How to deal with aphids on apple with the help of folk remedies?

Apple is one of the most common fruit crops on the territory of Central and Southern Russia.The trees are resistant to aggressive environmental conditions, have a good survival rate and unpretentiousness. However, before exposure to certain types of diseases and the invasion of parasites, they are often quite vulnerable and defenseless. One of these pests that cause great damage to plants is aphid.

The damage caused by different types of aphids is enormous. Parasites attack the green parts of plants and suck out all the juice from them. As a result, the upper part of young green shoots is twisted and deformed, and fungal bacteria begin to multiply in the fruit. The most favorable time for active breeding of aphids is the first half of September. It is during this period that adults make numerous egg layings, after which they die. The eggs laid in the bark of trees safely survive frosty winters, and with the onset of spring and the appearance of the first leaves, their larvae begin to actively grow and develop. At first, the buds of plants, and then the buds and adult leaves, come under attack.

The first visual sign of a culture affection is reddish bulging spots resulting from plant infection with a virus smoldered. At the next stage of the lesion, a sticky plaque appears, and the leaves of the trees twist and dry. Young shoots while significantly deformed and also begin to dry.

They call a phytophagous insect, which feeds on the sap of leaves, piercing them with the help of a sharp trunk. There are winged and wingless forms of the pest, as well as species that feed on root processes. On apple trees, most often you can find red-headed striped individuals, blood, plum and even potato aphids. However, the green apple aphid is the worst enemy of the culture. This type of pest is a small-sized insect capable of producing nine generations of new parasites over the summer. Moreover, wingless forms are able to reproduce without fertilization, as a result of which any individual can bring offspring.

The winged female of the green aphid lays up to 100 eggs at a time and is able to move for rather long distances. Thus, an adult female can easily cover a distance of 25 km and, having laid the clutch, occupy new territories. However, not adult individuals, but aphid larvae represent a much greater threat to the green mass.. Young pests tightly stick around the tree, in a short time they destroy leaves and young shoots, and also entangle the tree with their sticky “cobwebs”.

Dangerous for apple trees and tobacco aphid. This species of insects lives in weeds, therefore, in order to avoid damage to trees by a pest, it is recommended to regularly remove weeds. Very often in an apple orchard you can see an interesting phenomenon from a biological point of view - a symbiosis of green aphid and ant. The fact is that harmless ants are very fond of sweet dew secreted by aphid larvae, so the ants carry them with them, thus contributing to the expansion of the pest life range. In this regard, the appearance of ants on an apple tree may serve as the first signal of the destruction of a tree by aphids, although signs of parasite life may not be noticed yet. In such cases, you should immediately carry out a set of preventive measures and take measures to eliminate insects.

Sometimes on apples you can find cotton (melon) and apple plantain aphid.In the summer months, the latter leaves the apple tree on the plantain, multiplies safely, and in the autumn months returns to the tree and produces an egg. In the spring, larvae emerge from the eggs, which devour the leaves of the plant until they turn into adults and migrate back to the plantain.

When aphids are detected in the garden area, it is necessary to immediately take a series of measures to combat this malicious pest. In extremely advanced cases, it is impossible to do without the use of chemicals, but when the first signs of the presence of parasites appear, you can try to fight them with folk remedies. Such means include the physical and biological treatment of trees, and the use of two methods at the same time allows us to achieve excellent results.

You can get rid of a small amount of aphids by removing insects from branches manually. To do this, moisten a cotton swab in a soapy solution and gently remove the aphids. Due to its immobility, the insect does not have time to move to another area and can be safely removed. Helping and knocking aphids from the leaves with a jet of water from a hose.

An effective measure to combat aphids is the installation of birdhouses. Birds eat insects with pleasure, thus preserving the health of apple trees. For more effective attraction of birds to the site, you can install feeders, arrange drinking bowls, and also plant some fragrant berry bushes nearby. This will surely attract hemp, sparrows, tits and robins, the basis of which ration consists of various insects. In addition, you can try to populate the garden with ladybugs, hovering and golden-eyed. These insects will not harm apple plantations, but they will effectively exterminate aphids. Increase the number of ladybirds will help the site planted with dandelions, tansy, yarrow and dill. Insects adore these plants, so with great pleasure they will settle in such a place.

As mentioned above, large ant colonies often live near the green tick. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the appearance of anthills in the garden, and, if necessary, to destroy the ants. Among the effective biological methods of control include planting chamomile, calendula, marigold, celandine and tobacco next to apple trees. The presence of such plants as garlic, hot pepper, celery, horseradish, onion, calendula, lavender, sage, basil, mustard and mint brings good results.

In addition to biological methods, a number of measures are also very effective.

• The use of ash solution. This method is the most affordable and often used by orchard owners. In addition to fighting with aphids, ash saturates the earth with a large number of trace elements and often acts as a seasonal fertilizer. To prepare the solution, take 1 kg of ash, pour 8 liters of boiling water and infuse for 48 hours. Then filter the liquid, add 10 liters of water and spray the apple.
• Tomato leaf infusion also helps to quickly get rid of aphids. To prepare it, two glasses of finely chopped leaves are poured with two cups of boiling water and allowed to brew for 12 hours. Then filtered, add another 5 liters of water and process the trees.
• Onion Husk Infusion prepared as follows: a bucket of crushed husk is poured with twenty liters of water and kept for five days.Then filter, add a small planed soap at the rate of 2 pieces per 1 liter of water and dilute with water in a ratio of 1: 2. Due to absolute safety and high efficiency, the solution can be used any number of times.
• Garlic infusion. To prepare the solution, take 6 cloves of garlic, pass through the garlic press, put in a jar and pour 100 g of hot water there. After one day, two spoons of vegetable oil, one teaspoon of liquid soap and 2 liters of water are added to the composition. The resulting liquid is well mixed and begin spraying.
• The infusion of tobacco. For the preparation of funds take 50 grams of tobacco and pour ten liters of hot water. Then add a pre-planed piece of soap and leave for 24 hours. Next, filter the solution and proceed to the processing of trees.
• Coca-Cola and Vodka also detrimental effect on aphids and do not harm the plant itself. A dispenser is put on a bottle with a drink and the areas affected by the pest are treated.

It should be noted that the use of laundry soap in many popular recipes is due to the following: the product has a viscous structure and has a powerful enveloping effect. Due to this property, the soap solution blocks the flow of air to the body of the insect, it loses the ability to breathe and dies. Spraying of trees should be done strictly in the evening. This requirement is dictated by the fact that during the day an apple tree is visited by a large number of beneficial insects pollinating an apple tree. Therefore, in order to exclude their destruction, spraying should be carried out after sunset, when insects are no longer flying. Some gardeners use potash soap instead of household ones, plant a piece in a bucket of water and process the trees.

In addition to using a soap solution, the use of ammonia gives good results. To prepare the mixture take 2 tbsp. spoons of alcohol and dilute them in 10 liters of water. A handful of laundry detergent is then added, mixed well and processed. Aphids do not tolerate vapors of ammonia and quickly die. Citrus extract also helps well: 100 grams of dry crushed orange peels are poured with one liter of hot water and insist in heat for three days.

One of the available and effective means is dandelion infusion: 400 g of leaves are finely cut, poured with a bucket of warm water and infused for 3 hours. You can also make the tool from the bitter pepper. To do this, the pod is cut into 2 parts, pour a liter of water and boil for an hour. Next, insist for 2 days, then filtered and bottled. For pepper processing of apple trees take 125 g of this infusion, add to it 40 g of soap and 10 liters of water. Spray plants of this composition can be up to 3 times a month.

To prevent the appearance of aphids, it is necessary to conduct a series of preventive measures annually. The very first preventive measure should be the introduction of dry wood ash into the soil. It is possible to bring means both in the spring, and in the fall. The main thing is to forget to do this even in cases where aphids are not on the plot and never have been.

The addition of urea, which is produced in early spring, also helps. The tool is able to burn pests and easily breaks through the cocoon shell. Using a mixture of Bordeaux mixture and copper sulfate also gives good results. Preparations make 14 days after the beginning of flowering foliar way.

The use of ferrous sulfate leads to the destruction of larvae and egg clutches, and is carried out before the appearance of the first buds. The first spring preventive measures should be carried out as early as possible: this will destroy the laying laid in the autumn and prevent the insects from developing. When performing preventive spraying, you should try to treat the underside of the leaves, since this is where insects settle.

For information on how to get rid of aphids on an apple tree, see the next video.