When growing apples, many people encounter dangerous pests that can negatively affect the growth of trees and their fruiting. Often gardeners have to remove scale insects from apple trees. This insect is difficult to notice as it is well camouflaged. They fight this pest with various folk remedies and medications. However, before using one or another method of control, you should become more familiar with the characteristic features of the pest.
What is scale insects and its types
The pest got its name due to the fact that it has a special shield for protection.It consists of the remains of larvae, which are securely glued together. Externally, the protective coating of scale insects resembles dark tree bark.
Among the characteristics of insects, their small size, about 4-5 mm in length, is distinguished. They feed on juice found in apple fruits and tree leaves. This is why many recommend getting rid of scale insects immediately. If this is not done in time, the ovaries, ripe apples and leaves will begin to darken and rot.
Signs that indicate the presence of insects include:
- cracking of the bark, which is accompanied by falling branches;
- yellowing and curling of leaves;
- slowing down the growth of trees, due to which they can dry out.
There are several varieties of scale insects that can appear on apple trees:
- Californian. It appears not only on apple trees, but also on many other fruit trees. When plants are infected, black dots with light spots appear on the leaves.
- Comma-shaped. Apple comma insects are easy to spot because they are white in color. They have an oblong shape and grow up to 3-4 cm. Such insects can easily tolerate temperatures dropping to 25-35 degrees below zero.
- False shield. The pest affects apple trees, gooseberries, currants, bird cherry, and raspberries. Individuals differ from other varieties by a flat shield of a yellowish tint.
Reproduction of scale insects
For reproduction, females have to leave small oval larvae on the leaves. They lay at least a hundred individuals at a time. After 1-2 weeks, the larvae grow and gradually spread to other tree branches. Young individuals feed on tree sap, which they extract using a special proboscis.It is gradually introduced into the surface of the leaves, after which the scale insects absorb the juice.
When the temperature outside drops, a dense shield appears on the surface of the insects, which protects them from the influences of the external environment. By winter, all young larvae become adults. In the second half of March, when sap begins to flow in the trees, scale insects become more active. New larvae are distributed throughout all parts of the plant, stick to the surface of the leaves and begin to feed.
If the scale insect is not eliminated in time, it will constantly multiply and the individuals will completely cover the apple trees. This will lead to damage to the trunk and death of the trees.
Fighting methods
Getting rid of scale insects on an apple tree is not easy, since it is covered with a durable shell that can protect individuals even from the effects of chemicals. Therefore, some gardeners prefer to manually clean the surface of the bark and leaves from insects. They are removed from most fruit trees with a scraper or iron brush. If the branch is seriously damaged, you will have to saw it off and burn it along with the scale insect and its deposited larvae.
In young plants, insects are removed not only by mechanical methods. In addition, the trees are treated with a soap solution, which can destroy the larvae.
Before you start fighting scale insects, you should familiarize yourself with several rules:
- first, the trees are treated with non-toxic solutions;
- plants are sprayed 1-2 times a week;
- To improve the effectiveness of the means used, they are used alternately.
Folk remedies
Some try to eliminate pests on apples using special folk remedies. There are several effective remedies that will help cure trees:
- Soap solution.To prepare this mixture, mix 5-7 liters of water with three heads of chopped garlic and laundry soap. Plants are sprayed with the prepared solution five times a week until all parasites die.
- Onion remedy. To create an onion tincture against scale insects, you will have to grate one onion on a fine grater, stir in a liter of water and leave for 5-6 hours. After this, the liquid is filtered and used for spraying apple trees.
- Bitter pepper. When creating a solution, add 100 grams of pepper to 2-3 liters of hot water, after which the mixture is infused for 20-30 hours. Then add 20 grams of laundry soap to the filtered tincture.
Non-chemical means for control
To eliminate apple scale insects, biological control methods are often used, which include:
- wasps that are released onto the branches of apple trees so that they begin to eat dangerous pests;
- a mixture of liquid soap, which should be used to treat the surface of leaves and twigs daily;
- neem horticultural oil, which destroys not only scale insects, but also other insects.
The above methods of control are considered the safest, since they are not capable of harming plants.
Conclusion
Scale insects are considered dangerous pests that attack apple trees and lead to their death. Before eliminating insects, you need to familiarize yourself with effective methods and methods of control that will help protect apple trees.
