Aphids on raspberries: how to fight during fruiting and how to process

When aphids appear on raspberries, many summer residents do not know how to deal with it during fruiting. Indeed, during such a period it is forbidden to spray shrubs with chemical insecticides. But it is allowed to use non-toxic home remedies. Solutions for processing raspberries are prepared from simple ingredients that are in the arsenal of any summer resident.

Causes of pests

The main pest of raspberries is the raspberry aphid. This is a small insect with a green or yellow transparent soft body (2.55 mm long). There are shoot and leaf aphids.In autumn, females lay eggs, which overwinter near the buds. As soon as the buds open, aphids come out of the eggs and settle on young leaves, feeding on their juice. During the summer, several generations of aphids appear, including winged individuals.

The shoot aphid lives in large colonies. It prefers to settle on the tops of stems, in inflorescences and on petioles of leaves. Very active in hot weather. It feeds exclusively on plant sap, causing deformation of twigs, twisting of leaves, drying and falling off of flowers.

The leaf aphid does not live in large colonies. One or more insects hide on the underside of the leaves and feed on their juice. True, this insect does not bring much harm to the leaves. But the leaf aphid is a carrier of viral diseases.

Reasons for the appearance of aphids in raspberries:

• winged individuals fly from neighboring plants;
• aphids are brought in from seedlings bought at the market;
• reproduces due to the fact that timely pruning of bushes is not carried out;
• prophylactic spraying with insecticides is not done;
• weeds, fallen leaves near berry bushes are not removed.

Symptoms and signs of injury

In order to determine the signs of the presence of aphids on a bush, you need to carefully examine it. The insect is usually found on the tops of bushes, in young leaves, inflorescences, under raspberry leaves.

Signs of aphid activity:

• flowers dry up and fall off;
• leaves curl, turn yellow and fall off;
• stems and twigs dry out;
• leaves and branches are covered with a sticky coating.

During their life, aphids excrete sweet excrement, which ants lick off. Thus, insects take care of each other. In gratitude for the food provided, the ants protect the aphids and transfer them to succulent young shoots.

Harm caused to bushes

Settling on raspberries, aphids drink the juices of this plant, causing its depletion, drying of inflorescences, a decrease in the volume of green mass, twisting, yellowing and falling of leaves. During the summer, several generations of this insect manage to appear. They can all live on the same plant, feeding on its juices and causing it to gradually dry out and die.

The danger of this insect is that it is extremely prolific. In just one season, the number of one colony increases several thousand times. During the summer, insects are able to completely stick around a raspberry bush and drink all the juices from it. In addition, the winged relatives of aphids can move to other berry bushes and lead to their death. In addition to the harm caused, the aphid is a distributor of viral diseases that are dangerous for raspberries.

How to process in the greenhouse and open field

There are many ways to deal with aphids. Against this insect, chemical and simple folk remedies are used. There is another method of influencing aphids - biological. To fight insects on raspberry bushes, their natural enemies are populated: ladybugs, lacewings, hoverflies. Each of these insects, together with the larvae, eats several hundred aphids a day.

However, some action must be taken to attract beneficial insects to raspberry bushes. Ladybugs and lacewings flock to the smell of calendula, dill, cornflowers, dandelions, cosmea, tansy, mint, yarrow. Hoverfly flies are very fond of dandelion nectar.

Chemical method

Chemical preparations can quickly destroy aphids. True, before processing raspberries, store products must be diluted with water according to the instructions.Systemic insecticides are used to control insects. On the label of the chemical agent, it must be written that it is used against aphids. The spray solution is prepared just before the treatment of the shrub. The chemical agent should only get into the area where insects accumulate.

Before flowering or immediately after picking the berries, you can spray the bushes with a solution of Nitrofen. To do this, 200 milliliters of the drug is diluted in 10 liters of water. You can use other similar insecticides, for example, Actellik, Antitlin, Novaktion, Fufanon.

If the buds have already opened, the bushes are sprayed with a 10% solution of Karbofos. To do this, 80 milliliters of the drug is diluted in 10 liters of water. During the flowering period, it is allowed to irrigate the raspberries with Green Soap. For 10 liters of water, take 200 milliliters of this drug.

Shrubs are sprayed with chemicals in the evening. Preferably - in calm and not rainy weather. With a strong defeat of aphids, shrubs are treated 2 times. True, you need to maintain an interval between sprayings equal to 2 weeks.

Fungicides

In addition to insecticides, aphids can be controlled with some fungicides. Although fungicidal preparations are used only for the treatment of fungal diseases. However, the Bordeaux mixture is used not only for leaf spot, but also against aphids. It consists of copper sulfate and quicklime. The powder is dissolved with water according to the instructions and the leaves affected by insects are sprayed with a solution. As a preventive measure, you can treat the bushes with a Bordeaux mixture even before bud break.

Fundazol is a fungicidal remedy for fungal diseases with insecticidal properties. This drug has a depressing effect on aphids. The product is not as toxic as chemicals. Fundazol is used to treat bushes affected by aphids. To prepare the solution, take 5 grams of the drug and one liter of liquid.

Folk remedies

There are many simple folk remedies, thanks to which gardeners annually repel pest attacks from their garden. Plants with insecticidal properties come to the rescue. Usually decoctions or tinctures are prepared from them and raspberry bushes are sprayed with them. It is allowed to use pharmaceutical preparations, laundry soap and even wood ash against aphids.

Usually, an aqueous solution is prepared with the addition of some kind of agent, and it is sprinkled on raspberry bushes before or after the berries appear.

Soap solution

Take a bar of soap (200 grams) and rub it on a coarse grater. Then pour soap shavings with a liter of warm water and mix well. Add another 5 liters of liquid to the mixture. The finished solution can be sprayed with raspberry bushes.

One bush takes no more than 300 milliliters of liquid. The leaves can be wiped with a wet sponge dipped in a soapy mixture. The lower branches are dipped directly into the solution.Instead of laundry, you can take tar soap. Some summer residents add a spoonful of soda to the soap mixture. You can also add one glass of vegetable oil to the soap shavings solution. Such a composition will cover the leaves with a film and prevent aphids from eating plant sap.

Decoction of tomato or potato tops

From twigs and leaves of tomatoes, you can make an excellent remedy for insect control. You need to take 2 kilograms of fresh green tops and chop it finely. Then pour 5 liters of warm water and let it brew for 3 hours. Then put the pot with the tops on the fire and slowly boil for another 30 minutes. When the broth has cooled, it is filtered and 20 grams of soap are added to stick to the leaves.

Tobacco Infusion

For tobacco-based infusion, take 50 grams of dry raw material and one liter of hot water. Tobacco is poured with boiling water and left to infuse for 48 hours.Before processing, the mixture is filtered, diluted with another two liters of water and 5 grams of grated laundry soap are added.

Only 200 milliliters of solution is spent on one bush. This treatment will help get rid of 80 percent of the insects and prevent the formation of a new aphid colony.

Infusion of celandine

Celandine juice is very poisonous. It is used against aphids that have settled on the leaves. A solution is prepared from the stems, leaves and flowers of celandine. The plant is finely crushed and poured with boiling water, let it brew for about 1 hour. For 400 grams of grass take 5 liters of water. The mixture is filtered off when the water turns brown. Raspberries are sprayed with celandine infusion several times until they completely get rid of insects.

Chamomile decoction

Chamomile decoction will help get rid of aphids on raspberries. To do this, pour 500 grams of flowers with three liters of boiling water.Put the mixture on fire and cook slowly for 30 minutes. Then the broth should be infused for another 5 hours. Before use, the mixture is filtered and 20 grams of grated laundry soap are added.

Ammonia

For the treatment of raspberry bushes from harmful insects, ammonia can be used. This ammonia compound is also used as an additional source of nitrogen. Aphids living on leaves are very sensitive to ammonia vapors. True, a solution with ammonia is prepared for spraying plants. For 1 liter of water take only 5 milliliters of ammonia. It is advisable to add a little soap shavings to the solution, for better adhesion to the leaves.

Ash solution

The ash left after the burning of dry branches and firewood is used against insects. An ash or soap-ash solution from aphids is made from it. To prepare the mixture, take 300 grams of ash and pour 3 liters of boiling water.The solution is put on fire and boiled for 30 minutes. The mixture is cooled and then filtered.

For better adhesion, add 20 grams of grated laundry soap. Sprinkle the bushes with this solution, wanting to get rid of the aphids that have bred on the leaves.

Onion broth

Aphids on raspberries during flowering are a problem that can be easily de alt with with ordinary onion broth. Onion peel has bactericidal properties, kills pathogenic microflora, is used to treat and fertilize raspberries. A decoction of the husk will help to cope with insects at a time when it is too late to apply any chemicals.

To prepare a solution, pour one liter of husk with 5 liters of boiling water and put the mixture on the stove. The broth is boiled over low heat for 30 minutes. Then let it brew for 3 days. The mixture is filtered and sprayed with bushes. It is advisable to process the raspberries twice, keeping an interval (7 days).

Garlic infusion

You can spray raspberries from aphids with homemade garlic infusion. To do this, take a glass of chopped garlic and pour 5 liters of cold water. The mixture is infused for 24 hours. For better adhesion to the infusion, add a little soap shavings.

Hot pepper infusion

If white aphids appeared on raspberries, then how to deal with it with hot pepper? It is necessary to make an infusion. To do this, pour 25 grams of ground red pepper with a liter of boiling water and let the solution brew for 4 hours. When the mixture has cooled, it is filtered. Then diluted with 4 liters of water. A few drops of liquid soap are added to the mixture so that it attaches better to the raspberry leaves. Bushes can be treated with this tool once every two weeks.

Nuances of processing aphids on raspberries

Raspberries are treated with chemicals against aphids in the spring.Irrigation is carried out before flowering and fruit formation. Plants are sprayed with one of these drugs: Antitlin, Kilzar, Nitrofen, Karbofos. Insecticide treatment should be carried out in 2 stages. The bushes are sprayed with a chemical agent twice to completely get rid of eggs and adults.

During flowering

When the raspberries bloom, it is undesirable to treat the bushes with chemicals. Insecticides can burn the flowers of the plant and destroy beneficial insects. At the time of flowering, it is advisable to use herbal decoctions or homemade tinctures against aphids.

During fruiting

With special care, raspberries are processed during the fruiting period. When red raspberries appear on the bush, treatment with chemicals and fungicides must be completely excluded. It is not recommended to spray plants even with homemade decoctions of insecticidal herbs.You can prepare a soapy or ammonia solution and gently, with a small washcloth, wash each leaf on which the aphid colony has settled.

Mistakes in the fight against aphids on raspberry bushes

Beginner summer residents make a number of mistakes, wanting to quickly destroy aphids. For example, they buy fungicides and use them to fight insects. Some fungicides help to overcome aphids, but insecticides must be used against insects. And exclusively systemic action. Chemical preparations of the intestinal spectrum of action against aphids are not used.

There is another mistake that is made when processing bushes: spraying is carried out in rainy weather. Chemicals are immediately washed off by rain and have no effect on raspberries.

It is also important to remember that all insect control products must be diluted with water in the correct proportions.

Varieties that can resist aphids

Aphids feel great on smooth young raspberry leaves. However, it cannot attach to densely pubescent leaves. There are varieties of raspberries that are immune to raspberry aphids. For example, Tarusa, Lilac fog, Aboriginal, Beauty of Russia, Stolichnaya, Moroseyka. With proper care and timely pruning, these crops are almost never attacked by pests.

How to protect raspberries and prevent aphids: tips and tricks from experts

Experienced summer residents try to prevent the invasion of aphids, and for this they use simple methods of protection. For example, branches are pruned annually not only on raspberries, but also on other berry bushes. They remove fallen leaves, destroy weeds, and keep the garden clean. Crops are planted near the raspberries that repel aphids with their smell: onions, garlic, tomatoes, potatoes.

For the destruction of aphids, beneficial insects are attracted: ladybugs, hoverflies, lacewings. Feeders for sparrows, robins, titmouse and other birds that love to feast on aphids are installed on the bushes.

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