Reasons for the appearance of apple blossom beetle, control with chemical and folk remedies

Apple flower beetles are insects that feed on the swollen buds of apple and pear trees. They belong to the family of weevils of the order of beetles. An agricultural pest can cause enormous damage to crops. The beetle can destroy 30-50% of fruit ovaries, in rare cases it destroys the entire crop.

Features and appearance of the pest

The beetle has an elongated body 3-5 mm long.The body of the insect is dark brown. The antennae and paws are rusty red. They are classified as weevils because they have a rostrum. They can fly. Females have a longer proboscis than males. The mouthparts are located at the end of the rostrum. Insect eggs are oblong and watery-white in color. In winter, you can find them in the bark of fruit trees at a depth of no more than 3 cm and in garden litter. In summer they live directly in flower buds. If spring is early and flowering occurs rapidly, then some beetles do not have time to settle in the bud and die.

How dangerous is an insect?

The apple blossom beetle's favorite treat is the flower buds of fruit trees such as apple, pear, quince, and cherry. When the bud grows, they pierce it with their proboscis, gnaw a narrow hole and make their way inside the bud to feed and reproduce. Externally, a bud affected by a pest can only be identified by small holes, as if it had been pierced with a needle. The females of these insects lay from 50 to 100 eggs, one in each bud.

The larvae mature in 2-3 days, completely destroying the fruit bud, which begins to leak (“crying buds”). Then they fly out. Such a kidney no longer bears fruit.

3-4 females are enough to destroy the harvest of an average apple tree. The apple blossom beetle is quite difficult to detect at the early stage of tree infestation. Usually it becomes noticeable only when it is no longer possible to save most of the crop. Therefore, it is necessary to take immediate action.

Causes of weevils

Weevils are especially active during the long spring period, since they can almost unhinderedly make their way into the ovary of fruit buds. Insects become active already at +6 degrees.

Pests in nature are destroyed only by some small birds, and then in small quantities.

If the orchard is located close to wild apple trees, then the likelihood of weevil infestation is very high. Another reason for the appearance of weevils is the presence of old dead bark on trees, in which they overwinter.

Methods to combat apple blossom beetle

When planting a young garden, it is better to choose a plot of land on a hill, located at some distance from wild fruit trees. To reduce the risk of weevil damage, agrotechnical methods of prevention are used. If pests are still found in the garden, you can use various traditional methods or chemicals.

Shaking off

In spring, at temperatures below +10 degrees, before fruit trees begin to bloom, a simple method is used. In the morning hours, they spread a tarpaulin or film under the tree crown and shake the tree. Weevils fall on it, after which they must be destroyed.

Chemicals

Pests can be controlled using chemical insecticides: biological pesticides, pyrethroids, organophosphorus compounds. They treat the trunk and crown of trees.

The method is not the safest, but is considered the most effective.

The treatment is carried out before the inflorescences set and again in July. The drugs “Decis” (2 ml), “Kinmiks” (2.5 ml), “Fufanon” (10 ml), “Fastak” (1.5 ml), “Karbofos” have proven themselves well. Dilute any of them in 10 liters of water. A good result is observed if you alternate different drugs from year to year.

Folk remedies

To destroy weevils, folk methods are widely known, which people have long used in their gardens to combat them.For these purposes, whitewash, ash, laundry soap, and mustard are used. They are used during the formation of buds. At other times, traditional methods will have no effect. For the greatest effect, spraying with solutions is carried out in the spring 3 times every other day.

Mustard tincture

To make mustard tincture use:

• 9 liters of water.
• 3-4 tablespoons of dry mustard powder.

This solution is infused for at least 10 hours. You can spray both fruit buds and the crown and trunk of fruit trees.

Laundry soap solution

The solution is prepared from a finely grated piece of laundry soap:

• 1 piece of soap.
• 10 liters of warm water.

Stir thoroughly until the soap is completely dissolved and leave for about 4 hours. The method is safe for fruit trees. The method is universal, since both apple and pear trees can be treated with this solution.

Wood ash solution

A good way to get rid of insect larvae is to prepare a solution of wood ash. It requires:

• 10 liters of water;
• 5 kg of ash.

The method is suitable for processing bark and tree crowns. It can also be used to treat the soil under trees to destroy the pest living there.

Whitewashing with lime mortar

This method is the most common and effective of all folk methods. To prepare lime mortar, you will need slaked lime. It is diluted according to the instructions with water and the trunks of fruit trees are treated. This procedure must be repeated twice a year: in spring and autumn.

Preventive measures

Curing a garden from pests is problematic. The process takes a long time and requires careful processing of the trees.It is better to use preventive measures to prevent the appearance and reproduction of beetles:

• Plant trees away from wild apple trees.
• Remove fallen leaves and fruits.
• Remove dead old bark from trees.
• Remove buds damaged by weevils.
• Every year, whitewash tree trunks with lime mortar and cultivate the soil.
• Inspect fruit trees in the morning for pests weekly.
• Attach a glue belt at the base of the tree. Burn the collected pests.

Selection of apple tree varieties resistant to flower beetle

There are several varieties of apple trees that differ in their immunity to pests and diseases. Such varieties can be purchased of both domestic and foreign origin.

These include: Carmen, Red Amber, Prestige, Aphrodite, Jonagold, Rodnichok, Pervouralskaya, Imsinap, Good News, Veteran, Uslada, Bessemyanka Michurina and others. It is worth noting that there are no apple trees that are completely protected from pests. To prevent the weevil from harming the garden, preventive methods are used to combat it.