How to treat a peach if it has aphids, how to fight it with folk remedies and medications

Aphids are an insidious pest that affects fruit orchards. Insect colonies can destroy plants in a matter of days. If aphids appear on a peach, you urgently need to save the tree; for this you need to know how to treat it. There are many folk ways to get rid of parasites, but if aphids are discovered too late, then you cannot do without the use of pesticides.

Characteristics

Aphids are small insects, no more than 3 millimeters long, that attack plants together, forming colonies.There are several types of aphids on peach trees:

• black;
• green;
• blood;
• white;
• big peach.

The most dangerous species is the blood aphid. Insects not only eat leaves, buds and flowers of plants, but also suck nutritious juices from tree trunks. The plant loses strength and energy, and the future harvest is at risk.

The large peach aphid, like other species, begins its spread from the inside of the leaves, then spreads to the branches and trunk of peach crops. If there are a large number of colonies, the crown of the tree begins to dry out and wither, and the top of the plant may die.

How to detect the presence of a parasite

It is necessary to identify parasites in a timely manner. To do this, you need to regularly inspect the plants. Aphids can be identified by the following characteristics:

• black spots on the inside of leaves;
• sticky layer on peach buds and flowers;
• the presence of dried, curled leaves, small spots may appear;
• insect colonies are visible to the naked eye;
• blood aphids live on the trunk and stems, sucking the sap of the tree;
• the crown begins to fade, the plant stops growing.

On a note! A peach affected by aphids loses its immunity, weakens, and the frost resistance of the plant noticeably decreases.

Methods for controlling insects on peaches

You need to start fighting small pests as early as possible. Aphids on peaches spread quickly; there are proven methods of controlling insects: carrying out agrotechnical measures, insecticides, folk remedies and recipes.

Agrotechnical method

It is recommended to begin pest control using a number of agrotechnical techniques:

1. Often, aphids move to peach plantings from other plants. Removing weeds growing near the peach eliminates the interaction of infected plants with the peach.
2. Planting green manure: spicy and fragrant herbs repel aphids from trees. Dill and mint are enemies for insidious parasites.
3. Removal of old bark and mechanical cleaning of trunks from insects.
4. Use a jet of water to clear the peach foliage of parasite colonies.

All affected foliage and removed diseased branches are burned. The tree is sprinkled with wood ash at the root. Whitening trunks with lime is a proven way to protect plants from aphids.

These techniques are effective at the initial stage of the disease and are good prevention against infection of plants by aphids.

Chemicals

The use of pesticides is an extreme measure, but if the plant is completely affected by aphids, you cannot do without them. Treatment with insecticides against aphids can be carried out in three stages:

• early spring - during the period of bud set;
• before flowering;
• after harvest.

It is dangerous to treat peach crops with chemicals during the fruiting period - the harvest reduces its quality, the fruits are not recommended for food within 20 days after treatment.

Chemicals enter the diet of insects along with tree sap. The aphids paralyze, and within two to three days the colonies die out.

Modern chemical plant protection products are varied, their choice depends on the period when the plant needs help and the type of aphid that attacked the plants. During the flowering period, you can use Confidor. Phosfamide will quickly destroy black and white aphids. DNOC will get rid of larvae and overwintered aphids. The dosage of drugs is determined according to the instructions.

Important! It is prohibited to treat trees against aphids before harvesting.

Pesticides must be alternated. Aphids quickly develop immunity to the drugs, and the drugs become ineffective.

Traditional methods and recipes

The use of folk remedies is justified, they do not affect the quality of the crop, the poison does not penetrate the juices of fruit trees. You can use folk recipes at any period of plant development.

The arsenal of folk methods of combating aphids includes:

1. Garlic and onion skins. 800 grams of onion peels are infused in 10 liters of water for 24 hours and 10 chopped heads of garlic are added. The solution is filtered and the fruit plants are sprayed with a spray bottle. The effect of the folk remedy can be enhanced by adding half a piece of laundry soap to the solution.
2. A mixture of red pepper, mustard and wood ash. Add 1 glass of each component to 10 liters of water, and then spray the plants.
3. Infusion of tobacco powder based on laundry soap. One standard bar of soap is dissolved in 10 liters of water and 250 grams of tobacco powder are added. After three days the product is ready.

In the fight of gardeners against aphids on peaches, many methods were born to destroy small pests: Coca-Cola, ammonia, vinegar and boric acid - all means successfully proved themselves in the fight against aphids. The gardener decides on his own how to spray or treat peach against insidious aphids. It is recommended to try several methods to find the most effective one.

How to prevent insects from appearing?

Prevention is the best way to control aphids. To prevent the appearance of parasites on peach trees, a number of measures are carried out:

• spring and autumn bleaching of trunks with lime;
• sanitary pruning of old leaves and stems;
• digging up peach trees in a circle and sprinkling the dug surface with wood ash;
• planting fragrant herbs next to peaches;
• treatment with Bordeaux mixture during the period of kidney set;
• removal of anthills from the garden plot. These insects breed aphids and carefully protect them;
• Ladybugs feed on aphid larvae, and the presence of these insects on peach trees is an effective way to control pests.

You can protect peaches from aphids through comprehensive preventive measures and regular inspection of trees for pests.

Healthy peach trees are a gardener's dream. If plants are attacked by aphids, this is not a disaster. A disease detected in time is always treated; many methods of pest control have been invented: from folk remedies to chemicals. The main thing is to carry out preventive measures in a timely manner.