Blueberry pests: photos, diseases
The bright and attractive blueberries are not only very tasty, but also rich in various vitamins and other useful substances. However, in garden plots, bushes of these berries are rarely found. Although there are no great difficulties in planting and caring, numerous pests of garden blueberries can greatly spoil the harvest.
Blueberry pests: a description of the most dangerous pests and diseases
1. Rose leafworm. It is a small butterfly. Such blueberry pests prefer young bushes. Females of this species lay eggs in autumn (about 250), which spend the winter on plants, and caterpillars appear in the spring. They are green in color. Their main diet is flowers and leaf shoots. Leaves are also damaged - folded and entangled with cobwebs. To destroy pests, it is necessary to loosen the soil well, remove twisted leaves. You can also use infusions of garlic or other products with a pungent smell, for example, a decoction of wormwood for irrigation. Store products are also suitable - "Atom", "Tod" and others.
Blueberry pests: photos
2. Black-headed leafworm. Caterpillars also appear in the spring (usually in May), have a yellow or white color and a size of about 1 cm. They eat shoots, young leaves. The methods of struggle are the same as for the rose leafworm.
3. Grape tube wrench. Small beetle 0.5-1 cm long, green. These insects hibernate in the ground under blueberry bushes, and in spring they attack the buds and young leaves of plants. To fight, you can use "Metathion" or "Metaphos" for irrigation. In autumn, all fallen leaves should be carefully removed.
4. Fruit moth. This butterfly is about 1 cm in size and has narrow wings. Appears in spring, lays eggs on berries or blueberry buds. The caterpillars emerging from the eggs eat the berries. They can hibernate in the bark of a bush or in fallen leaves, and after winter they damage plant buds and shoots. In the fight against this pest, irrigation with "Lepidocin" helps in two doses with an interval of 10 days. It is also necessary to loosen the soil and remove damaged leaves and stems.
5. Khrushchev May. This beetle is 2.5-3 cm in size and has a brown color. Hibernates deep in the ground, wakes up in May. Can completely destroy young foliage on plants. And the larvae destroy the roots of the bush. In the fight, such drugs as "Confidor", "Aktar" and others are effective. Light traps can also be used.
Blueberry pests: photos
6. Kidney mite. This blueberry pest is small in size (only about 0.2mm in length), white in color. The danger is posed by insect larvae, which destroy the buds of the plant, in addition, ticks can carry various viruses. Sufficiently effective "Nitrafen" for irrigation of bushes can be used and ferrous sulfate. Spraying should be done even before the buds appear.
7. Leaf gall midge. This insect is small in size - 10mm. Mays eggs on leaves, then larvae hatch. Infected plant parts should be removed and burned. You can also use chemical methods of control - "Fufanon", "Mospilan".
8. Beet black aphid. It is an insect with a dark color. It infects the leaves of the plant, as a result of which they dry out. Insects lay eggs in the fall. In springtime, adults are pumped onto beets, where they breed, and in the fall they return to lay eggs. The larvae of the black aphid eat the newly formed roots of the bushes. To destroy the pest, you should use "Calypso 480" for irrigation of bushes.
9. Red blood aphid. A rather small pest of dark blueberries, up to 2 mm in size, usually settles on young shoots. Insects usually gather in large numbers on the bases of leaves, buds and stalks. In the result of spoilage, parts of the shrub (leaves and shoots) die off, and the berries grow small. In addition, aphids are carriers of various bacteria. Irrigation with drugs "BI-58", "Confidor" or "Aktara" helps well.
10. Weevil - apple blossom beetle. It is black and up to 4 mm long, the wings are covered with hairs. This insect destroys blueberry buds, and lays eggs in flower buds and sticks them together, which is why they die off. Beetles emerging from pupae eat berries, which causes great damage to the crop. For irrigation of infected plants such preparations as "Fufanon" and "Inta-Vir" are used. Foliage also needs to be treated with drugs.
11. Single skosar. Small blueberry pest, black, about a centimeter in length. The larvae are white in color. The insect makes clutches of eggs in the soil. The larvae that appear destroy the roots of the bush and remain in the ground until spring. Beetles appear in June, feed on young shoots and bark. To prevent infection, the bushes should be treated with Rogor or Cydial.
Blueberry pests: photos
12. Drosophila suzuki. It is a small winged insect of brown color (about 3-4 mm). The eyes are rather large and red in color. Insects lay eggs directly in the berries. Small larvae emerge from the eggs. For prevention, you should thoroughly clean the soil from dead foliage and plant debris. The drug "Calypso" is suitable for the fight.
13. Winter moth... It has a brown color, about a centimeter long. Females lay their eggs on the bark of a bush. The caterpillars are green and about 2.5 cm long. The butterflies appear in the fall. To destroy the pest, the bushes should be treated with "Engio", "Decis", etc.
14. The shield is comma-shaped. The insect is 1.5-3 mm long and has a brown color. This blueberry pest lays eggs in the fall on a kind of shield, where they hibernate. The larvae that appear in the spring feed on the sap of the plant. A bush affected by this pest dies. For prophylaxis, the soil should be disinfected before planting, and the already affected parts of the plant must be burned. To get rid of insects, Kinmiks, Karbofos and other products are suitable.
15. Praying Mantis. Blueberry pest measuring 10 cm, green. May eat small insect pests. Females can lay up to 300 eggs, the larvae appear after a few days. Females can lay eggs up to three times per season. As a result of high infestation, the plant may die.
You should carefully and regularly look after the bushes so that blueberry pests cannot appear. However, with the application of preventive measures and careful observation, with timely treatment of infected bushes, blueberries will begin to bear fruit in five years and will delight you with a good harvest of healthy and very tasty berries for a very long time. A blueberry bush can live for about 60 years.
