Potato moth: how to deal with it during storage?

Unfortunately, the site and planting on it are of interest not only to summer residents, but also to pests that are able to destroy a large percentage of the crop. Potato moth and how to deal with it, this question has long tormented many gardeners. Everyone wants to save the harvest and the plants themselves.

What is this insect?

To know who you have to fight, you need to read the description of the pest, it will help to destroy it in a timely manner. Having detected the presence of an insect by some signs.

Potato moth is a small butterfly. It is very inconspicuous and dangerous, and is able to destroy up to 80% of the crop.

Pest characteristic:

Scientific name - Fluorimea.
Size - 6-8mm long, 12-13mm wingspan.
Color - gray inconspicuous, on the wings there are small black dots. When the insect folds them, the dots form dark stripes.
Antennae are long.
Mouth apparatus small.

Fluorimea developmental stages

An insect goes through several stages in its short life:

A butterfly lays eggs during its active life. In one clutch up to 20 eggs. They are located on the lower leaves of the plant. The first few days they are white, then they begin to darken, becoming almost invisible. They develop in 5-15 days and turn into a caterpillar.
Stage caterpillar. It is the pest of this stage of development that causes the greatest harm to crops. The length of the caterpillar, after birth, is 1-2 mm. The insect lives 10-48 days. During this period, he manages to molt 4 times. Reaching a length of 8-12 mm.

The color of a caterpillar directly depends on what it eats. The light shade of the body indicates that the larva feeds on tubers, the green tint indicates that it feeds mainly on foliage.

Pupa stage. Most often located on plants or in cracks (if it is in the cellar). After wintering, it emerges from there as an already formed butterfly.
Last step. The insect lives for 3 weeks. During this period, she manages to lay from 50 to 200 eggs.

Potato moth survives even in winter. Only the mode should be optimal. Even at a temperature of -1 ⁰C, when the root crop freezes, the larva continues to live. The optimal temperature regime for the active growth of the pest is + 22-26 ⁰С. Humidity should be no more than 80%.

Fluorimea dies at temperatures of +36 and -4, regardless of what stage of development it is at.

What harm does a butterfly do?

In some areas, the consequences of her activities are very deplorable. Pest control is ongoing.

The larva of fluorimea is especially harmful, it spoils the tubers, they become unfit for food. Attacks plants, destroying leaves and stems.

The harm of the insect increases from the fact that it continues to live and multiply in root crops, when stored in special rooms. Thereby reducing the quality of planting material. Not only potatoes suffer from them, but also other plants of the nightshade family.

How to detect a pest?

It is almost impossible to see a butterfly. The greatest activity occurs in the morning hours before dawn and in the evening.

The first thing to do is to carefully inspect the plants. The fact that a pest has wound up on the landings will show:

The presence of excrement and passages on the leaves,.
The tops start to wilt and then dry.
Small cobwebs appear on some sheets.
Rot develops.
If you lightly shake the bush, then butterflies will rise from it and fly a little, sit on neighboring plants.

Examining the tubers, you can also find insect passages inside the root crop. When severely damaged, it becomes like a spongy body.

The moves of the wireworm and fluorine are similar, but there are differences. In the potato moth, they are curled into a cobweb, and in the second pest, the moves are clean and straight.

What control methods are used in the areas?

Using certain methods of pest control can help save the crop. Fluorimea is very tenacious, so you should strictly follow the recommendations:

Proper fit. The tubers should be deepened by 15 cm. It is best that they are not affected by insects. So their development can be limited. You can plant early potatoes, they are immune to this pest.
Regular hilling. It is recommended to periodically hill up young tubers so that there is always a layer of earth 5 cm thick above them.
Weeding. Timely removal of weeds will help to limit the development of a harmful insect.
Water. The rain principle of watering will destroy a large number of butterflies that are responsible for laying eggs.
Digging up. It is best to harvest potatoes as soon as the plant begins to dry. You can do this, a week before harvest, cut and destroy all the tops.
Cleaning. It is necessary to remove the entire crop from the site. And do it as quickly as possible.
Destruction of infected plant parts. The procedure is extremely important. Everything needs to be collected and disposed of.

It is possible to fight potato moths by biological means, no harm will be done to potatoes. The tubers can be safely eaten. For this, plants are processed:

Lepidocides. Moths are irritated by the unpleasant odor of this solution.
Dendrobacillins. The form of the preparation is dry powder. Not harmful to humans and animals.
Bitoxibacillins. Processing with its use is carried out every 10 days.
Enterobacterins. It is applied at a time when the culture blooms. Or at harvest time.

The use of chemicals is used if biological methods have not helped.Landings are processed immediately after the moth is detected. The greatest effect will be achieved after repeated spraying in one go. After that, be sure to take a break between treatments, at least 2 weeks.

Drugs:

Arrivo.
"Ditox".
"Danadim".
Di 68 and others.

To save your crop, you need to work a little, for this, in time to identify harmful insects and fight them.

Treatment of tubers before storage

We need to quickly remove the potatoes from the site. Butterflies need 2 hours to lay new eggs in tubers. In this case, all harvested potatoes are at risk. If, nevertheless, the insect is wound up, the root crops are treated with special solutions.

Storage Control Measures:

Preparing the solution yourself at home. You need 2 drugs. To combat the pest, lepidocide is taken. And planriz is added to fight fungal diseases. They are combined in the volume necessary for the amount of potatoes being processed. They are connected in the following proportion. 100 liters of water, 0.5 liters of planriz, 2 liters of lepidocide. Immediately after preparing the solution, tubers are lowered into it for 5-10 minutes. Potatoes should be well dried after processing. You can eat processed root vegetables in a few days.

If tubers are dipped in the same solution in the spring before planting, then this will protect against the pest for a while.

Another option recommended by gardeners. For 150 liters of water, a 1% solution of a bacterial preparation is taken, in an amount of 1 liter. The tubers are dipped into it for 15-20 minutes. Such preparations are stored for several years.

It should be remembered that it is easier to apply preventive measures than to subsequently process the crop. This applies to those who grow potato fields, for them the processing will be very laborious.