One of the worst pests of nightshade crops is the Colorado potato beetle. Its adults and larvae feed on succulent shoots of mature bushes, destroying the tops of cultivated plants and preventing the ripening of the crop. Rapidly reproducing insects cause maximum damage to potato plantings. If you do not use protective agents, then in an unfortunate combination of circumstances you can completely lose your tuber harvest.
- - “Prestige KS”,
- - “Aktara”,
- - “Protravitel Respect”,
- - "Inspector"
- - “Confidelin”,
- - “Stop Bug”,
- - "Grad"
- - "Bombardier"
- - “There are no Colorados”
- - "Space",
- - “Beetle Eater”,
- - "Tanrek"
- - “Aktofit”,
- - "Corado"
- - "Taboo"
- - “Monsoon”, etc.
Time-tested methods for controlling the Colorado potato beetle to help gardeners
However, many summer residents who grow potatoes in their gardens for their own needs try not to use pesticides on the plot. Fans of organic farming, in the fight for an ecological harvest of root crops, use time-tested folk methods of combating dangerous insects.
The most labor-intensive way to destroy beetles and their larvae is to collect insects by hand. During the formation of potato tops, such activities have to be carried out almost daily, which takes a lot of time and effort.
Biological insecticides help protect potato plantings from the invasion of the Colorado potato beetle. Dusting and spraying plantings with natural products, the components of which completely decompose in nature and do not accumulate in either tops or tubers, helps reduce damage from insects. Such procedures need to be carried out quite often (once every 2-5 days) throughout the entire period of formation of the above-ground parts of plants and flowering of bushes.
Folk remedies cannot provide complete protection for potato plantations. In addition, their components are washed away by sedimentary waters, which is why the frequency of treatments increases significantly. However, in small plots, the use of biological insecticides in combination with manual collection of pests gives good results, allowing the collection of tubers free of nitrates and toxic substances.
Mustard infusion with vinegar
A bucket of water requires 250 g of dry mustard powder, 140 ml of table vinegar (9%) and 40 g of green, tar, sulfur or sulfur-tar soap. The resulting composition is sprayed on potato tops from all sides 2 times a week, starting from the stage of formation of several full-fledged stems.
A mixture of ash and tobacco dust
Sifted wood or grass ashes must be mixed with powdered shag or tobacco dust in equal proportions. The resulting composition is used to powder potato plantings on wet tops, for example, in the early morning after dew or after an overnight rain. The event is held every 3 days.
Infusion of walnut leaves
According to reviews from experienced gardeners, walnut greens contain concentrated tannins, essential oils and phytoncides, which have a detrimental effect on all stages of beetles. Green nut leaves must be prepared in August by drying the raw material in a well-ventilated area. It is recommended to store the material from autumn to spring in paper bags or cardboard boxes in the basement or other utility room.
A biological remedy for the Colorado potato beetle is prepared by infusing 2-3 kg of dried leaves in a bucket of lukewarm water for 3 days. Potato beds are generously sprayed with strained insecticide 3 weeks before the mass emergence of parasite larvae (May–June).
The described methods are used both in potato plantings and in beds with other nightshade vegetables: eggplants, tomatoes, capsicums. These crops are less likely to suffer from parasite invasion, but sometimes their juicy tops become food for beetles that have spread en masse to a neighboring plot or the nearest potato field.
We wish you success in your struggle for the summer harvest!
