Growing potatoes is a difficult process that requires financial and physical effort from a person. To make growing this vegetable easier, it is recommended to use Tabu from the Colorado potato beetle. This drug helps to get rid of not only Colorado potato beetles, but also wireworms, which also often infect bushes.
Before using such an insect repellent, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the features of its use.
Short description
Taboo is a modern insect poison made from a synthetic neonicotinoid that quickly kills Colorado potato beetles on plants.
During processing potato tubers before planting, a thin red film appears on their surface, which will remain on the potatoes even after the insecticide has dried. The red coloring of the film helps control the volume of processed potatoes and ensure that untreated tubers are not planted on the site.
High-quality processing of potatoes and protection of plants from pests is ensured thanks to the following components included in the composition:
- antifreeze;
- thickener;
- dye;
- dispersants.
Advantages and disadvantages
Before using Tabu from the Colorado potato beetle, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with its positive and negative sides. If you read the positive reviews of gardeners who regularly use this drug, you can highlight the following advantages of using Taboo:
- protects potato bushes from cicadas, wireworms, Colorado potato beetles and other pests that can spoil tubers or eat green tops;
- does not lose its protective properties for one and a half months after spraying;
- is able to get rid of dangerous insects without the help of additional protective equipment;
- destroys insects resistant to drugs made from carbofuran;
- effectively fights pests for five years, as it does not cause addiction for a long time;
- thanks to the dye contained in the composition, it allows you to control the application of protective liquid to all tubers;
- acts in heavy rains, high temperatures and therefore protects the potato bush regardless of the weather.
Despite the positive qualities, this remedy for the Colorado potato beetle has several disadvantages, which you should familiarize yourself with before using the drug:
- during storage, Taboo should be packed in airtight packaging and placed away from children;
- insecticide treatment is carried out with rubber gloves and a respirator, since the ingress of poison harms human skin;
- It is necessary to spray plants with a protective agent only in calm weather, so that the liquid is not carried by the wind to neighboring plants.
Features of the action
Before getting rid of the Colorado potato beetle and wireworm with an insecticidal preparation, you need to familiarize yourself with the principle of its action after spraying.
When potato roots are coated with a protective agent, a film coating is formed on them. It is she who is responsible for protecting planting material, as she is highly resistant to environmental influences.
After planting a vegetable on the site, a favorable environment is formed around the tubers and the amount of nutrients needed for the development of the bushes increases. During the germination of seedlings from root crops, Taboo elements begin to flow through the tops to the newly formed tubers. Feeding on processed potatoes, the Colorado potato beetle becomes immobilized and dies the next day.
The treated tops do not lose their protective functions for 40–55 days, after which the plants will have to be sprayed again.
Using Taboo
Most people who fight against the Colorado potato beetle do not know how to use Taboo correctly. Therefore, before using the drug, every vegetable grower should read the instructions for use of this protective insecticide.
Creating a solution for spraying root crops
First, all seed material is laid out on a tarpaulin or plastic film in one layer. It is better not to stack root vegetables in several layers, as this will complicate their processing.
When all the tubers are neatly laid out, you can start preparing the working solution. When creating a mixture for potatoes, 15 ml of the drug and 500 ml of warm water are added to a small non-food container. After the poison dissolves in the liquid, another one and a half liters of water is poured into the container with the solution. Before using Tabu, the mixture is thoroughly stirred and infused for 15 minutes.
Spraying root crops
It is recommended to spray planting potato tubers on the day of creating the working liquid for treatment. Therefore, it is not recommended to leave the prepared mixture for long-term storage. When treating root vegetables with the drug, you will have to turn them 2-3 times so that the liquid is evenly distributed over the entire surface. Two liters of liquid should be enough to process 130 potatoes.
After treating the potatoes with Tabu, they should be given half an hour to dry. You can plant seed in the holes only after they have completely dried.
Preparation of a mixture for tillage
Some gardeners prefer to process not the tubers, but the soil in the holes before planting. To do this, you will have to create a working solution, which is prepared differently and has a completely different concentration.
To create an effective protective mixture and spray the soil with it, add 4 ml of insecticide to a ten-liter container of water. This amount of liquid is enough to spray one hundred square meters of garden plot. For large areas, 25 liters of working mixture are prepared.In this case, a whole bottle of Tabu is added to a 25 liter container.
You can determine the optimal dosage of the drug for any area of the site yourself. First, the amount of the drug to prepare the working mixture is determined. To do this, the area in acres is multiplied by four and the resulting number will be the amount of protective agent that is added to the water. To determine the optimal volume of water, the number of acres is multiplied by ten.
Soil treatment
Before using the drug Tabu VSK for processing potatoes, holes are prepared for planting potatoes. Then the working mixture is prepared and added to the sprayer. As a sprayer, you can use models that consist of a telescopic fire hose.
When spraying, each hole is treated so that all seedlings are protected from the Colorado potato beetle. When each of the holes is sprayed, tubers are planted in them and covered with soil.
Conclusion
Some are interested in whether it is possible to protect potato bushes from pests. Seedlings can be protected with the insecticide Tabu. When using, it is recommended to read the instructions for use of the drug Taboo for the Colorado potato beetle. You should also clarify what harm the drug causes to humans.
