Potatoes can be safely called the most popular vegetable of Russians. Demand for tubers is high all year round, so many varieties have been bred by breeders. Unfortunately, the fruits of potatoes came to taste not only to humans, but also to insect pests. Every agronomist, breeder, and just a gardener who respects his work should know at least minimal ways control of such insects.
The main pests of potatoes
The life cycle of each insect is unique, which means that everyone destroys the crop in different ways. To deal with pests as effectively as possible, you need to determine what kind of insect you have to deal with, and select correct method.
Not yet invented universal remedy for potato pest control. Each insect needs a specific approach. Below are the main potato pests with photos, their descriptions, as well as methods for dealing with them.
Colorado beetle
Adult beetles are about a centimeter long, with an orange head and a light yellow body with black stripes. They overwinter in the soil and appear in late spring at about the same time when the first shoots of potatoes hatch, which the beetles eat. They lay small orange eggs on inside leaves.
Young larvae are red with black heads. In warm weather, the development of the pest larva occurs in just 10 days. In regions with long, hot summers, potato beetles may have two or more generations each year.
For potato beds, Colorado potato beetles are a real disaster, because they can leave a bush without foliage. Potato plants usually survive bush infestation early in the season. But damage is severe if it occurs when the potato tubers are actively growing, usually just after flowering.
Colorado potato beetles also feed on any plant related to the potato, including peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant. If this pest is found on the site, it is necessary to immediately start fighting it. Attempts to get rid of insects must be continued until they roll en masse upside down with their paws.
These are small and shiny beetles, but with large hind limbs. They lay their eggs at the base of plant stems in early summer, after a feeding period. The larvae feed on the roots, and the adult beetles feed on the foliage, producing chips.
Potato flea usually does not cause fatal damage to potato plants because the leaves are too large for it. The real danger is that these insects can spread bacterial diseases from plant to plant.
The people call them drotyanka - these are the larvae of the nutcracker beetles. They are a problem in many vegetable gardens, especially those that have recently been covered with grass. Wireworms grow up to 25 mm in length, have a thin yellowish-brown body.
Harmful insects feed on seedlings, roots and the base of the stems. The affected roots of an infected plant cease to perform their functions normally, but the main damage occurs on the tubers, in which they gnaw through many passages. The larval stage can take up to four years before the larvae pupate and develop into adult snap beetles.
Wireworms cause the greatest harm in freshly plowed, grass-free land, but become less numerous with regular cultivation because adult beetles prefer to lay their eggs in grassy soil.
This potato pest looks like aphids or moths. It feeds on plant sap, which means it spoils potato tops. In the place where the cicada begins to gnaw the leaf, damage is formed, and over time, the tissues die off. By itself, the cicada is not capable of causing great harm to the plant, but bacteria and harmful spores penetrate the plant through the places damaged by it, which can cause disease in the potato bush. Yes, and the insect itself is a carrier of diseases.
Outwardly, this pest looks like an ordinary domestic moth, but its target is a potato bush. Most often, the female insect lays eggs on potato leaves. When the larvae appear, they fall to the ground and burrow into it until they get to the potato tuber. The larvae bite into the tuber most often through the "eyes".
The maturation time of the potato moth population is from 17 to 125 days, depending on the temperature. This means that several populations can change during a hot year, making this insect a dangerous potato pest.
The potato armyworm is another insect that does most of the damage during the caterpillar stage. They appear in mid to late spring and initially feed on the leaves of wild grasses. Further under threat are already cultivated plants including potatoes.
The larva eats the stem of the plant and eats out the core. Often the caterpillar damages potato tubers. Damaged areas of the healthy flesh of the plant become covered with mucus and begin to rot.
Potato nematodes
The potato nematode is a serious potato pest and is subject to strict quarantine and regulatory procedures wherever it is found. Nematodes can lay eggs twice a year (up to 1200 pieces). When the bush is infected with nematodes, the potato tops wither, yellowing of the lower leaves occurs.
The following types of nematodes are distinguished:
- golden;
- stem;
- gallic.
gall nematode
How to deal with potato pests
Potato pests and their control is an urgent problem for almost all gardeners. Effective measures to combat garden pests exist, they can be used. After planting potato bushes, it is necessary to constantly monitor, and as soon as traces of the presence of one of the pests are noticed, the necessary measures should be taken to prevent the spread.
Chemicals
To get rid of the Colorado potato beetle, it is best to use insecticides (Sonnet, Apaches, Confidor, Aktara, Mospilan). Funds must be applied at least three times. Stop processing at least 20 days before harvesting potatoes.
These same drugs are well suited for getting rid of potato moths. Against the wireworm, it is better to add Bazudin to the holes when planting potatoes. Chemicals it is desirable to apply if other methods do not work.
Folk remedies
TO folk methods the fight against the Colorado potato beetle can be attributed to the mechanical collection and destruction of all insects, spraying potato bushes with infusions of celandine and basil. Poplar branches with foliage are also stuck between the rows of potatoes, in which case the beetle will not lay eggs.
Against the wireworm, the method of catching the pest on baits in the form of potatoes buried in the ground is used before planting the seed tubers. Soil treatment with urea or irrigation with chicken manure will help to repel the nematode. It is useful to alternate cultures on land plot, and treat the affected fruits with lime. Successful methods of preventing the appearance of beetles also include watering small areas with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
Agricultural practices
If the agrotechnical methods of protecting potatoes are observed, the chances of the appearance of pests or diseases, although not reduced to zero, are minimized. These methods include:
- crop rotation, that is, the alternation of crops during their cultivation;
- adding crops to the potato beds that repel insect pests;
- fertilizing the soil;
- destruction of weeds and plant residues;
- correct timing and methods of sowing;
- use of resistant varieties;
- proper irrigation.
In long-term planning of the site, it is worth paying attention to agricultural practices. This will avoid many problems for early stage. Folk remedies are easy to use. Chemical preparations should be used only if others do not bring the desired result.
The Colorado potato beetle is one of the most dangerous potato pests. Eating leaves and damaging potato tubers, beetles and larvae cause great harm to the future crop. Hot weather favors the development of these pests. It is not recommended to grow potatoes long time in one place - this leads to the accumulation of pests.
Fighting the Colorado potato beetle. When shoots appear, carefully examine not only the crops, but also the soil. Collect beetles and larvae that appear in jars with diesel fuel or saturated salt solution. Apply pesticides only in case of a mass invasion of pests, the last time spraying should be carried out 30 days before harvesting potatoes. As a protection against the beetle with plant repellents, apply marigold sowing between rows, beetles do not tolerate this smell.
For spraying potato bushes, you can use a concentrated solution of wormwood. To do this, 1/3 of the bucket is filled with chopped stalks of wormwood, poured with boiling water and insisted for three days. Another way is when the stems of celandine are boiled for 15 minutes, and then the potatoes are treated with the resulting broth, having previously diluted it in a ratio of 1/20.
Medvedka is an insect that is ubiquitous and widespread. Harm both the larvae and the adult insect, gnawing through the stems and roots of plants. In the spring, at the beginning of May, the bear digs in the soil and arranges a hole for itself, in which it lays up to 500 eggs. After two weeks, offspring are hatched.
Fight with a bear. The smell of “oak” chrysanthemums scares away the bear, so dig in the chrysanthemum sprouts along with the seedlings. Inspect the soil regularly in the spring, when characteristic earth emissions from digging the bear's moves appear on the surface, try to dig out the bear's hole in this place, although it is quite deep. Medvedka regularly makes moves to ventilate the laid eggs, so regular deep loosening destroys these moves.
Another way is to pour a solution of washing powder into the moves of the bear, 4 tablespoons per 10 liters of water. Medvedka will crawl out to the surface and then it can be collected and destroyed, and those who do not crawl out will die inside their moves. You can also mix crushed eggshell With vegetable oil and shove this mixture into the moves of the bear.
The potato nematode is a very dangerous pest. Its value is less than 1 mm., class - roundworms. It affects tubers and roots of potatoes. Because of this, the plant lags behind in development, the leaf turns yellow and wrinkles, and the tubers are very small or not at all.
Measures to combat the potato nematode. Basically, the fight against this pest comes down to taking measures to prevent the spread of infection on the site. Therefore, the affected plants are dug up with a clod of earth and burned at the stake with strong fire. After harvesting potatoes, it must be thoroughly washed, it is also necessary to clean all garden tools with formalin. To clean the infected area, it is necessary to sow winter rye on it; it releases collins into the soil - substances that destroy the nematode.
A good deterrent against nematodes are marigolds, which can be planted by sowing them to potato beds. And yet, now there are quite a few varieties of potatoes that are resistant to the nematode, for example: Almaz, Red Scarlet, Rosara and others. In the cells of such potato varieties, substances are formed that act detrimentally on the pest. True, after 3-4 years, nematodes can adapt to such conditions, so it is better to alternate plots and clean them with winter rye crops.
Wireworm or click beetle - the larva of the click beetle lives in the ground, damages the roots, the base of the stem. The tuber is especially harmed. The pipe maker gnaws through the tuber, makes moves, which can lead to its decay.
The fight against the wireworm. The wireworm is very fond of acidic and damp soil, so regular liming will scare away the pest. For this, you can scatter ground eggshells around the site. To collect the beetle, you can make small indentations in the garden and fill them with rotted grass, hay, pour water and cover with boards. Such places will attract attention in search of food beetle larvae. It remains only to collect and burn them regularly.
Legumes are also a good protection for planting potatoes from wireworms. Therefore, you can plant beans, peas and beans by alternating them between rows of potatoes. And of course the best way The fight against wireworm is the alternation of crops in the vegetable plot, as well as deep digging of the soil so that all the larvae are on top and die from frost.
A significant decrease in the yield of potatoes occurs due to damage to the plant by insect pests.
Not only the quantity of the crop, but also its safety and quality depend on the correctly chosen measures aimed at combating them.
Description of the insect
Everyone who grows potatoes is familiar with this dangerous pest. The beetle, 8–12 mm long, brown-yellow in color with black longitudinal stripes, roughly eats the leaves and stems of potatoes, sometimes leaving only short stalks from the bush. Especially voracious larvae - orange-red, with a black head and black stripes on the sides. During the period of growing up, a colony of several dozen "kids" on one bush can reduce the yield by 50%, or even completely destroy the plant.
The most favorable for is the period of budding and flowering, when tubers begin to form. The mass appearance of larvae occurs precisely at this time.
Control measures
- Triple treatment of crops with systemic chemicals (Commander, Sonnet, Iskra DE, Mospilan, etc.). The last treatment with pesticides should be carried out no later than 20 days before digging up the tubers.
- Spraying with preparations of fungal or bacterial origin (Fitoverm, Agrovertin, Boverin, etc.). These agents are especially effective against young larvae. The action of biological agents is on the rise and is maximally manifested on the 5-7th day. Plantations should be treated as new larvae appear.
Folk remedies in the fight against the Colorado potato beetle, although safe, are not as effective as chemicals. Nevertheless, gardeners also use them to save the crop:
- manual collection of adult beetles and larvae, as well as the destruction of eggs;
- spraying bushes with strong infusions of basil, mint, tansy, blackcurrant leaves, poplar when the first shoots appear. Such treatments must be carried out a couple more times per season;
- joint planting of potatoes with crops repelling female beetles: coriander, beans, bush beans;
- planting a few home-grown bushes before the main seeding of the plantation for concentration a large number larvae on older plants. This method will make it easy to collect pests and enter the main bushes without loss in the stage of tuberization.
Wireworms are called larvae that have a cylindrical 
rigid segmented body resembling a piece of wire. The larvae live in the soil for 3–4 years, and the development of one generation of the click beetle lasts up to five years.
Wireworms are especially active with a lack of moisture in the soil. They live in the zone of tubers and roots, damage them with numerous passages, thereby reducing the seed and commercial qualities of potatoes. Root crops affected by wireworms become more susceptible to fungal and bacterial infections.
In the fight against wireworms, the following are important:
- deep plowing or digging of the soil in spring and autumn. Since the larvae, once in the upper layers of the soil, die in winter;
- destruction of weeds;
- the use of natural baits - pieces of potatoes, beets or carrots, which are laid in the soil between rows at a distance of 10 cm from each other. After a few days, the bait is taken out of the soil and the larvae are destroyed. If necessary, the procedure is repeated with a new portion of root crops;
- the use of insecticides, such as Hurricane Forte BP, FORS.
Description
Insects are found everywhere, but the most favorable conditions for their development are isolated shaded and moist areas. Heavy rainfall in early summer can increase the number of these pests.For the winter, scoops lay their eggs behind the deciduous sheaths of wild-growing cereals, for example 
couch grass. At the end of April, the hatched caterpillars migrate to planting potatoes. Within two months, the development of caterpillars takes place, during which they cause the main damage to potatoes, gnawing holes just above the root collar and making a move inside the stem, going down and penetrating into neighboring plants.
Damaged plants quickly wither and dry out, and when high humidity- rot.
The larvae of nibbling scoops destroy leaves, stems, making windows in them. They eat out cavities in the tubers, leaving a peel along the edges.
How to deal with a pest
Fighting scoops includes several methods that are desirable to use in combination:
- Destruction of weeds on the plantation, the main reserves of potato scoop populations.
- The use of pheromone traps to reduce the number of butterflies that can lay eggs for the winter.
- The impact of insecticides on the faces located on the grass weeds, and on the caterpillars that have passed to the stems. For these purposes, you can use Decis, Tsimbush and other drugs.
Description
- a moth of a dirty gray color with dark spots on the trailing edges of the wings. And the damage is done by yellowish-pink or gray-green caterpillars of these butterflies. More often they are introduced into the leaves, but do not disdain both stems and tubers.
In early spring, there are few larvae; they feed on young and succulent seedlings, later they move to stems and leaves. A feature of this pest is that it spoils potatoes after harvesting - during the storage period of the vegetable.
Control measures
Successful fight against potato moth will succeed if the following conditions are met: 
- for planting, take proven seed material. It is possible to destroy the alleged larvae by heating the tubers at a temperature of 40 ° C for several hours;
- constantly monitor the planting of potatoes and the conditions of their storage;
- when sowing, observe the depth of placement of tubers at least 15 cm;
- repeatedly spud bushes;
- carry out deep tillage before winter;
- actively fight weeds;
- before storing potatoes, treat them with a solution of methyl bromide.
To destroy butterflies and caterpillars, biochemical insecticides are used: Bitoxibacillin, Entobacterin, Dendrobacillin, Lepidocid. They process bushes before the appearance of ovaries, thereby reducing the fertility of females and delaying the development of the moths themselves.
potato nematode
Description
Dealing with nematodes is not easy. To get rid of these helminths, the following methods are used: 
- before planting potatoes, the soil is treated with urea, after harvesting - with lime;
- after planting the seeds, liquid chicken manure is introduced into the soil, the solution of which is capable of destroying up to 90% of the larvae;
- for fertilizing plants use solutions of mullein, chicken manure, liquid manure;
carefully monitor tubers before planting; - alternate crops on the plantation with the return of potatoes to their original place in 3–4 years;
- dig up infected bushes and disinfect them with bleach in a specially designated pit.
- in case of excessive nematode damage, the soil is treated with Bazudin, which is effective not only against helminths, but also wireworms.
Aphid
Aphids cause great harm to agricultural plantings, including potato lands. Numerous species of these microscopic sucking insects are ubiquitous.
Known potato pests are:
- peach green aphid;
- large potato aphid;
- common potato aphid, etc.
Aphids of any kind have winged ones that ensure the spread and change of the host, and 
wingless, responsible for mass reproduction, individuals. And the species themselves differ from each other in some nuances of morphology. For example, the peach aphid overwinters on the primary host (peach), while the common and larger aphid does not have a primary host, so the females have to wait out the cold in greenhouses, on plants (in storage) and plant debris. Aphids develop in warm, sunny, but humid weather conditions (up to 15 generations per year may appear). Insects live in numerous colonies on the shoots and the underside of the leaves and feed on plant juices.
The harmfulness of all types of aphids lies in the release of toxins by insects that cause morphological changes in leaves and tubers. Damaged leaves curl, dry out, the bushes wither, the yield decreases.
In addition, sucking insects carry more than 50 dangerous potato viral diseases that affect the quantity and quality of the crop.
How to deal with aphids
Conclusion
When identifying signs of wilting of the bushes, it is necessary to identify the cause of the disease of the plant and apply the necessary means for its rehabilitation.Currently offered chemical and biological preparations wide spectrum of action, simultaneously destroying many types of insects on different stages their development. When using chemicals, remember that often pests quickly adapt to the active substance of the drug and do not die under its influence.
by the most dangerous pests for potatoes, are the Colorado beetles. These are bugs that eat potato leaves, and without leaves, the potato itself does not grow. The fastest and effective method is chemistry, especially Prestige. But it is so poisonous that you can poison yourself. So, in order to have less chemistry in our lives, we process potatoes with tinctures of wormwood, and various infusions of herbs that have a strong smell.
Each individual type of pest spoils the various components of potato tubers, leads a different lifestyle. For effective fight with an uninvited guest, it is necessary to identify the type of pest, use the necessary means.
Find out how to cook the most effective one at home, as well as which one is better to choose in the store.
It has a yellow-brown color, the body length does not exceed one centimeter. Longitudinal stripes are visible on chitin, the appearance of the pest is familiar to all gardeners. Adults, larvae completely destroy the leaves, fruits of potatoes. When a beetle appears in the garden, the yield is reduced by 60%.
There are several ways to deal with a beetle:
- the use of systemic chemicals (Sonnet, Commander,). Apply funds at least three times to obtain the desired result. Carry out the last treatment no later than twenty days before harvest;
- spraying potato tubers with preparations of bacterial / fungal origin (allowed to use, Boverin). Remedies against harmful larvae that do not have a protective chitinous layer are very effective. The peak of the positive effect of the funds falls on the 7th day after spraying. Reapply as needed.
Additionally, you can spray potato bushes with strong infusions of tansy, peppermint, blackcurrant.
Advice! The mechanical removal of adults and larvae of the Colorado potato beetle will help to increase the chances of a successful fight.
Wireworm and false wireworm
The female nematode has a round body shape, the male resembles a worm. Females are initially white, then darken to brown. After fertilization, one female can lay several thousand eggs. After some time, they die off, turn into cysts, then remain in the soil. In the spring, they begin to actively eat potatoes. The life span of cysts is up to ten years, so it is quite difficult to overcome nematodes.
It is very difficult to cope with nematodes, they will help to get the desired result useful advice experienced gardeners:
- before planting potatoes, treat the soil with urea; after harvesting, it is recommended to use lime;
- chicken manure, which is abundantly irrigated with soil, can destroy almost 90% of harmful larvae;
- rotate crops on the land, growing potatoes every three years;
- in a specially designated place, treat the dug bushes with bleach;
- severe damage by nematodes requires the use of a drug called Bazudin, which does an excellent job even with wireworms.
garden moth
The pest is a small butterfly that lays larvae. The moth harms not only potatoes, but also tomatoes, eggplants, peppers. Adults do not cause significant damage to the crop, the main damage is caused by larvae. Immediately after birth, they actively feed on tubers, stems, and are able to gnaw through the peel.
They eat away many passages in the foliage, pollute them with their waste products. After such wrecking, the plant stem weakens, the potato slowly dies. The lack of therapeutic measures will lead to crop loss over a fairly large area.
- choose to land quality material, the seeds can be heated to 40 degrees to prevent infection of the future crop;
- at each stage of planting, check the quality of potatoes, their storage conditions;
- before the winter period, carry out deep processing of the soil;
- Treat the soil with a strong methyl bromide solution before planting seeds in the soil.
scoop
They are small moths, body color ranges from brown to gray. Insects are unpretentious, quickly adapt to environmental conditions, resistant to poisons. The fight against the armyworm should be complex and include many aspects. For potatoes, the most dangerous larvae are: they penetrate the root crops, actively feed on them, leading to the death of the plant.
This insect must be fought in the complex:
- regularly destroy weeds that contribute to an increase in the population of potato scoop;
- use pheromone traps aimed at killing adults to prevent laying eggs for the winter;
- use insecticides, spraying them will help destroy existing caterpillars. To do this, you need to purchase Decis, Tsimbush.
leafhoppers
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potato flea
Many varieties are distributed throughout the world. Adult beetles, reaching three millimeters, actively feed on potato tops. Thin larvae have three pairs of legs, develop in the root system of potatoes. At favorable conditions cause damage to a large number of potato crops.
Tuber infection is favored by hot weather or late boarding. You can spot a pest in potatoes by specific marks on the leaves.
You can deal with a flea using the same methods as with a cicada, also use glue bait traps. For small gardens, you can use a mixture of chamomile decoction, ash, tobacco dust in the same proportions.
It is quite realistic to prevent infection by various pests of potato plantations, following useful recommendations:
- stick to the rules of crop rotation (do not plant the same crop in the same place every year, take a break for at least three years);
- buy a seed product only in trusted stores, warm it up at a temperature of 40 degrees before sowing;
- regularly inspect potato plantations, if pests are found, immediately deal with their extermination.
From the following video, you can learn more about potato pests and how to deal with them:
