Onion pests and the fight against them - this is the first question that puzzles many gardeners who have discovered small insects in an onion bed. How to determine the type of pest, and most importantly, how to get rid of it as soon as possible?
What pests attack onions?
Before you start fighting insects that have attacked the onion bed, you need to correctly identify the type of pest. The effectiveness of processing depends on whether the identification was made correctly. What insects love onions?
Onion fly
It affects the crop in the first period of growth. During mass summer, insects lay eggs between the rows of onions. Under favorable conditions, after a week, worms appear, which do not destroy the green sprouts, but climb inside the bulbs and begin to eat them. The danger of this insect is that just a couple of larvae can kill a plant in a short time. Depending on the location of the region, 2–3 generations of flies are activated during the growing season.
Root mite
Another of the small insects that infect onions during the growing season and storage. Pests multiply most actively in warm, rainy summers. Female root mites lay about 350 eggs, from which larvae emerge. Adults and young individuals eat the juicy scales, as a result of which the turnip turns into dust. The attack of unexpected guests is evidenced by wilted twisting stems, the surface of which is covered with white spots.
Onion stem nematode
At the last stage of growth, onions are attacked by small scale insects. First, the nematode feeds on succulent feathers, and then on the turnips themselves. In plants attacked by a nematode, the feathers become lighter and become deformed. Stems covered with swollen areas quickly wither and die. At the time external signs appear, the bulb is already severely damaged.
Onion weevil
A distinctive feature of the pest is its long, slightly bent nose. The greatest damage is caused to onions by the larvae hatched from eggs, which the female insects laid with the arrival of spring. If the plantings are not treated immediately, the larvae quickly climb inside the feathers and eat them. A sign that insects have begun active activity is oblong white spots on the surface of the feathers.The bugs are also quite voracious, as they use their trunks to suck the juice out of the greens.
Onion hoverfly
A large bronze-green fly lays eggs, which hatch into gray-green larvae that feed on turnip pulp. Most often, the hoverfly lays eggs on already diseased plants. The danger of the pest is that it is quite difficult to identify it - when there are no signs on the upper part, the lower part is already quite damaged. If nothing is done, the onion hoverfly will remain over the winter and cause damage to crops the following season.
Onion (tobacco) thrips
Small insects attack young shoots soon after they appear on the surface. Yellow scale insects hatch from eggs laid on the tops of the feathers. Affected plants become covered with silvery spots and small black dots in a matter of days. As a result of the activity of pests, the onions turn yellow and dry out.
How to prevent pests?
Since the fight against voracious insects does not always end successfully, it is better to try to avoid the appearance of pests in your area. What manipulations will help keep insects away from the onion bed? List:
- Compliance with crop rotation rules. Like most cultivated plants, onions can be planted in the same place only 3-4 years after the first planting.
- Digging the soil. On the eve of winter, the bed is carefully cleaned and dug up. In the spring, re-digging is carried out.
- Planting carrots. Since the leaves of this plant produce phytoncides, the aroma of which is not to the liking of many insects, the crop is placed next to the onion bed.
- Processing of sets.To destroy microorganisms on the surface of the bulbs, planting material is soaked in a weak solution of potassium permanganate or copper sulfate, and then dried and heated at a temperature of +30–+40 ⁰С or immersed in water for 10 minutes, the temperature of which is +50–+55 ⁰С.
- Spraying. In order to repel pests, onions are treated with wormwood infusion.
- Care. The bed needs to be weeded and loosened regularly. Manipulations will not only stimulate the growth of turnips, but will also help identify plants that are sick or damaged by insects.
- Choice of variety. Thanks to the work of breeders, there is a wide range of varieties on sale, the vast majority of which are resistant to bacteria. Onion diseases and their treatment take up a lot of time for the gardener, thereby distracting him from other equally serious problems.
- Early boarding. Onions are planted immediately after the soil dries from melt water. The sooner planting is done, the stronger the plants will become by the time pests multiply.
As you can see, the rules of prevention are very simple, so even a person who has started growing onions for the first time can follow them. However, even despite all these actions, insects often attack the crop. What to do in this case?
How to deal with pests?
Unfortunately, there is no single scheme for controlling onion pests. The list of manipulations directly depends on the type of insect. So, an infusion of herbs with a pungent odor: garlic, wormwood, tobacco, hot red pepper will help get rid of onion flies and onion hoverflies. Fertilizing with urea will help repel pests. For prevention purposes, the bulb beds are covered with mulch material.
If the bed is attacked by weevils, infusions of plants with a strong aroma are used as weapons. An insect will definitely not covet an onion that smells like celandine, mustard or tansy. In addition to spraying the plant, you can generously sprinkle it with chopped dry herbs. The beds are dusted with wood ash and tobacco leaf powder.
The same “fragrant” mixtures will help get rid of onion thrips. The most effective remedies are prepared as follows:
- Place 1 kg of wormwood in a pan and pour in 3 liters of water, after which the mixture is boiled for 20 minutes and cooled. Spray the onions 2 times with an interval of 7 days.
- Stir 2 g of mustard powder in a glass of water. The mixture is infused for 48 hours. To prepare the working solution, the volume of the concentrate is adjusted to 1 liter.
To prevent the appearance of the pest, organic residues are carefully removed before winter. The tools needed for planting are treated with a disinfectant. In case of severe infection, onions are treated with chemicals such as VDG, Aktara.
The following means are widely used to destroy onion moths and a number of other insects:
- 300 g of wood ash is poured with boiled water and then left to infuse. For better adhesion, add 40 g of soap to the cooled, strained mixture.
- 100 g of calendula seeds are poured into 5 liters of water and left to infuse for two days. The resulting infusion is used to treat onions affected by moths.
- Finely chopped garlic is poured in a 1:1 ratio with water and left for 14 days in a closed jar. To prepare the working mixture, add 70 g of concentrate to 10 liters of water.
- 0.5 kg of red hot pepper is cut in half, poured into a 5-liter saucepan and boiled. The cooled broth is filtered.Onions are sprayed with a solution of 10 liters of water, 130 g of broth, 40 g of soap.
- 200 g of tobacco is poured with boiling water and left to infuse. After the mixture has cooled, it is filtered. Spray the plants and soil. Consumption per 1 sq.m. beds - 1 l.
- To kill the onion fly, the soil around the turnips is sprayed with a salt solution. To prepare the mixture, dissolve 200 g of table salt in a bucket of water. Treatment is carried out upon reaching a height of 5 cm. Subsequent spraying is carried out at intervals of 3 weeks.
If these means are ineffective in combating numerous insects, the onions are sprayed with chemicals. Shows good results drug Proclaim, SPINTOR, Decis, Bi-58, Tabazol, Metaphos.
Regardless of the type of insect that attacked the onion planting, it is recommended to use aggressive pesticides only in case of severe infestation.
Both the first and second types of spraying are carried out in dry, calm weather in the afternoon. To achieve a positive effect, treatments are carried out periodically.
As you can see, the variety of onion pests is quite large. Having discovered at least one insect on plants, you must immediately begin measures to destroy it. If you don’t react in time, the seemingly harmless bugs will eat the entire onion in a matter of days. To reduce the risk of collision with voracious insects, it is recommended to carry out preventive measures, which consist of following the rules of crop rotation, soil and seed preparation.
