An effective remedy for whiteflies on tomatoes. Whitefly on greenhouse tomatoes: signs of damage and methods of control. Treatment with herbal infusion

How to identify the symptoms of pest damage?

Whitefly on tomatoes in a greenhouse is a fairly common occurrence. The insect breeds quickly in warm, humid conditions, and a greenhouse is the perfect place for this. If measures are not taken in time, it may appear on cucumbers, herbs and other crops growing nearby. The fight against whiteflies on tomatoes in a greenhouse is particularly difficult due to the high adaptability of adults to different kind processing. The danger to the normal development and fertility of the plant is borne not only by adults, but also by larvae and their metabolic products. Manifestations of pest damage:

• white spotting in the form of dots;
• atrophy of some parts of the stem, leafy part, twisting of the leaves;
• larvae at the bottom of the leaves;
• mosaic yellow pattern on the edges of the leaves;
• fruit atrophy.

All these signs indicate that you need to intervene immediately, otherwise the entire crop planted in the greenhouse may die. The waste products of whitefly larvae are fertile ground for the reproduction of all kinds of infections and many strains of the fungus. Any disease in combination with the invasion of pests will be impossible to cure, then the entire crop will have to be destroyed.

Biological methods for eliminating moths

The whitefly in a greenhouse on tomatoes feels at ease. Warm, humid conditions favor its rapid reproduction. To prevent the complete destruction of the tomato crop, you need to perform the following actions before proceeding with its removal:

• plants need to be separated from each other so that they are at a distance of 5-10 cm;
• equip the greenhouse with good ventilation;
• add all kinds of strengthening agents to the water for watering plants;
• do not destroy insects such as ladybugs and lacewings - these are inveterate enemies of the whitefly;
• observe the humidity regime.

Insects such as the lacewing lay their eggs directly into the pupae of the harmful moth. When the first hatch, they begin to feed on whitefly larvae. As a result of this, the offspring of the whitefly dies and it remains only to get rid of the adult offspring, which will be very easy to do after the death of the pupae.

To prevent the appearance or get rid of pests that have already appeared, you can treat the seedlings with special preparations. It is recommended to put a small amount of chicken manure in the wells before sowing, this will help strengthen the immunity of the tomato. In order for the soil to promote plant growth, and not whitefly reproduction, it must be constantly weeded, rid of weeds and dried.

other methods

You can remove the whitefly by catching with special glue-based traps. Devices for catching whiteflies can be made independently from small wooden planks. They should be treated with rosin with the addition of honey or vaseline oil. The main thing is to paint the fixtures yellow because insects are attracted to this color. At the top of the bush, you need to pull the twine with a homemade trap. After that, you need to shake the plants, when some of the pests are on the bait, it must be destroyed and a new one built.

If the whitefly on tomatoes in the greenhouse has appeared recently, and its number is relatively small, you can collect the moths by hand, and then treat the leaves and stems with soapy water to wash off their waste products and prevent infection infectious diseases. Subsequently, it is recommended to regularly spray with garlic infusion. In autumn, it is recommended to remove all remaining vegetation, and disinfect the soil that will be used for planting next year.

The larva of the whitefly settles in top layer soil. After harvesting the tops, you need to set fire to smoke bombs, and then collect the entire upper ball of the earth. If all the above methods of control have failed, you will have to resort to the use of fungicides. Chemicals will help get rid of the whitefly for a long time, only they have a lot of disadvantages. The first and main one is the chemical composition.

How and with what they fumigate a greenhouse

The use of smoke bombs should be discussed in more detail. After each harvest, the greenhouse should be treated. Ideally, fumigation should be done twice a year. There are such means for fumigation:

• smoke bomb;
• sulfur candle;
• tobacco bowl.

Any kind of checkers are considered harmless to plants. It is best to fumigate in spring and early autumn. Before carrying out the procedure, seedlings should be taken out in separate room or to the street. If there is no desire to do this, you can use fumigation agents with the addition of a special preparation. As a result of such procedures, it is possible to get rid of not only adults, but also larvae with pupae.

A sulfur candle releases sulfur into the atmosphere, the vapors of which can have Negative influence on plants and humans. Before using it, you need to carefully study the instructions for the drug. After fumigation, after 48 hours, it is necessary to properly ventilate the greenhouse.

Chemical substances

To completely destroy and forget about the whitefly on tomatoes and cucumbers for a long time, universal insecticidal agents are used. Many farmers are reluctant to use them because chemical composition, but when nothing else helps, and the harvest needs to be saved, people are ready to go to extreme measures. With the correct use of insecticides and compliance with all the safety rules described in the instructions, you can not be afraid for your health.

Mankind has been working on the earth for many years and trying to fight various pests. Progress does not stand still and today on store shelves you can choose any fungicide for treating plants. The most popular whitefly killers are listed below.

1. Verticillin J.
2. Confidor.
3. Actellik.
4. Pegasus.
5. Rovikurt.
6. Fufanon.

In addition to chemicals for treatment during infection, there are many systemic preparations that are used when planting seeds. In order to prevent the appearance of whiteflies on tomatoes and other crops in a greenhouse, Biotlin is used. Spraying is recommended at the stage of active vegetation. Another drug with a similar effect, which is also used during the growing season, Warrant.

Aktara is introduced under the root system, with drip irrigation. Iskra M is a broad-spectrum drug that helps to quickly get rid of many pests that can settle in a greenhouse. Processing should also be carried out during the growing season.

Folk recipes against the moth

Most gardeners prefer to deal with whitefly on tomatoes using proven grandfather's recipes. Such methods are completely safe and contribute to the health of plants. Garlic tincture helps to effectively get rid of whiteflies on tomatoes. For 1 liter water put a couple of peeled heads of garlic and insist about 10 days. Then spraying is carried out.

Very often, a solution of potassium permanganate is used for watering and treating plants. A very long time ago, people began to use methods of treating plants from pests with soapy water. With a small number of insects, this is a sure way to defeat the whitefly. Decoctions of dandelion roots or aloe leaves are often used. Processing should be carried out at least once a month.

The frequency of spraying and watering will be determined by the number of insects, as well as the condition of the plants themselves. It is not recommended to use means to get rid of other insects to combat whiteflies. The fight against this type of parasite is complicated by their immunity to most chemicals.

In the garden and in greenhouses, whiteflies often harm tomatoes, methods of combating which have been developed over the years. Once the seedlings are planted on permanent place into the ground, after a week or two it is necessary to carefully consider the back side of its leaves. It is there that many pests of garden crops hide, among them the whitefly, which is a bit like a moth, but much smaller. From tomatoes, it can migrate to other plants, causing significant damage to the crop.

Signs of the presence of whiteflies on tomatoes are obvious:

• yellowish or whitish spots appeared on the leaves, later they turn black;
• the top of the leaves (but not those that grow on the top of the bush, but located below) acquires a varnished sheen;
• leaves begin to curl and wither;
• if you touch a bush of tomatoes, flying white midges are noticeable;
• fruits ripen slowly, whitish streaks are noticeable in the pulp.

All this suggests that whiteflies have appeared on the tomatoes and they must be fought.

The moth is small, but the harm is considerable

To fight such a white and fluffy-looking enemy that seriously harms tomatoes, you can competently and effectively by studying its life cycle. Whitefly - small insect, from one and a half to three millimeters in length, its white wings are covered with a fine powdery coating. On the leaves of plants, whiteflies are located on the underside, and therefore they may not be immediately noticed. However, traces of their vital activity will be clearly visible when the colony increases and begins to spread.

One individual can lay up to 250 eggs. Caterpillars secrete a waxy enzyme that sticks them to surfaces. The larvae feed by sucking the juice from the tomato leaf, causing it to gradually wither and dry out. On closer examination of the back side of a still green and healthy-looking leaf, you can see only small gray formations that look like grains of sand. But more damage is done to parts of the plant that are below the settlement of insects.

All the results of the vital activity of whiteflies fall on the lower leaves, forming at first a shiny sticky coating. In the feces of these moths, there are spores of soot fungi that grow into the tissue of the leaves. The infected part of the plant first acquires a whitish coating, and then turns black. If there are a lot of insects, planting tomatoes can no longer be helped. You just need to think about neighboring plants and save them by destroying the tomato plantation. In order not to have to do this, you need to carefully and regularly inspect the tomato bushes.

The best method is prevention

Before you fight the whitefly on tomatoes, you can prevent its appearance by observing the rules of agricultural technology.

• The first rule - tomato seedlings are placed on optimal scheme: on one square meter only four bushes should grow (50x50 or 70x30). Such proportions will allow air to freely walk between plants, which prevents the appearance of many diseases. If the landings are close, mold and other fungi can start. In addition, seedlings literally win back from each other nutrients, and all parts of the plant are deficient sun rays. Accordingly, they weaken and succumb to pests.
• Since autumn, you need to take care of the site and clear it of tops, carefully loosen the ground.
• When purchasing tomato seedlings on the market, one must carefully consider the leaves from below, because that is where insects hide.
• If tomatoes will be grown in a greenhouse, in frosty weather it is necessary to open it so that the soil inside freezes. There is a chance that the pests hiding in it will die.
• If the seedlings have already grown, the greenhouse should be ventilated more often. Tomatoes normally tolerate temperatures of +15 degrees, and for whiteflies this is very uncomfortable.

Compost should not be laid in the garden for the winter, because all harmful insects and pathogens can overwinter there.

In addition, we must remember that these small moths can live anywhere, including on any purchased flowers that are placed in the house. If seedlings are grown in winter on windows, it is possible that pests can start here as well.

Gardeners process tomatoes with all kinds of whitefly remedies in order to win back good harvest. There are many techniques that everyone uses according to their choice.

People's ingenuity to help

Garden owners share valuable experience and advice on how to destroy the whitefly and get it out of the greenhouse. Not all methods are effective, but if you are afraid to use chemicals, you should use proven folk remedies.

• There is an opinion that whiteflies willingly flock to yellow planes. Pieces of yellow cardboard are smeared with some oily substance so that the moths stick, and hung in a greenhouse. Similar traps with adhesive composition are now sold in retail chains.
• They also place regular sticky tapes that are bought for flies or moths. To use them more effectively, they are cut into several pieces - thus one skein is enough for the entire area of ​​​​the greenhouse.
• Some argue that whiteflies can be gotten rid of with tobacco smoke. To do this, a small fire is bred inside the greenhouse, where they throw a handful of tobacco leaves.
• At night, whiteflies flock to the light. Therefore, in greenhouses or close to the site, they put an old kerosene lantern or supply the mains for an ordinary incandescent lamp. You can also put a blowtorch on the threshold of the greenhouse: many insects will die, and carbon dioxide will be beneficial, especially for pollinating cucumbers, as some gardeners notice.
• If there are relatively few whiteflies on tomatoes, the insects are washed off with a stream of water from a hose.

What herbs will save tomatoes?

All these whitefly remedies can destroy adults, but what about the larvae? There are two options: either periodically repeat the procedure, or use repellent infusions of wild and cultivated plants.

• The most popular and easily accessible is garlic infusion. Weigh 150 g of cloves, grind (for a greater effect, you can crush it into gruel), pour 1 liter of water. The mixture is placed in a container that closes tightly, insist five days. 10 grams of the concentrate is diluted in a liter of water and sprayed with a bed of tomatoes.
• Dig up 200-250 g of dandelion roots or collect 400 g of its fresh leaves. The crushed mixture is placed in 10 liters of warm water, insisted for several hours. Strained infusion process tomatoes. Sometimes it is recommended to add a handful of crushed onions.
• Tomatoes can also fight against the whitefly, but in the form of an infusion of tops. Since the plants must be treated repeatedly with such infusions, a concentrate is prepared, which can be stored for some time. In a liter of water, 4 kg of tomato tops are insisted for two or three hours, which are collected during pinching. Then the infusion is brought to a boil, the tops are squeezed out, the concentrate is stored in a hermetically sealed container. For spraying, take one part of the broth to three parts of water.
• Medicinal yarrow is also an assistant to tomatoes. Collect 800 g of grass, pour boiling water and add more water so that there is a bucket of infusion in the volume. The mixture is infused for two days, then tomatoes can be processed.
• Tobacco is used against the whitefly, or rather, a product based on it - cigarettes. The filter is separated from them, the contents of the remaining part are poured into a bucket, warm water is poured, insisted for two days. After straining, it is recommended to add 15-20 g detergent and spray the plants with this composition.

Tomatoes affected by the whitefly are treated with these infusions, often every decade. It is imperative that after the procedure it is necessary to loosen the soil under the plants in order to sprinkle fallen pests with earth.

Insecticides give a 100% result

Retail chains offer a wide range of chemicals suitable for whitefly control:

• "Aktellik";
• "Verticillin";
• "Confidor";
• "Fufanon";
• "Pegasus";
• "Aktara";
• "Boverin";
• "Citkor" and many others.

They must be used by carefully studying the instructions. It is better to use chemical insecticides during the period when there are no fruits - in this case, toxic substances will have time to evaporate. You need to know that not all preparations are prepared using chemical toxins. For example, "Verticillin" contains spores of a fungus that destroys insects by penetrating into their body.

In addition to the listed funds, a pharmaceutical preparation, an emulsion of benzyl benzoate, which removes lice, successfully fights the whitefly. According to the instructions, dilute 25-35 ml of the product in 1 liter of water and spray the tomatoes.

The tested substance is a concentrated solution of laundry soap. It is finely rubbed, poured with warm water in a ratio of 1:6, wait until all the soap has dissolved, and apply against the whitefly.

In the greenhouse, they resort to another method of chemical protection against insects - mosquito coils. They are lit at night and thus clean the tomatoes from the whitefly.

When using insecticides, the waiting time must be strictly observed. And it is advisable to use them only if the situation is running and the pest threatens to move to other plants.

One of the most insidious garden pests is the whitefly. This small insect, whose length does not exceed 2.5 mm, is distinguished by its exceptional ability to reproduce. Voracious insects are able to completely destroy cultivated plants growing in closed ground.

And if for existence on outdoors the thermophilic whitefly needs enough heat environment, then in greenhouses and greenhouses it can exist year-round, causing irreparable harm to greenhouse plants.

Of the one and a half thousand species of insects of the Aleirodidae family, the greenhouse (greenhouse) whitefly poses a particular danger to crops. The homeland of this harmful moth is South America. This explains the special “love” of whiteflies for greenhouses and greenhouses, where a warm and humid climate is maintained.

In one calendar year, the whitefly is capable of producing 15 generations. When the air temperature drops to 10-12 degrees, the pest's ability to reproduce decreases, but the butterfly calmly waits out the cold weather in the upper layer of soil or in the remains of plants.

whitefly growth stages

The complete transformation of the pest from an egg into a sexually mature individual occurs in 25-40 days. The more favorable the conditions for the existence of a butterfly - moist air and room temperature, - the faster the whitefly "ripens". Life cycle whiteflies are four "ages", in each of which the butterfly harms garden and garden crops.

1. Stray larva - hatches 11-12 days after laying eggs. The value is 0.25-0.3 mm, intensively spreads over the surface of the leaves in search of the most favorable habitat.
2. Nymph larva - after 5-6 days, it is tightly attached to the wrong side of the leaves of the plant. Having pierced the leaf, the nymph feeds itself on the juice of the foliage and remains completely immobile until the next stage of growth is reached. Visually determined with difficulty, it looks like a thin scale of a greenish tint. During its existence, it is covered with a waxy secret, which makes it invulnerable to insecticides.
3. The pupa is the final stage of development of the whitefly, lasting from 7 to 30 days.
4. Formation of adults (adult whiteflies) ready to devour the plant.

An adult female whitefly lives for about 30 days, during this period she is able to lay up to 140 eggs. For this reason, often one greenhouse plant can become a haven for a harmful butterfly at all stages of development - from egg colonies to hundreds of adult moths.

In the absence of timely processing, the plant is doomed to an early death - the larvae deprive it of vitality by drinking juice, and adults eat the fleshy part in a matter of days. In addition to a direct threat, the whitefly is a carrier of many viruses. The larvae also produce a sugary substance, which is a beneficial environment for the habitat of fungi. Very often in greenhouses where the whitefly is common, plants are damaged by niello, a type of soot fungus.

How to recognize a whitefly lesion

Whitefly infestation at the initial stage is not easy to detect. This is due to the fact that the insect nests mainly on the wrong side of the leaves, and its larvae are so small that they resemble small scales.

One of characteristic features the fact that the plant is affected by the whitefly is the appearance of whitish or yellow spots with blurred borders. Plants acquire an unhealthy, oppressed appearance; on the underside of the leaf, you can see light tubercles - places where second-age larvae accumulate.

When examining the leaves, their deformation, twisting is noted. After a short time, the affected leaves turn yellow and die.

The secretions of the larvae cover the plant with a sticky coating, which is easily detected when touched. This plaque clogs the pores of the leaves, prevents natural photosynthesis and the normal development of the plant. If black velvety spots are found on the leaves, then we are already talking about a concomitant disease - a sooty fungus that whiteflies carry.

If any of the listed signs of an unhealthy plant appear, you should take Urgent measures to save the crop.

How to deal with greenhouse whitefly

Features of the development of the whitefly make the fight against it quite difficult. In order to preserve greenhouse crops, a set of measures should be carried out, including mandatory preventive work.

Greenhouse (greenhouse) processing

The indispensable treatment of greenhouses immediately after harvest helps to reduce the risk of the spread of agricultural pests.

Such prevention includes:

• complete removal of plant residues and debris, followed by incineration;
• applying bleach solution to the frame structure;

Prices for bleach

bleaching powder