repair
• Interior Design
• About everything
• About plumbing

When storing onions, insects appeared. Pest control of onions with folk remedies. Thrips tobacco, or onion

onion root mite
Onion root mite in the photo

onion root mite everywhere damages onions in open and protected ground, storages. Ticks preferentially colonize damaged or diseased plants. In the affected bulbs, the outer surface of the juicy scales is covered with brownish dust, the bottom along the edges is thinned, then falls off, the roots do not form.

These pests are hardly noticeable on onion beds, since the mites are very small (0.5-1 mm). The bulbs are penetrated through the bottom. Spread with the remains of damaged plants, soil, inventory.

Onion stalker on a bow
Onion secretive hunter in the photo

Onion western lurker- pest larvae gnaw longitudinal whitish passages in the pulp of the leaves, translucent through the skin. Larvae up to 7 mm long are yellowish, legless, with a brown head. As adults, they leave the leaves and go into the soil. At the end of July, black beetles appear, which feed on onion leaves before harvesting, winter under the remains of plants, lumps of soil, and stones.

In spring, at an air temperature of +8...+10°C, the beetles begin to additionally feed on young onion leaves.

Onion moth on the bow
Onion moth in the photo

onion moth Causes significant damage to onions, leeks and garlic in warm, dry weather. Damaged leaves, starting from the tops, turn yellow and dry. Light longitudinal spots - mines - are visible on them. Caterpillars penetrate into unopened onion inflorescences and eat out the rudiments of flowers there. During flowering, pedicels gnaw.

As you can see in the photo, the caterpillars of this onion pest reach a length of up to 1 cm, and butterflies - in a wingspan of up to 1.5 cm:

Caterpillars on a bow
Butterflies in the photo

Butterflies hibernate in various secluded places, plant remains, and in the spring at the end of April - May they begin to fly.

Onion fly on a bow
Fly fly in the photo

onion fly poses a danger to onions, leeks, garlic and other onion crops. Damaged plants lag behind in growth, their leaves fade, turn yellowish-gray, and then dry out. Damaged bulbs become soft, rot, emit an unpleasant odor.

Harm white larvae up to 1 cm long, which develop for about three weeks. They then pupate in the soil near damaged plants.

In the conditions of the southern region, the onion fly has two generations. Flies of the first generation fly during the flowering period of lilac, the second - in July. They overwinter as a pupa in the soil at a depth of 5-8 cm.

Onion hoverfly on a bow
Onion hoverfly in the photo

onion hoverfly especially harms weakened plants of various types of onions. Affected plants lag behind in growth, the tops of the leaves turn yellow and wither. The bulbs become soft, rot and emit an unpleasant odor.

Pest larvae are quite large, up to 1 cm. They turn into pupae in the soil near damaged plants.

Hoverflies fly at the end of May - June during the flowering of wild rose. They lay their eggs on or near the bulbs in the soil. The hatched larvae penetrate into the bulbs and feed there for about a month. The pest hibernates in the bulb itself.

Onion stem nematode on onions
Onion stem nematode in the photo

onion stem nematode affects onions and garlic during the growing season and storage. Infected seedlings grow slowly, the first leaf is swollen and twisted. With severe damage, the plants die. Grayish spots appear on the surface of the infected bulbs, the inner scales become loose, soft, unevenly thickened. Cavities form between the scales, and the bulb feels soft to the touch. The outer scales, and sometimes the bottom, crack; in autumn, such bulbs are without roots. Gray spots are visible near the cracks - clusters of nematodes.

Nematodes hibernate in bulbs, the remains of leaves and scales, seeds. Remain viable in dry scales up to five years.

Diseases when growing onions: photo and description of fungal diseases

Downy mildew on onions
Downy mildew in the photo

Neck rot on onions
Neck rot in the photo

neck rot- the most harmful onion disease during storage. Its development begins in the garden bed. In the second half of summer, when the onion leaves wither and lie down, the fungus penetrates the neck of the bulb. Its tissues soften, a dent forms. 1-2 months after harvesting, the rot covers the entire bulb, it becomes watery, acquires a yellow-pink hue, and emits an unpleasant odor.

With this onion disease, the affected scales are covered with a smoky-gray bloom of the fungus:

Neck rot on onions
Neck rot in the photo

The bulb dries up, leaving only dry scales. During storage, the rot spreads from diseased bulbs to healthy ones. In this case, the lesion begins on the side or bottom of the bulb.

Varieties with dark-colored scales have a shorter growing season, faster maturation, and are more resistant to this disease.

Rust on bow
Onion rust in the photo

Rust affects onions, leeks, garlic. In spring, orange, later reddish-yellow powdery small “warts” form on onion leaves, which turn black in summer. With a strong development of the disease, the leaves dry early, the bulbs become smaller. The causative agent of the disease overwinters on plant debris, as well as on perennial types of onions.

Green moldy rot on onions
Green moldy rot in the photo

Green moldy rot often found on onions during storage. Initially, brown watery spots appear on the bottom or outer scales of the bulbs. On spots and under dry scales, a whitish, then green or bluish-green coating forms first. The causative agent of this fungal onion disease persists in the soil on plant debris, as well as in crop storage areas. The development of rot during storage is facilitated by increased humidity, as well as freezing of the bulbs.

Diseases and pests of onions
Diseases and pests in the photo

Below you will learn how to protect onions from pests and diseases.

Protection of onion plantings from diseases and pests

• use healthy planting material;
• plant zoned varieties that show the greatest resistance to pests and diseases;
• strictly observe the alternation of cultures. Return the onion to its original bed no earlier than 3-4 years later.
• For the prevention of onion diseases, you need to remember that the best predecessors for these crops are potatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, cabbage, parsnips, celery, turnips, radishes.
• Before sowing, carry out heat treatment of seeds (scalding them with running boiling water through a sieve), warm the seeds for 2-3 days at a temperature of +30 ... + 35 ° C or for 20-25 days at + 25 ° C.
• To treat onions from diseases and protect against pests, it is necessary to apply Bazudin, Zemlin or Initiation to the soil when planting or with top dressing.
• When growing onions on a turnip, with the appearance of the first signs of peronosporosis, spray with Profit Gold. Repeat the treatment after 12-15 days;
• seed plantings of onions from pests (moths of the secretive proboscis) are sprayed with one of the insecticides recommended for protecting cabbage;
• during the growing season, carry out all agrotechnical activities (watering, fertilizing, weeding, loosening, etc.).
• To protect against onion diseases and pests, timely harvesting of ripe onions is necessary. Overexposed on the beds is stored poorly;
• before storing, sort out, discard bulbs with mechanical damage and signs of damage by pests and diseases; dry well. Observe the optimal storage mode;
• in the garden, carefully remove all plant debris, destroy severely affected bulbs. The discarded ones should be discarded first.

To print

Onions are a crop that should be present in the garden every day. The methods of its cultivation are simple, but a large list of diseases and pests complicates care.

At home growing onions to protect against diseases and pests, it is necessary to use technologies that do not harm human health. In the article we will talk about diseases and their treatment.

Fungal diseases of onions

Fungal diseases affect the bulbs during the growing season and during storage.

Most often during storage onion can hit:

• neck rot, it affects mainly the upper part of the bulb (the tissues resemble a baked onion);
• black mold, usually spreads during storage at elevated temperatures of poorly ripened fruits and is manifested by drying of the upper juicy scales of large Luke and complete drying of the sevka. Sometimes the bulb is mummified, a black dust-like mass is visible between the shrunken scales;
• green moldy rot first appears on the outer scales and the bottom of the onion in the form of brownish spots, slightly watery. Later, a bluish-green or greenish coating with a moldy smell spreads on spots and shrunken scales. Mostly sick frostbitten onion or stored at high humidity.

During the growing season, the following fungal diseases are common:

• peronosporosis, or false mealy dew, affects the above-ground mass of onion plantings. The disease develops in warm, humid weather and is expressed by yellowing of the tips of the pen and the spread of pale green spots along them, turning into a grayish-violet coating;
• onion rust also attacks the leaves. Light yellow or rusty yellow streaks are visible on the leaves. The leaves dry out completely;
• fusarium begins with damage to the root system. The bottom softens, the roots turn pink and gradually die off. Over time, brownish spots appear on the leaves. The plant dries out completely and dies.

Measures to combat fungal diseases

At home, the main measures that resist diseases are preventive ones. No pesticides onion, especially when cultivated on a feather, processing is not recommended. When cultivating onion on turnip necessary:

• observe the cultural rotation with the return of onion plantings to their original place in 5-6 years;
• carry out sowing at the optimum time with zoned varieties resistant to rot;
• in the spring, before planting, it is advisable to disinfect the re-dug area with a solution copper vitriol 25-30 g / 10 l of water. The site should be kept free of weeds, the rows of onions during the growing season should be well ventilated;
• in the phase of mass shoots, you can spray the plants with a solution Bordeaux liquids and in the phase of feather growth (10-12 cm) once with a 0.04% solution of Zineb or a 0.5% solution of copper oxychloride. It is best to protect plants from diseases with biopreparations Glyokladin, Fitosporin-M, Alirin, Gamair, with which plants can be sprayed 3-4 times during the growing season, keeping the plantings healthy. The dosage and method of application are indicated on the package;
• sowing should be carried out with processed planting material. onion sets treated with hot air at a temperature of 30-35°C for 8 hours. Black onion soaked in a solution of the biological product Trichodermin. But it is best to purchase seed in a store where it is sold in processed form;
• during the growing season, it is necessary to carefully monitor the condition of the crops and, if symptoms of the disease appear, immediately remove and destroy diseased plants.

Onion pests

To onion pests relate root mite, stem nematode, onion secretive proboscis, onion(tobacco) thrips, onion mole, onion fly and others. All of them belong to the gnawing and sucking types of pests. Penetrating into the bulb itself, they gnaw out its pulp or, settling on the leaves, suck the juice from the aerial mass of the culture.

Pest Control Measures

Unlike diseases, most pests have the ability to move quickly ( onion fly, onion mole), but they need tissue and plant juices to feed. This is the basis for the technology of combating the above pests.

All preventive work in the preparation of the soil and planting material is the same as in the protection against diseases. In addition, during the growing season, if necessary, you can use drugs to kill pests. But not chemical, but systemic biological products, such as Fitoverm, Agrovertin. They accumulate in plants and act selectively, do not harm human health. When treated with these preparations, onions can be eaten after two days.

Timely detection of a disease or pest infestation can prevent crop loss.

To print

Read today

Work calendar Cultivation of autumn radishes - we plant and get a harvest without the hassle

Often, gardeners believe that the most delicious radish is obtained only after spring planting. But that's not always the case, because...

Onions and garlic contain a large amount of vitamins, essential oils and volatile compounds. They have long been used not only for food, but also for the prevention and treatment of many, primarily colds. However, even the specific chemical composition does not save plants from diseases and pests.

Diseases can affect both plants in the garden and bulbs during storage. Signs of the disease may be discoloration or spotting of the feather. In particular, diseases include drying of the aerial part, softness of the bulbs or the appearance of white, grayish or black plaque on them.

onion fly

Very similar to the common fly. The larvae are dangerous for onions.
The onion fly emerges from hibernation around mid-May, and lays eggs in early June. The larvae hatch on the fifth to tenth day, penetrate the young bulbs and eat them from the inside.

The feathers of the affected plants turn yellow and dry up, starting from the tips, the bulb itself rots. One larva per month of growth can damage the entire garden. A month later, the larva pupates, and soon a new generation of flies appears.

The fight against this pest begins with prevention. After harvesting the onion, you need to carefully sort it out and remove all damaged bulbs. Dry the rest of the onion. In the spring, before planting, sort out the bulbs again and again select the damaged ones.

It is strongly not recommended to plant onions in the same area two years in a row. In fact, the correct crop rotation of onions involves the return of planting to the same place no earlier than in the fourth or fifth year, it is good to sow onions and garlic in the place where cabbage, nightshade or pumpkin crops were last year. The onion fly hibernates at a depth of up to 20 centimeters, so in the fall the beds need to be dug deep and all plant debris removed.

The onion fly does not like the smell of carrots, so it is advisable to plant onions and carrots (or garlic and carrots) on the same bed, alternating rows. Before planting, onion sets must be disinfected in hot water. To do this, hold it in water at a temperature of 45-46 degrees, for ten to a maximum of fifteen minutes.

The onion fly is afraid of salt. You can treat the beds two or three times per season. The first treatment is carried out when the seedlings are about 5 cm. For each subsequent treatment, the amount of salt must be increased. The first ratio is 300 grams per 10 liters, then 400 grams and, if the treatment is carried out for the third time, 600 grams of salt.

The beds (the plants themselves) should be watered with brine, and after four or five, rinsed with plenty of clean water. The interval between treatments is about two weeks. Within a week after the departure of the onion fly, the aisles of onion plantings can be treated with a mixture of tobacco dust and sunflower ash. Lime or carbon ammonium salt is also allowed.

Useful tips for the destruction of pests and the treatment of diseases of green onions and garlic.

Secretive Trunk

The onion secretive trunk, also known as the weevil, is a small beetle of dark gray or black color. Both beetles and larvae are dangerous for the plant. The body of the beetle is up to 2.5-2.7 mm long, with a characteristic proboscis bent downwards. The larva is a yellowish caterpillar with a brown head, 6-6.5 mm long. The pest feeds on the pulp of the leaves, which causes white dots or stripes to appear on it.

Especially affected leaves dry up. Despite the fact that the secretive hunter does not directly harm the bulb. Due to the damage done to the green part of the plant, the onion yield in the infected area is significantly reduced.

The secret-proboscis starts activity quite early - in mid-April, and feeds on initially unharvested leftovers or sprouted onions. In late April or early May, females lay their eggs inside tubular onion leaves. After a week or two, the hatched larvae migrate to the leaves.

The larvae actively feed on the pulp of the leaves, and after three weeks they enter the soil and pupate. This usually happens in July. A new generation of beetles appears in the same summer and continues to feed on the leaves and inflorescences of onions. The fight against this pest is primarily based on crop rotation.

A new planting of onions must be placed in a place as far as possible from the previous planting, and always carefully remove all the remains and waste of onions. Further, at the time of pupation of the larvae, it is necessary to regularly loosen the onion aisles to a depth of 5-10 centimeters. This is necessary in order for the maximum number of pupae of the secretive proboscis to be on the surface of the soil and die.

Onion crops can act as a bait for a secretive hunter. They can be placed next to an ordinary bow, and then destroy the batun beds along with pests. It is desirable to do this at the stage of the first white stripes on the leaves.

This is very important, because during this period the larvae are just starting to grow and do not have time to infect the soil with pupae. A mixture of tobacco dust and wood ash repels the secretive hunter well. To do this, in a ratio of 1 to 2, sprinkle the plants themselves after watering), tansy and celandine (sprinkling with dry powder or spraying plants with decoction).

Thrips or thrips are a whole group of pests. These are insects of small size (on average, the body of an adult is up to 1 mm in length) of discreet coloration, mainly herbivorous. Unlike the previous two, thrips are not only pests of onions and garlic, but also cabbages, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, ornamental and even indoor plants.

Thrips are prolific and develop rapidly, during the season they can give from 3 generations in the open field and up to 8 in greenhouses. Thrips larvae suck the juice from the vegetative parts of plants. With their significant damage, the stem is bent, the bulb softens, the plant lags behind in growth and does not produce seeds.

The most dangerous for onions are tobacco thrips and onion thrips. Measures to combat them - the destruction of the food base and individuals that are in the soil at rest. This means that in the fall you need to carefully dig up the beds, to a depth of 15-20 centimeters (the bulk of thrips winters at a depth of 5-7 centimeters) and remove as much as possible any plant debris and roots that can serve as food for the pest. The greenhouse after harvesting can be treated with 0.15% karbofos.

In the summer, deep loosening of onion row spacings is effective in order to destroy thrips pupae. Also, to protect onions from thrips, it is recommended to maintain crop rotation and not plant onions next to other crops that are the food base of the pest: cucumbers, cabbage, tomatoes. With small lesions, it is effective to spray plants with decoctions of odorous and caustic herbs of celandine, tobacco, mustard, and hot pepper.

To do this, you can take 1 kg of fresh hot pepper and boil in 10 liters of water for an hour. Then insist for a day and pour into dark bottles. Before use, 125 ml of pepper concentrate is diluted in 10 liters of water and the plants are sprayed with this solution. The treatment is repeated at intervals of two weeks.

Winter and potato scoops

Scoops are small (up to 4.5 cm in wingspan), inconspicuous shades of butterflies, which are universal pests. Scoop caterpillars infect plantings of various types of cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, carrots - in fact, all garden crops, and both aerial parts of plants and roots are eaten. In late August-September, the females lay eggs.

Caterpillars emerge from the overwintered eggs in late April-early May, which begin to actively feed on both cultivated and weed plants. Caterpillars pupate no later than mid-July, in the soil, at a depth of 6-10 cm. After a while, butterflies emerge from the pupae, which lay new eggs.

Based on such a life cycle of scoops, the fight against them, first of all, consists in carefully digging and loosening the soil. This is done in order to destroy as many eggs and pupae as possible by removing weeds. Because they allow the caterpillars to soak before the active growth of cultivated plants.

Of the well-known folk remedies against scoops, you can apply a decoction of wormwood. It is necessary to boil 1 kg of grass for a volume of 3 liters of water for 15 minutes. Processing is carried out twice, with a break of a week.

An infusion of white mustard is also suitable. To prepare, you need to insist 2 grams of the powder in a glass of water for two days, then strain and dilute with plain water to a volume of 1 liter). Unfortunately, such a pest as the winter cutworm is quite aggressive, and with a significant damage to the plantings, industrial broad-spectrum insecticides may be needed.

Thus, the optimal protection of onions and garlic from pests will be:

• complex wrestling throughout the season;
• compliance with crop rotation (thus, onion and garlic pests are left without a forage base for the next season);
• deep digging of the soil in autumn, with the removal of plant residues and weed roots;
• destruction of pest-infected parts of plants;
• thorough drying of the onion seedling and checking it before planting;
• loosening the beds of onions and garlic to a depth of at least 10 cm several times per season, which allows you to destroy a significant part of the pupae;
• processing plants with various infusions of herbs and seasonings that repel insects;
• treatment of plantings with a solution of ordinary table salt;
• use of tobacco dust. This adjuvant is sold in specialized stores and, when used on beds, disorients pests by interrupting the smell of plants;

Onion pests and the fight against them - this is exactly the first question that puzzles many gardeners who have found small insects on the onion bed. How to determine the type of pest, and most importantly, how to get rid of it as soon as possible?

Before you start fighting insects that attacked the onion garden, you need to correctly determine the type of pest. It is on whether the identification was made correctly that the processing efficiency depends. What insects love onions?

onion fly

It affects the culture in the first period of growth. During the mass summer, insects lay their eggs between the rows of onions. Under favorable conditions, after a week, worms are born that do not destroy green sprouts, but climb inside the bulbs and begin to eat them. The danger of this insect lies in the fact that only a couple of larvae can kill a plant in a short time. Depending on the location of the region, 2–3 generations of flies are activated during the growing season.

root mite

Another of the small insects that infect onions during the growing season and storage. Pests breed most actively in warm rainy summers. Female root mites lay about 350 eggs, from which larvae emerge. Adults and young individuals eat juicy scales, as a result of which the turnip turns into dust. Wilted twisting stems, the surface of which is covered with white spots, testify to the attack of unexpected guests.

onion stem nematode

At the last stage of growth, onions are affected by small scale insects. First, the nematode feeds on juicy feathers, and then on the turnips themselves. In plants attacked by a nematode, the feathers lighten and deform. Stems covered with swollen areas quickly wither and die. At the time of the appearance of external signs, the bulb is already badly damaged.

onion weevil

A distinctive feature of the pest is a long, slightly bent nose. The greatest damage is done to the onion by the larvae hatched from the eggs, which the insect females laid with the advent of spring. If the landing is not immediately processed, the larvae quickly climb inside the feathers and eat them. A sign that the insects have begun vigorous activity is oblong white spots on the surface of the feathers. The bugs are also quite voracious, as they suck the juice from the greenery with the help of their trunk.

onion hoverfly

A large bronze-green fly lays eggs, which hatch into gray-green larvae that feed on the flesh of the turnip. Most often, the hoverfly lays its eggs on already diseased plants. The danger of the pest lies in the fact that it is quite difficult to identify it - when there are no signs on the upper part, the lower part is already quite spoiled. If nothing is done, the onion hoverfly will overwinter and harm crops next season.

Onion (tobacco) thrips

Small insects attack young sprouts shortly after they appear on the surface. From the eggs laid on the tops of the feathers, yellow worms hatch. In a matter of days, affected plants become covered with silvery spots and small black dots. As a result of the activity of pests, the onion turns yellow and dries.

How to prevent the appearance of pests?

Since the fight against voracious insects does not always end successfully, it is better to try to avoid the appearance of pests on your site. What manipulations will help to ward off insects from the garden with onions? List:

1. Compliance with the rules of crop rotation. Like most cultivated plants, onions can be planted in the same place only 3-4 years after the first planting.
2. Digging the soil. On the eve of winter, the garden bed is carefully cleaned and dug up. In the spring, re-digging is carried out.
3. Planting carrots. Since the leaves of this plant produce phytoncides, the aroma of which is not to the liking of many insects, the culture is placed next to the onion bed.
4. Seed processing. To destroy microorganisms on the surface of the bulbs, the planting material is soaked in a weak solution of potassium permanganate or copper sulphate, and then dried and heated at a temperature of + 30–+40 ⁰С or water is lowered for 10 minutes, the temperature of which is +50–+55 ⁰С.
5. spraying. In order to scare away pests, onions are treated with wormwood infusion.
6. Care. The bed should be regularly weeded and loosened. Manipulations will not only activate the growth of turnips, but will also help identify diseased or insect-damaged plants.
7. Variety selection. Thanks to the work of breeders, a wide range of varieties is available for sale, the vast majority of which are resistant to bacteria. Onion diseases and their treatment take a lot of time from the gardener, thereby distracting from other equally serious problems.
8. Early boarding. Onions are planted immediately after the soil dries out from melt water. The earlier the planting is made, the more the plants will get stronger by the time the pests multiply.

As you can see, the rules of prevention are very simple, so even a person who first began to grow onions can fulfill them. However, even despite all these actions, insects often attack the culture. What to do in this case?

How to deal with pests?

Unfortunately, there is no single scheme for onion pest control. The list of manipulations directly depends on the type of insect. So, an infusion of herbs with a pungent odor will help get rid of onion flies and onion hoverflies: garlic, wormwood, tobacco, hot red pepper. Top dressing with urea will help scare away pests. For prevention purposes, bulbous beds are covered with mulching material.

If the bed was attacked by weevils, infusions of plants with a strong aroma are used as weapons. The insect will definitely not covet the onion, from which the smell of celandine, mustard or tansy emanates. In addition to spraying the plant, you can generously sprinkle with chopped dry herbs. The beds are dusted with wood ash and tobacco leaf powder.

All the same “fragrant” mixtures will help get rid of onion thrips. The most effective means are prepared as follows:

• 1 kg of wormwood is placed in a saucepan and 3 liters of water are poured, after which the mixture is boiled for 20 minutes and cooled. Spray onions 2 times with an interval of 7 days.
• In a glass of water, stir 2 g of mustard powder. The mixture is infused for 48 hours. To prepare the working solution, the volume of the concentrate is adjusted to 1 liter.

To prevent the appearance of a pest, organic residues are carefully removed before winter. The tools necessary for planting are treated with a disinfectant. In case of severe infection, onions are treated with chemicals such as VDH, Aktara.

To destroy the onion moth and a number of other insects, the following means are widely used:

1. 300 g of wood ash is poured with boiled water, after which it is left to infuse. For better adhesion, 40 g of soap are added to the cooled filtered mixture.
2. 100 g of calendula seeds are poured into 5 liters of water and left to infuse for two days. The resulting infusion is treated with onions affected by moths.
3. Finely chopped garlic is poured in a ratio of 1: 1 with water and infused for 14 days in a closed jar. To prepare the working mixture for 10 liters of water, add 70 g of concentrate.
4. 0.5 kg of red hot pepper is cut in half, poured into a 5-liter saucepan and boiled. The cooled broth is filtered. Onions are sprayed with a solution of 10 liters of water, 130 g of decoction, 40 g of soap.
5. 200 g of tobacco is poured with boiling water and left to infuse. After the mixture has cooled, it is filtered. Spray plants and soil. Consumption per 1 sq.m. beds - 1 l.
6. To destroy the onion fly, the soil around the turnips is sprayed with a salt solution. To prepare the mixture in a bucket of water, I dissolve 200 g of table salt. The treatment is carried out upon reaching a height of 5 cm. Subsequent sprayings are carried out at intervals of 3 weeks.

If these funds are ineffective in the fight against numerous insects, onions are sprayed with chemicals. A good result is shown by the drug Proclaim, SPINTOR, Decis, Bi-58, Tabazol, Metaphos.

Regardless of the type of insect that attacked onion plantings, it is recommended to use aggressive pesticides only in case of severe infection.

Both the first and second types of spraying are carried out in dry, calm weather in the afternoon. To achieve a positive effect, the treatment is carried out periodically.

As you can see, the variety of onion pests is quite large. Having found at least one insect on the plants, you must immediately begin measures to destroy it. If you do not react in time, harmless, at first glance, bugs will eat the entire onion in a matter of days. To reduce the risk of collision with voracious insects, it is recommended to carry out preventive measures, which consist of following the rules of crop rotation, preparing the soil and seeds.

No garden can be imagined without onions. This healthy vegetable is included in the recipe of many dishes, and is also an excellent medicine that has no contraindications and side effects. with good care, it is able to give an excellent harvest, because it is resistant to adverse weather conditions and is not too picky about the soil.

The only thing that can prevent a summer resident from growing high-quality and healthy onions is diseases and pests. The latter, according to experts, pose a greater threat than infections, because it is they who can not only spoil the largest bulbs with unsightly wormholes, but also provoke allergic reactions in humans to their metabolic products. In addition, even a slight damage to the bulb contributes to the ingress of various pathogenic microorganisms into it, which can go unnoticed for a long time, and then unexpectedly destroy the entire crop.

Signs of the appearance of pests on onion plantings

Whatever onion pests are (flying or moving exclusively under the soil surface), traces of their activity can be seen quite easily. First, the feather will signal their arrival by yellowing and/or wilting. Secondly, plants damaged by various insects begin to noticeably lag behind in growth. Thirdly, the above-ground part of the culture is deformed, swells or bends. Gardeners often do not pay attention to such metamorphoses, and onion pests, photos of which will be shown below, continue their destructive procession through the beds. If the necessary measures are not taken, the harvest of a healthy vegetable will be completely lost. So, it's time to get to know these insects better.

Onion fly and hoverfly

The very first to begin their procession through plantings are the early pests of onions - onion flies. Their years begin in late May or early June. The fly itself does not threaten the landings, this role went to small white insect larvae with a dark head. Laid at the base of the onion stalk, they go deep into the soil and gradually bite into the upper part of the bulb. Since damage to the underground part of the plant by the onion fly occurs at the initial stage of growth, yield losses can be 100%.

Hoverfly flies are onion pests that can destroy most of the crop. Just like this insect lays eggs on the beds, after which they sink into the soil. Already there, larvae appear from them, gnawing passages inside the bulbs. For a long time, the symptoms of damage remain invisible, as the feather continues to grow due to the nutrients present in the bulb. Only from the beginning of August can a summer resident find a completely rotten onion in the garden.

Flies are very dangerous onion pests, and the fight against them should begin from the first days after planting the crop. First you need to mulch the beds with peat. When laying eggs of an onion fly and a hoverfly fly, irritants can be used, such as tobacco dust and slaked lime with fine sand in a 1: 1 ratio. You can also scare away insects from landing mothballs. If onion pests nevertheless penetrated into some plants, they must be carefully removed from the garden, and the place where they grew should be sprinkled with a mixture of ash and

Secretive Trunk

Another insect whose activity can lead to a large loss of crops is the secretive proboscis, a small beetle from the weevil family. These onion pests and the fight against them are not much different in the way they spoil the onion from the aforementioned flies. The only thing that is characteristic of secretive proboscis is the way their larvae are delivered inside the bulb. The beetles gnaw small, rounded holes in the above-ground green part of the plant and lay their eggs inside them. Tiny insect larvae penetrate the underground part of the onion from above and begin to gnaw cavities inside it.

onion moth

The onion moth itself does not damage the plantings, but its larvae are malicious onion pests. They feed on the tissues of the plant, penetrating inside its leaves. As a result of this, the aerial part of the plantings turns yellow and eventually dies off completely. After that, the bulb also stops growing, having received less nutrients and plastic substances from the feather. In order not to decide how to treat the onion from pests, it is worth making sure that the moth cannot lay eggs on the surface of the plants. To do this, many experienced gardeners during the summer of the insect build a shelter over the beds from the thinnest non-woven material or equip the beds with various repellers.

thrips

Thrips are microscopic insects that feed on plant sap, including onions. The surface of the onion feather affected by this pest is covered with silvery spots, on which black dots can be seen upon closer inspection. Over time, the onion feather dies, and the bulbs that do not receive the necessary amount of nutrients from the aerial part lag behind in growth.

These pests winter well in the soil, and also remain in the planting material. That is why it is important to observe crop rotation and, before planting, treat the seed with special means or warm it up at a temperature of no more than 50 degrees for 15 minutes.

Scoops potato and winter

Potato caterpillars either feed on the roots and the aerial part of the onion, gnawing young seedlings near the soil surface or eating away large cavities inside the bulbs. In a word, they do not disdain anything. Before treating onions from pests, it is important to carefully inspect all beds and remove plants damaged by caterpillars. Experienced gardeners advise not to pull out the gnawed onion, but to carefully remove it from the garden with a seedling scoop along with a clod of soil. In this case, the caterpillars are guaranteed to be removed from the garden.

So, what should the summer resident do if onion pests appeared on his beds, and the fight against them begins to turn into a protracted battle for the harvest? The first thing that comes to mind for every owner of six acres is to pickle the entire garden in order to prevent the spread of insects. Here it is worth saying right away that this method most often turns out to be the most ineffective, because chemicals for each type of insect are selected individually.

Onion flies and hoverfly flies, as well as their larvae, can be destroyed by double treatment of plantings with Fufanon and Bazudin preparations, potato scoops and onion moths with a solution of Iskra M from caterpillars, a secretive proboscis and its larvae with a solution of karbofos. Microscopic pests (aphids, mites and thrips) are practically indestructible with conventional pesticides. They can only be destroyed with a solution of colloidal sulfur.

Folk pest control methods

There are several recipes for onion pest control, which are not difficult to prepare at home. For example, flies (onion and hoverfly) can be scared away from beds with onions with the help of infusions of tobacco and black pepper. Experienced gardeners also use a saline solution to protect against their larvae, which is poured directly under the roots of plants. It helps to cope with the invasion of insects and repeated dusting of the beds with tobacco dust, hot red pepper (ground) and ash, taken in equal proportions. Diseases and pests treated in this way are bypassed.

How to prevent damage to onions by insect pests

No matter how effective the methods and means of controlling insects are, it is still better to prevent their appearance in the beds. First, every gardener should remember about crop rotation. Onions should not be planted in the same place for several consecutive seasons. In autumn, it is important to thoroughly clean the area of ​​​​all plant debris in which pests can overwinter, as well as dig deep into the area where onions grew. This will help to get rid of insects and even nematodes that have survived in the ground. Secondly, pay attention to the combination of plants in neighboring beds. It is best to grow carrots next to onions, as they repel many of its pests with their smell. Thirdly, it is important to properly prepare the planting material: warm it up in hot water (50 degrees) and pickle it with special compounds. Thus, onion pests and the fight against them may not cause any inconvenience at all, and even experienced summer residents will envy the resulting crop.