Whitefly control on tomatoes

Among the pests that often cause inconvenience when growing vegetables, whiteflies on tomatoes. The small insect, which can be seen in the greenhouse, less often on open ground, multiplies rapidly in the colony, harms the crop, leading to economic losses.

Content
  1. What is whitefly
  2. Harm from the whitefly
  3. Signs of the pest
  4. Agricultural technology against the whitefly
  5. Biology against the pest
  6. When treatment is needed
  7. Mechanical methods
  8. Trapping moths
  9. Foliage processing
  10. Folk techniques against the moth
  11. Garlic <
  12. Yarrow
  13. Soap
  14. Low temperatures
  15. Chemical treatment against whitefly
  16. Spraying <
  17. Fumigation <

Борьба с белокрылкой на помидорах

Fight against whiteflies on tomatoes

What is whitefly

This is a small insect that is no more than 3 mm long, which looks like aphids in appearance. Its wings are covered with white bloom. Whitefly settles on tomato seedlings in large colonies, settling on the lower part of tomato leaves, where all the basic processes of its life pass. In the same place, in the place of her residence, at the bottom of the leaf, she lays eggs, which after some time turn into larvae. In addition to tomatoes, whiteflies love to settle on bushes of cucumbers, eggplant and other vegetable crops.

Whitefly damage

A whitefly that damages tomato harvests is fed by the liquid contained in the tomato leaves. Adults and larvae attached to the leaves drink the juice of tomato leaves and upset the metabolic processes and the normal balance of nutrients in the plant. As a result of a deficient malnutrition, the crop deteriorates, the tomatoes die.

Whitefly can transmit viral infections that cause the tomato to change in the shape and color of tomato foliage. The result of such a disturbance in the development of vegetable culture is the death of leaves and the cessation of shoot growth.

Among the harm that the whitefly for tomatoes brings with it, the development of soot fungus on the feces of insects. Initially, the remnants of the activity of whiteflies look like plaque, colorless transparent or white, with a characteristic sheen. With the appearance and propagation of soot fungus on this, the foci change color to dark up to black.

Signs of the appearance of the pest

Whiteflies can appear in your greenhouse from various sources, among which are the main ones:

  • residues from vegetation,
  • infected soil,
  • infected seedlings acquired in a greenhouse that is not suitable for whiteflies of tomatoes.

The appearance of whiteflies on tomatoes can be indicated by signs of its life processes:

  • in the greenhouse, a white midge often fluttering above the beds with tomatoes, resembling moths with external signs,
  • when shaking tomato bushes, colonies appear above them, consisting of many small moths,
  • when examining the lower part of the leaves of tomatoes, you can find slightly visible translucent flakes.

During the spread in the greenhouse with whitefly tomatoes Odita slowdown in growth and development of vegetable crops. The leaves of the tomatoes begin to turn yellow and curl, and fall over time. The sooty fungus that appeared during the life of the whitefly on tomatoes gradually passes from the leaves and affects the fruits, which must be removed before they ripen. Affected vegetables are not to be consumed.

Agrotechnics against whiteflies

When growing tomatoes, gardeners often try to carry out a number of agricultural activities before they encounter whitefly moths in their greenhouse.

Among the main methods that will allow you to fight and protect tomato plants from annoying pests can be:

  • compliance with the standards of density of planting of tomato seedlings, allowing to ensure their normal development in the absence of excessive crowding of bushes,
  • providing the necessary ventilation in the greenhouse and maintaining the required temperature conditions necessary for the normal growth of tomatoes,
  • frequent loosening of the earth,
  • regular bait of tomatoes and soil with special means and the use of drugs, p Resistive tomato bushes and strengthen the health of vegetables.

Experienced vegetable growers do not recommend using manure as a bait method. They recommend putting chicken droppings in the hole when planting tomato seedlings, which will act as a source of endurance of the tomato root system to diseases and infections.

Increased humidity can trigger the appearance of insects

When growing tomatoes in greenhouse conditions and outdoors, it is very important to follow the instructions for watering the plants, as excessive humidity becomes a provoking factor for the appearance of the pest and increase the intensity of its size dix.

Biology against the pest

Biological methods are a good alternative than how you can fight against whiteflies and its larvae. Experienced gardeners often take beneficial insects as helpers to combat whiteflies and not only do not try to remove and destroy ladybugs and lacewings, but also plant flowers on their summer cottage, attracting them to plantings. Ladybug and lacewing are the main natural enemies of whiteflies.

Insects – biological enemies of moths, whiteflies at the pupal stage are hung on cardboard sheets between tomato bushes.

Insects begin to parasitize on the pest, eating a whitefly, and when moving to the affected leaves, immature still larvae are also eaten. Biological methods of controlling whitefly on tomatoes also include the introduction of other parasites into the greenhouse with tomato bushes, which do not harm the tomatoes, but are natural enemies of the whitefly moths and help to destroy it. Among the most famous are gardeners, macrolofus bugs, riders and encrasia.

When treatment is needed

Fighting with whiteflies on tomatoes is recommended when when inspecting planting material no larvae were found, but only the presence of adult moths was recorded. Such signs may indicate that the tomato crop can be saved by taking appropriate measures.

It is recommended to process tomato seedlings and bushes planted in a greenhouse or soil in the form of:

  • prevention and prevention of adult whiteflies,
  • treatment of the running process and progressive propagation pest.

An adult whitefly bloodworm poses less danger to the crop than its larvae, which are quite problematic to deal with. The most suitable time for taking measures against whiteflies on tomatoes is the period when the insect larvae have not yet found a dense wax coating. This layer of larvae becomes an obstacle to the penetration of insecticides used in the fight against whiteflies. When matured individuals emerge from the resulting cocoons, the crop will not be able to ripen in the greenhouse, as new adult insects will again lay their eggs, and the reproduction of the pest will be repeated again. The fight against whiteflies will not achieve the desired result and will not be effective.

Mechanical techniques

Mechanical methods of controlling whiteflies on tomatoes are not the least.

Trapping moths

To trap the pest moths, special traps made on an adhesive basis are used. You can make such yourself from small pieces of plywood, which are lubricated with petroleum jelly or rosin mixed with honey. The home glue trap is painted yellow, attracting whiteflies.Place it at the level of the upper part of the tomato bush and shake the bush to provoke the flight of moths. The trap used with adhering whiteflies is replaced with a new one and the trapping process is repeated.

Processing foliage

It is possible to collect adult whiteflies from tomatoes by manual mechanical processing of tomato leaves, for which purpose spray the plants with a solution containing laundry soap, and then rinse them with running water. Such manual processing will get rid of the pest and plaque masonry, wash away the spores of the soot fungus present.

Folk techniques against the moth

Whiteflies can be exterminated without chemicals

Many gardeners who do not want to treat their future crops with chemicals prefer to use folk remedies and methods to destroy the whitefly on tomatoes.

Garlic

You can fight the pest with tinctures of garlic, I’m doing t which of 100 g per liter of water. The garlic solution is infused for processing for 5 days in a closed container, and then they are sprayed with tomato bushes.

Yarrow

The plants infected with the whitefly can be treated with the help of the infused yarrow. It is brewed from a proportion of 80 grams per liter of boiling water.It is recommended to wipe large leaves with cotton buds, and spray small ones with infusion.

Soap

Along with garlic, another folk remedy against whiteflies has a simple laundry soap that is rubbed on a grater and diluted in water at room temperature in a ratio of 1 to 6.

Low temperatures

Among popular measures that have a detrimental effect on the vital activity of the pest and its larvae, lowering the temperature regime . For cold-resistant tomato varieties, removing tomato bushes from the greenhouse can be an effective way to get rid of insects.

Chemical treatment against whiteflies

Chemical preparations are often used to control whiteflies. When choosing means of how to get rid of whiteflies on tomatoes, you need to give preference to those that contain pyrethrum or pyrimiphosmethyl in their composition. Good reviews for drugs such as Actara, Mospilan, Pegasus and others.

Spray

Insecticidal drugs, such as Actara, are diluted and used in dosage, according to the instructions . The solutions obtained with actara and other insecticides are used when spraying tomato bushes affected by a pest. Chemical treatment with actar, pegasus and mospilan is carried out mainly in favorable climatic conditions, preferably in cloudy, not rainy and calm weather.

Anna Evans

Author ✓ Farmer

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