How to deal with aphids on an apple tree?

To get a rich harvest of apples, trees require care and preventive measures not only from diseases, but also from pests. Aphids - one of the most common insects in Russia, which is harmful to plants, so it is important to know how and what to treat them in order to get rid of the problem.

Apple aphids can be green or brown in color; the body is drop-shaped, about 2 mm long, usually without wings. Individuals often congregate in large quantities. They secrete a sugary substance that sticks to the upper surface of the leaves, making them glossy. Over time, it becomes covered with black fungus.

Insects feed by sucking sap from tree cages. As a result, the growth of new shoots is delayed, photosynthesis in the leaves is poor, the fruits grow clumsy and do not mature properly. Aphid is also the cause of the spread of many viral diseases.

Science is known for six species of this insect, which usually attack apple trees. Most often, the invasion begins in April, May and June. They differ both in appearance and in the type of damage that they inflict on plants.

• Apple Cereal Aphid has a yellow-green color, it attacks the leaves and flowers. As a rule, does little harm, if not in very large quantities covers the plant. Infected leaves turn yellow and curl upwards. Then the aphid leaves the apple tree to spend the summer on the grass, returning in the fall.
• Green has a bright green or yellowish-green color, attacks young shoots. Lives on fruit trees all year round. Older trees are usually not affected by this kind of aphid, but young trees are at serious risk.
• Valerian Aphid - a large brown insect with a waxy coating. It attacks young shoots and causes curl of leaves and their discoloration.
• Apple Plantain Aphid has a pink-gray color with a waxy coating. It affects the leaves and flowers in early spring, can seriously distort the fruits and shoots. This insect, which is the most destructive for trees, spends summer on other plants.
• Gray aphid has a bluish-gray body with a waxy coating. May cause very serious damage to trees. It feeds on leaves, which then become covered with bright red or yellow spots and become tightly twisted. She lives all year round on apples, does not cause distortion of the fruit.
• Red Bull Aphid located in special formations on the branches and the trunk of a tree.

Aphids are one of the most unpleasant and common pests in orchards. Currently, its population reaches a destructive scale, because insects that feed on it, and are a natural deterrent barrier, are destroyed by chemicals.

Symptoms of aphids on fruit trees are the result of its feeding activity. It:

• twisted leaves;
• knots and galls;
• damaged and deformed fruits;
• the appearance of spots.

If the aphids attacked the apple tree, this leads to a weakening of the tree and the appearance of small, gnarled fruits that lose their presentation. The sticky composition, which the insect secretes, inhibits the growth of the young tree, interferes with the normal process of photosynthesis.

Some gardeners say that it is best to fight insects after flowering in June or July, but prevention is necessary in the spring. Early processing allows you to save the crop. Up to fifteen preparations are used for the season, but even in such conditions, the susceptibility of the tree reaches 15%, so you should not overdo it.

In the southern regions of the country more often there is a need for preventive treatment.You can find a strong one drug, because over the winter the insect not only grows, but also adapts to the means used last year. It is necessary to make a tank mix, to apply a systematic approach, since it will be necessary to engage in the garden all year, except for winter.

Experienced gardeners know when an insect appears, what it doesn’t like and what attracts attention. Depending on what phase of growth the tree is in, there is a time limit for processing. It is also worth paying attention to the weather, the amount of aphids on the tree.

In the period from February to March, all actions are aimed at the destruction of insects that survived in the bark and soil. And also processing will be required:

• from April to May, when buds bloom;
• before flowering;
• May-June, when the ovaries are formed;
• during the growth of the fruit;
• from August to September, when the apples ripen;
• in November after harvest.

The number of treatments required affects the age of the garden. If he is from five to seven years old, then there should be no less than seven, older than eight years, but younger than fifteen - then nine, more than fifteen years - ten.

Before spring spraying, it is necessary to tidy up the trees, that is, to cut off unnecessary branches, to remove the affected or exfoliated bark. When the kidneys have not yet dissolved, but the air temperature has already warmed up to +5 degrees, you can start processing. It is best to use complex preparations, and not to touch the trees during flowering.

In May, another treatment is carried out, and two weeks after it is repeated. As soon as the petals have fallen on the flowers, in ten days it is required to spray the garden from the aphids.

Parasitoids are serious enemies of aphids and other pests of fruits. As an example, you can take a ladybird. They are often naturally present in the gardens, but appear in the required quantity too late, since the populations of these insects accumulate only when the aphids are already too much and cause damage.

Most modern control measures are designed to destroy insects in the early days, but sometimes they are not effective. To get rid of aphids, it is not enough just to poison it, it will not be possible to completely remove it, but you can minimize the negative impact. Any poison is primarily chemistry, which is why many gardeners prefer to use more loyal methods. Processing simple herbal infusions helps in time to save the crop.

Currently, the distribution of ladybugs successfully used to combat the parasite. However, this method is not yet applied on an industrial scale.

There are several reasons why biological control is not yet widespread. One of them is the very low price of chemical pesticides, the lack of a complete integrated pest control program.

Currently, commercial gardens are sprayed with a variety of insecticidal products for the season. However, some types of aphids are immune to a variety of products due to wax coating or the development of resistance. On the other hand, the use of broad-spectrum chemical pesticides can harm bees and other beneficial insects. Another disadvantage of the use of chemical pesticides is the fact that they are often present on the crop at harvest, which makes marketing much more difficult. However, several types of aphids are very difficult to control even with modern innovative drugs.

To understand how to deal with aphids, you need to know which drugs are used when. Insecticides are widely used against insects, fungicides are used against diseases.

If it is a contact drug, it means that it acts on the aphids when it comes in contact with it, but it is washed off during the first rain, and it is necessary to repeat the treatment.It is better to use systemic insecticides, which retain their effect for about two weeks. Their active components are able to penetrate the bark of the tree and even affect the larvae, killing them.

One of the sought-after products was Fufanon, which is worth using during the growing season. It can not be used before ripening apples, and should not be carried out during the month more than two sprays.

It is popular with gardeners "Karbofos", but you should be very careful in working with it. This is a potent drug that will kill bees, it is necessary to use it only in extreme cases, when the percentage of damage to trees is very high.

After a flowering period, it helps well against Intavra aphids, but they do not apply it immediately, but after the fruit ovaries appear. You can not spray them more than three times, pay special attention to the weather, if there is no rain for five hours after applying the product, the result will please the gardener.

During the growing season it is better to take "Alatar", it is applied for the last time a month before the fruit ripens, in general, no more than three treatments. If you need a universal, fast-acting remedy, then it is better to buy the drug "Spark", which also has a potassium component, which is used as an additional feeding. Re-spraying them held ten days after the first application.

Odorless good contact drug - "Imidacloprid", which can have a negative effect on aphids after application for twenty days. It is perfectly compatible with most fungicides, perfectly soluble in liquids, works even in heat.

The main food of aphids is the juice of young leaves of an apple tree. This is one of the reasons why it attacks the plant during bud break. When the leaves become too hard, the insect can no longer pierce a thick crust with its proboscis.

But young leaves are very poorly perceived strong insecticides. They can even burn them, which is why some gardeners try to use proven folk remedies in garden care.

You can just knock down aphids with a strong stream of water, it will not rise back to the plant, because ants carry it there. You can arrange such a shower on a regular basis, but this method does not quite fit those gardeners who have more than one tree.

A soap solution helps a lot. You can use a simple dishware, even laundry detergent, but it should not be with strong flavors, since they, on the contrary, attract insects.

The tar soap, which has a very unpleasant odor, is very well suited. With a small area of ​​infection solution with it can be very effective. One piece is enough for ten liters of water.

If there is no opportunity to get tar soap, then you can use a simple economic. Per liter of water requires 1/4 of the standard bar. To dissolve it faster, you need to grate it grated and add a tablespoon of baking soda. If you do not use soap, but take only soda, then the first sediment will quickly wash it away, and the soap solution helps to increase the duration of the remedy.

Many novice gardeners know that plants need ash as a wonderful fertilizer, but it can also help in the fight against aphids. For five liters of water you need a whole glass of ash, suitable from a fire or stove, you can burn branches on purpose. Infused solution before its use within twelve hours. You can spray at any time, because the tool is perfectly safe for fruits and leaves.

Works well against tobacco leaf aphid. To create it, you need to find a shag or tobacco leaves, you can take a simple cigarette butts. Tobacco is brewed in five liters of boiling water and infused for 24 hours, then filtered and sprayed on the trees.You can not use the tool before harvesting, and if they did, it should take at least a week when it will be possible to remove the fruit.

If there is no tobacco, but there is a citrus peel, it is also great for spraying. It will need to grind as much as possible, add a liter of water and insist for a day. But the preparation does not end there either, since it will be necessary to boil the composition for ten minutes, and only after that it can be used on trees. For this amount of solution you will need ten liters of water in which it is diluted.

Aphids do not like to use acute solutions, for example, from:

• horseradish;
• garlic;
• pepper.

The easiest option is to take the roots or tops of horseradish, finely chop them, grate them or grind them in a meat grinder. All this is placed in a container and poured on 1/3 with hot water, preferably with boiling water. Insists all day, only after used in the garden. You can take only two pods of hot pepper, cut and also pour boiling water.

A very good folk remedy is considered an infusion of garlic, but it is more difficult to prepare. You will need to chop or crush it, pour boiling water for a day. After adding any washing liquid and two tablespoons of sunflower oil.

Often in the yard you can find celandine, in the southern regions it grows in large quantities. Its infusion can also help in the fight against aphids. You need to collect three kilograms of grass and insist in ten liters of water during the day, if it is a dry plant, enough kilograms. Before spraying the trees add liquid soap.

After collecting tomatoes and potatoes do not need to throw out the tops, it can be used against aphids. It is enough to take a container with a volume of three liters and put plants there, pour boiling water and wait 24 hours. In addition, infusions are prepared from:

• onions;
• pine needles;
• sorrel.

The technology of cooking popular recipes from these plants is similar to previous recipes. There are many ways to protect plants, the main thing is not to be lazy and water from a spray bottle or a broom. It is important that the solution gets on insects.

Few people know, but the essential oils of lavender, thyme and cedar also do not like aphids. For the preparation will need 100 ml of cream, fifteen drops of oil and two glasses of water. During the day, it will be necessary to spray the trees with this solution twice, after only a couple of days the result will be visible.

Regardless of the folk remedy used, it is worth spraying in the evening when the sun has set. The affected areas should be abundantly moistened, be sure to fall on the reverse side of the foliage, where most aphids are collected.

The best protection against aphids - prevention. It is easier to prevent the invasion of insects than to fight them. Many gardeners have noticed that some plants louse loves, while others bypasses, and there are many reasons for this.

In order to protect the future harvest, it is necessary to remove grass from the spring, under the trees, aphids hibernate in it. However, it is necessary to fight the ants, because it is they carry insects. You can just sprinkle ashes in front of the tree and around it, whitewashing helps perfectly.

Before the first leaflets bloom, experienced gardeners advise treating trees with folk remedies, for example, infusion of garlic or soap.

How to deal with aphids on an apple tree, see the following video.