A small butterfly that can cause serious damage to vegetable crops, we plant it in our garden plot. You should know the basic principles of the development and reproduction of these small insects so that the fight against whiteflies in the greenhouse on tomatoes is carried out successfully.
This butterfly is capable of breeding, forming huge colonies. One female lays up to 250 eggs. The whitefly is dangerous for planted tomatoes, but besides this, up to 300 different species of other agricultural crops are not immune from its invasion.
Characteristics of whitefly
There are 2 types of such insects: indoor and greenhouse. The latter live in greenhouse conditions. They like moist and warm air. Primary infection occurs with planting material or through already infected plants.
A small-sized (up to 3 mm) whitefly, similar to garden aphids, but its wings have a white coating. It often settles in a large group on the back of the leaves. There she lays eggs, from which the larvae subsequently hatch. They are the ones who, by digging into the plant and drinking its juices, can cause serious harm and subsequently lead to the death of the plant.
At a time when the larvae have not yet wrapped themselves in a cocoon, they can be removed using insecticides. The dense shell reliably protects the larva during this period. In the future, when the time for adult individuals to hatch begins and the time for a new generation of insects to appear again comes, the process of fighting them may fail.
After micro-destruction of the foliage, the sap of the plant is released to the surface, and together with the excrement of this insect, an excellent environment is formed for the development of a fungal infection. On the leaves of tomatoes, spots of silvery plaque first appear, but over time, sooty fungi resembling dark spots form on them.
First signs of pest infestation
To know how to treat plants against whiteflies, you should study the main signs that appear at the initial stage of a plant being attacked by this insect:
- in the greenhouse you can see small insects flying by;
- when you shake a tomato bush, a cloud of small butterflies fluttering appears above it;
- on the underside of tomato leaves, as well as on its other parts, almost transparent scaly segments are stuck;
- the appearance of dark spots on the plant is a clear sign of damage by sooty fungus, which forms on the excrement of whiteflies;
- plants do not grow fast enough;
- twisted leaves appear on the stems of greenhouse tomatoes;
- Tomato fruits become whitish and stop ripening.
If such features are detected, one may suspect that the plants are already affected by this pest. Immediately after this, get rid of the insect.
Methods of destruction
Novice gardeners may not have encountered this phenomenon and do not know how to get rid of these insects. Flying individuals are much easier to destroy than their larvae. In addition, adult individuals themselves are not as dangerous as their newly hatched young. Therefore, the fight against whiteflies on tomatoes should begin at the moment the flying midges appear, but before the time when they lay eggs. To destroy these pests, we get rid of them in several ways.
Using chemicals
Infected plants are sprayed with insecticides, which can be purchased at gardening stores. Such products act on tomato pests through plants, after the poison is absorbed into the stems and leaves of the bushes. Therefore, it is necessary to select suitable preparations for treating bushes.
During the formation of ovaries on tomatoes, soap-based products are used. In this case, the degree of insect infestation is taken into account. Of these drugs, the following are recognized as the best: Pegasus, Fosbecid, Aktara, Confidor, Mospilan. How to combat whitefly on tomato seedlings with these means is indicated in the instructions.
Smoke destruction
The method of getting rid of whiteflies on tomatoes using fumigation is one of the effective methods for greenhouse cultivation.It is enough to carry out this procedure twice a season, and the pest will not appear on tomato seedlings. After such a procedure, not only adult individuals will die, but also whitefly larvae and pupae.
Mechanical methods
With this method, the leaves should be treated with a soap solution and then washed off with clean water. In this way, you can get rid of the deposited larvae, freeing the surface of the foliage and allowing the plant to receive oxygen.
Special insect traps with adhesive properties can also help get rid of whiteflies in a greenhouse. They can be purchased at specialty stores or other places. If desired, you can build it yourself. Grease cardboard with bright colors with Vaseline.
For insects that fly onto such a surface, the Vaseline surface will be destructive. After filling with midges, you can wipe off this layer and lubricate it again with Vaseline.
Before getting rid of the whitefly, prepare bait from heated rosin, castor oil and honey. Then, it is applied to a dense, brightly colored surface and placed in the greenhouse along the rows.
Biological method
This method is an excellent alternative to killing pests using chemicals. At the same time, we fight with the help of special encarsia insects that lay their larvae on the body of the whitefly. As it grows, the parasitic larva feeds on the juices from the insect's body, thus gradually killing it.
Also, in the greenhouse, cardboard boxes with dolls placed in them are hung between the rows of tomatoes.
After the insects appear, they rush to the whitefly and eat their larvae located on the leaves of the tomatoes.Knows how to fight whiteflies, the common ladybug, which eats both adults and larvae, as well as the macrolophus bug. For 1 sq. m of greenhouse area with tomatoes, 5 of these bugs are enough. After 15 days, the introduction of new Marcopholus individuals should be repeated.
Folk wrestling techniques
These control methods have the safest effect on the human body. But they have to be carried out in the greenhouse repeatedly in order to cope with the pest.
Cold air is detrimental to insects. Before getting rid of whiteflies in a greenhouse on tomatoes, if possible, take the seedlings out into the open air for a while. Whiteflies cannot stand the smell of garlic. Therefore, to prepare a tincture from it, just add 2 crushed cloves of garlic to 2 liters of boiling water, and then sprinkle the tomato bushes with it.
Some people use laundry soap to prevent the butterfly from breeding. After grinding the soap, dissolve it in hot water at the rate of 1 part soap to 6 parts liquid. Then, the planted vegetables are sprayed. An infusion of yarrow will help cope with whiteflies. To do this, 10 g of dried herb is brewed in 1.5 liters of boiling water. Then the tomatoes are sprayed. It is advisable to lift the branches so that the solution gets on their underside.
You can treat tomatoes with a pharmaceutical remedy for scabies. It is diluted in water and sprayed on plants.
Preventive actions
If you take measures to prevent the appearance of whiteflies on tomatoes, then you may not need other methods to cope with the insect infestation. Metal structures should be painted in advance.The land plot must be thoroughly cleaned and freed from last year's vegetation.
Purchased tomato seedlings are carefully checked for the possibility of insect infestation. After planting, a mandatory procedure for ventilating the greenhouse premises should be provided, and the temperature inside the greenhouse should not exceed +15 degrees.
