Good afternoon, my reader. Despite the characteristic pungent taste and pronounced aroma, at least 7 varieties of dangerous pests settle on onion plantings, which quickly destroy the future harvest. You should begin to inspect the beds after the appearance of the first succulent feathers, and then throughout the growing season. This will replace the first signs of the presence of insects. The ability to determine the type of pests will help to select the right formulations for their destruction or prevention.
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1. Onion fly
The appearance of the most common pest of this culture on onion beds is detected by yellowing of feathers and rotting of bulbs. A housefly-like insect about 6-8 mm long can be distinguished by its characteristic yellowish-gray body.
Control measures:
- For the purpose of prevention, onion beds are irrigated with infusions of plants, the aroma of which scares off the onion fly. Tomato tops, fir needles, valerian grass, mint, and wild rosemary are used as raw materials.
- On the same bed with onions, carrots are planted, the smell of which cannot be tolerated by a harmful insect.
- The surface of the ridge is pollinated with wood ash, which will not only protect the planting from the pest, but also increase the fertility of the soil.
- A solution of baking soda (250-300 g / 10 l of water) is used for watering young seedlings with a height of about 50 mm. The procedure is repeated 15-20 days later using a more saturated solution (450 g / 10 l). The third treatment (600 g / 10 liter container) is practiced after another 20 days.
- Onions are grown on the same bed with an interval of 3-4 years.
- Before planting, the onion sets are disinfected by immersion in a pink solution of potassium permanganate.
- The surface of the ridge is loosened every 4-5 days. The onion fly avoids loose soil when laying eggs.
- In the autumn season, they practice deep (up to 25 cm) digging of the soil.
- Onion beds are mulched with semi-rotten dry manure or crushed peat.
With extensive pest colonization of ridges with onions, they resort to more effective drugs. They use "Karate Zeon", "Aktara", "Mukhoed", etc.
2. Onion hoverfly
Frequent guests of the garden include another small bronze-green insect up to 9 mm long with characteristic grayish stripes on the back. This is an onion hoverfly. The main signs of its presence are yellowing of the leaves, followed by rotting of the heads. An insect appears during the blooming period of the rose hips.
Control measures:
- Autumn digging of ridges.
- Disinfection of sevka in a solution of potassium permanganate.
- Planting next to carrot onions.
- Early planting of culture.
- Compliance with crop rotation.
- Pollination of ridges with ash, naphthalene powder or tobacco. You can use crushed lime or ground pepper.
- The surface is mulched with rotted manure, crushed coniferous spruce branches, peat.
In order to reduce the risk of damage to plants by onion hoverfly, it is recommended to activate growth processes using a urea solution (1 tbsp. l. / 10 l). The consumption is 3 l / m 2.
3. Onion (tobacco) thrips
It is difficult to see a miniature pest 0.8-0.9 mm long. The presence of onion thrips is indicated by silvery or whitish, sometimes merging marks on the leaves, which begin to bend, turn yellow, and then dry out.
Control measures:
- Compliance with crop rotation.
- Pre-planting immersion of the seed for disinfection in hot (about 45 degrees) water for 10 minutes with quick rinsing under a cold stream.
- Soaking the planting material for 24 hours in a solution (2%) of sodium nitrate.
- High-quality drying of the bulbs after harvest.
- Destruction of plant residues in autumn, followed by deep digging of ridges.
4. Onion root mite
It is impossible to see a dangerous pest with a length of 0.7-1.1 mm. It is possible to notice the presence of onion mites on damaged bulbs. First, the bottom begins to crack, turning into dust, and then the heads soften and rot.
Control measures:
- Compliance with the rules of crop rotation.
- Pre-planting heating of seedlings for 10 minutes in water heated to 45 degrees, followed by cooling.
- Harvesting bulbs in dry, clear weather. High-quality drying before storage at 30-35 degrees for 8-10 days.
- Before storage, onion heads are poured with powdered chalk.
- Cleaning the ridges after freeing the onions from plant residues and then burning them.
- Mandatory autumn deep digging.
5. Onion moth
It is not difficult to see the pest, as dark brown butterflies reach a wingspan of about 12-15 mm. Serious damage is caused by yellowish-green caterpillars of the onion moth up to 10-11 mm long, which damage the green feather from the inside and can also penetrate the bulbs. Affected plants dry up.
Control measures:
- timely weeding;
- regular loosening of the surface soil crust;
- systematic feeding of onion plantings.
6. Onion stem nematode
It is impossible to visually detect a thread-like whitish harmful worm 1-1.5 mm long. The main signs of a dangerous pest are twisted brittle feathers and loose bulbs.
Control measures:
- The onions are returned to the previous garden bed after at least 5 years.
- Use only healthy high-quality planting material.
- Heat disinfection of the seed is carried out for 10-15 minutes at 45-46 degrees (recommended for very small bulbs). The procedure can be performed for 5-10 minutes at a water temperature of 50-52 ° C or 3-5 minutes at 55-57 degrees.
- With weak signs of infection, sevok is kept for 2 hours in water heated to 40 degrees.
- Thoroughly clean the beds after collecting the onions from organic residues that are burned.
7. Onion Lurker
Miniature black bugs 2.2-2.5 mm long gnaw cavities inside the onion feathers, which leads to their wilting.
Control measures:
- The leaves affected by the lurker must be cut off and disposed of in a timely manner.
- Organize systematic feeding and competent watering of plantings.
- The soil near the bulbs is systematically loosened, which can interfere with pupation of the larvae.
- Do not leave plant residues on the ridges when the crop has already been harvested. All organic matter should be burned.
Preventing onion planting from pests will help, first of all, preventive measures, involving the competent implementation of basic agrotechnical measures. Chemicals are used when large populations of insects are seen.
Do you plant onions in the country?
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About transplanting flowers in the fall, read the following article: Autumn flower transplant