Sweet pepper is a tasty crop not only for gardeners, but also for a huge number of insects. Juicy foliage, powerful stems, spreading roots, fragrant color and sweet fruits attract a wide variety of pests. How to recognize where plants are attacked by insects, and where are elementary mistakes in agricultural technology? To do this, you should carefully examine the plant, not forgetting to look under each leaf. If holes appeared in the greenery, it means that the tender foliage has become a victim of insects. I propose to consider the most common sweet pepper pests that can not only spoil the appearance of the bushes, but also jeopardize the harvest.
The first symptoms of damage
A compassionate owner always has everything under control. Timely watering, preventive treatment, regular inspection of each plant are mandatory procedures. And even under close control, one morning, when you come to the garden, you can see the first traces of the attack of pests. The fact is that most parasites are not visible to the naked eye, and some of them are generally active only at night. The first signs of pepper damage by insects are:
- whitish spots on leaf plates;
- an invasion of ants crawling on seedlings;
- sweet bloom on the surface of the leaves;
- holes with uneven edges on the foliage.
When the first symptoms appear, urgent action must be taken.
sweet pepper lovers
Among the huge number of insects that infect plants of the nightshade family, pepper has its own idols. Moreover, in greenhouses and in open ground, pepper is affected by various pests. When growing crops in greenhouses, you should be wary of:
- slugs
- aphids;
- bear;
- colorado potato beetle;
- tobacco thrips;
- whiteflies.
To the main enemies of sweet pepper growing in the open field, in addition to the listed insects, you can add:
- spider mite;
- sprout fly;
- ants.
Where do parasites come from?
Insects can attack tender and spoiled peppers for several reasons:
- Poor soil preparation
- carefully dig the ground after past plantings;
- always remove plant debris on time;
- treat the soil with fungicides.
- Neglect of weeding and loosening the soil:
- timely destroy weeds with roots;
- loosen the peppers after each watering.
- Pay special attention to prevention:
- carry out regular processing;
- inspect the bushes daily.
How to save plants?
The gardener has a large number of tools in his arsenal: from folk methods to pesticides. A timely detected enemy can be destroyed without obvious negative consequences for the crop. Among the folk methods of pest control, the most common among experienced gardeners are:
- a solution of soap and wood ash (an effective remedy for slugs);
- wormwood tincture (repels aphids and snails);
- infusion of onion peel and garlic water (will help with damage by spider mites and thrips);
To reduce the number of parasites will allow:
- collection of larvae and caterpillars by hand;
- planting plants with a pungent and repulsive aroma next to a bed of peppers;
- flushing insects with water;
- creation of various traps for pests.
Use pesticides in the fight against insects or not, the choice is yours. Among the most effective drugs I can advise:
- "Karbofos",
- "Fufanon",
- "Predator",
- "Colorado",
- "Vermitek".
Do not forget to dispose of the unused solution in a timely manner, use personal protective equipment and keep children and animals away!
Peppers are a tender and capricious culture. Its sweet juice is to the liking of many parasites, and tasty leaves serve as the main food for larvae and caterpillars. If you want to reap a good harvest, you have to put in some effort. What do the holes in the leaves of pepper seedlings mean to you?
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