The harvest of fruit trees often becomes a treat for pests. Gardeners are forced to think in advance about how to treat plums against worms in the fruit so that they do not damage all the fruit. Preventative spraying has already become a mandatory element of tree care. Experienced gardeners already know for sure in what period of time and what preparation is best to use so that the garden remains healthy.
Why is the plum wormy?
The reason why a wormy plum appears on a tree is the negative impact of pests, namely:
- garden mite;
- sawfly;
- aphid;
- garden moth;
- plum moth;
- apple psyllid.
The greatest danger is the plum moth.
The larvae are able to penetrate inside the fruit and completely eat the core of the seed. The affected fruit stops growing, ripens early and falls off.
The sawfly is no less dangerous. The caterpillar first eats small fruits, and then penetrates larger ones and eats the pulp. As a result, the fruits crumble and rot. Other insects also pose a great danger. Taken together, they lead to the fact that the gardener may be left completely without a harvest. It is best to prevent pests from appearing on the drain and carry out preventive measures in a timely manner.
How to spray plums against worms
Today, there are many known methods and means designed to control garden pests. The tree is protected not only with chemical preparations, but also with folk methods, and they also resort to installing special traps. But if the plum is already wormy, what to do and how to save the remains of the crop?
Store-bought drugs
The stores offer a wide range of drugs used to treat plums against pests. These can be either ordinary nitrogen fertilizers and karbofos, from which solutions are prepared, or more serious means. The best are considered to be “Horus” and “Oxychom”, which contain copper. It is useful to add Inta-Vir to them. Excellent results are shown by chemicals that include:
- Durspan;
- phosphamide;
- metathion;
- cidial;
- Zolon.
Folk remedies
To prevent the appearance of worms on plums, the folk method is widely used.As soon as spring comes, all cracks and crevices are covered with clay or lime solution. Awakened pests will not be able to get out of their wintering places. It is useful to hang birdhouses in the garden so that birds eat the larvae and the harmful insects themselves.
Dried wormwood is placed on plum branches or specially planted under a tree. In this case, wormwood flowers are cut off before they have time to ripen. To prevent worms from appearing on the plums, it is good to spray with garlic or tobacco infusion, as well as a decoction of yarrow.
Pheromone traps
Pheromone traps begin to be placed in the garden at the beginning of flowering and continue to do so until harvest. The principle of its operation is that a dispenser with the aroma of a female codling moth is placed in a box with a sticky bottom. Butterflies react to the smell, fly into the trap and stick to the bottom. This technique is completely safe for animals and humans and does not harm the environment. The trap is replaced with a new one every 5 weeks. You can purchase it at a trusted gardening store or order it online. At the same time, you should beware of fakes.
When to spray a plum
If a wormy plum appears on a tree, how should you deal with this nuisance and save the harvest? It is important not only to choose an effective remedy for controlling plum pests, but also not to miss the time for treatment. As a rule, work is carried out several times per season.
In early spring
Before sap flow begins and leaves bloom, plums are treated with the drug “Inta-Vir” against aphids and silkworms. The roseate leaf roller is combated by treating the tree with karbofos. If necessary, this product is replaced with others that are similar in effect:
- "Nitrophen";
- chlorophos;
- benzophosphate.
It is advisable to spray the plum with a weak solution of copper sulfate and Bordeaux mixture to prevent the appearance of weevils. With the onset of the first warm weather, the tree trunk is wrapped with thick fabric so that the moth caterpillar does not climb onto it.
During flowering
During flowering, the plum is sprayed with such preparations as:
- "Cartocide";
- "Homitsin";
- "Cuprozan".
Sometimes gardeners use copper sulfate instead.
After flowering
After the plum has finished flowering, repeat the treatment with Inta-Vir to prevent the appearance of silkworms. Repeated spraying with copper sulfate is also carried out. The drug "Decis" is used during this period.
in autumn
After harvesting, the plums are treated with Bordeaux mixture. To eliminate the moth and caterpillar, the soil in the tree trunk circle is dug up, leaves and weeds are removed.
Scheme and technology of processing
The first treatment of plums is carried out before the buds begin to bloom. During this period, both chemical preparations and folk remedies are used. These can be infusions or solutions that have a strong characteristic odor that repels pests:
- infusion of wormwood;
- infusion of pine needles;
- soap solution;
- tobacco dust;
- mustard.
Plums are treated with insecticides several times during the season. The dosage and exact number of required treatments are indicated in the instructions for the selected drug.
If the number of pests on the plum is large, then spraying is carried out every 10 days. Take into account the fact that during flowering the use of chemicals is prohibited.
The last treatment is carried out at least 25 days before harvesting the fruits. When carrying out work, you must strictly follow the instructions for use.Otherwise, instead of the expected benefit, the tree will be harmed.
On average, each adult plum requires 4 liters of solution. The land around the plant should also be cultivated. With each spraying, the product used must be changed so as not to cause addiction.
Preventive actions
It is always easier to prevent a problem than to fix it. This also applies to the treatment of plums against the appearance of worms. It will be necessary not only to carry out the necessary protective measures in a timely manner, but also to provide the tree with complete care, which includes, among other things, sanitary cleaning, removing fallen leaves, thinning out the thickened crown, and digging up the tree trunk.
Autumn spraying of plums with Bordeaux mixture reduces the likelihood of pests that overwinter in the garden. A good preventative measure is to plant plants with a strong and pungent odor:
- calendula;
- marigold;
- mint;
- sagebrush.
Birdhouses hung near plums will not only make the garden more comfortable, but will also attract birds to it, which assist in the fight against pests by eating not only them, but also the larvae. In the spring, it is advisable to whitewash the skeletal branches and the lower part of the plum trunk. For prevention to be more effective, all activities must be carried out regularly, and it is better to do this together with neighbors in the area.
Constant inspections and observations will help prevent the appearance of pests and spoilage of plum fruits. Early detection of the first signs of the appearance of insects will allow you to react in a timely manner, select the right drug and carry out treatment.
