The freeloader, unknown to us, chooses larger potatoes. It grazes in a certain area. After him, passages with a diameter of seven centimeters remain in the ground - the husband fell through them more than once. The moves are short, between the holes. Could not be traced further.

The other day we held a military council with a neighbor. He also comes across gnawed potatoes and underground passages. Moreover, the neighbor managed to see this pest. True, from afar. According to the descriptions, this is a rodent, shiny, about 10 centimeters long.

The potato harvest is good. The damage dealt is relatively small. But now we are afraid that the animal will overwinter, multiply and eat much more, or even leave us without root crops.

Eternal questions: who is to blame and what to do?

Anna, s. Dolgoderevenskoye

A mole is not a mole

The mole rat mainly lives on the lands of Ukraine, Western Ciscaucasia and in some southern regions Russia. However, more and more often the rodent is noticed much further north, for example, in the Southern Urals. He actively develops new lands and spoils the harvest. The main delicacy of mole rats is potato tubers, carrots and beets.

This animal is really blind. Instead of eyes, he has a fold of skin covered with stiff bristles. The front paws are similar to those of a rat, four fingers are strongly developed, with which he digs minks and tunnels. Unlike moles, the mole rat feeds only on root crops and does not eat insects.

In length, it reaches a maximum of 35 cm. The animal is active all year round, so in the fall it makes huge reserves for itself - it drags onions, carrots, and potatoes into its mink. Those who set out to find their crop found 15 kg of potatoes in the pantries of the mole rat. Carries away only a trifle in reserve, eats large root crops on the spot.

Mole rats are not so dangerous for the gardener in the sense that they are not prolific. There are two or three babies a year. It's hard to get them out of the garden. Gardeners who encountered the animal note their endurance even to ultrasound. They do not respond to light vibration, as, for example, moles. Why? Perhaps this is due to the fact that the mole rat goes deep into the ground. Its tunnel system is a multi-tiered structure. Close to the surface are passages that are used to search for root crops. They have sharp branches down - this is the "first floor" of the mole rat. There he goes along with small potatoes. A deeper tier goes towards the pantries of the rodent and its "bedroom".

In winter, the animal burrows into the ground to a depth of three meters. Gardeners try to catch the mole rat using various traps or traps. To do this, a trap is set at the exit from the mink. It must be covered with branches or gently sprinkled with earth. This is done in order to suspend air access to the underground tunnel system. Sooner or later, the mole rat will go to deal with the exit and find out why there is no air flow. So he will fall into the trap. There are no other ways to catch.

If this animal is seen in the garden, measures must be taken urgently, otherwise the entire crop for the next year will “go underground”.

The scourge of vegetable gardens near water bodies is an earth rat

earth rat by appearance very reminiscent of an ordinary, familiar rat or large mouse. However, this rodent has nothing to do with rats as such. She has a different lifestyle. It is found near water bodies and this is perhaps the main condition for its appearance. Very often, it poisons the life of gardeners whose plot is located near lakes. There for the rodent fold optimal conditions for existence - and there are potatoes, and some water where you can swim. Ground rats are excellent swimmers.

You can identify them on the site by the gnawed fruits of potatoes or other root crops. They act in the same way as mole rats. Unlike mole rats, their minks and passages are not so deep - about 15-25 cm from the surface of the earth. Underground, they arrange entire apartment complexes - a bedroom, minks for breeding, pantries and many different tunnels. All the horror of the appearance earth rats lies in their rapid reproduction. In one year, the population in the garden can grow significantly. If you do not take any measures, you can forget about the harvest, it will all go to feed entire flocks of rats. It is quite easy to see rodents.

Adults reach 25 cm in length with the tail. The weight reaches 500 g. Near the houses and in the gardens, the rat appears closer to the fall, when the harvest is “ready”. In summer, they live near water bodies. It is easier to deal with them than with mole rats. Rats really do not like strong smells and a certain frequency of sounds. There are special electromagnetic repellers. They deftly expel rodents within two to three days. The disadvantage of the method is that you will need a lot of scarers.

There is also a cheaper one, effective way struggle - kerosene, gasoline, engine oil and plants. A piece of cloth should be moistened with any of the oil products and placed in a hole. In order to somehow save root crops, plant peppermint, elderberry, wormwood or tansy in areas where these vegetables grow. Rats are afraid of these plants like fire. It is not recommended to poison rodents! Carcasses of poisoned animals can be eaten by cats, and poison can also get into the soil.

Difficult to find household plot Wherever potatoes are grown, it is not for nothing that they call it the second bread. But such harmful insects, as the potato scoop can cause serious damage to the crop. To prevent this from happening, you need to regularly inspect the bushes. Moreover, there are a lot of pests who like to eat potatoes. In order not to lose the crop, all precautions must be observed.

Before resorting to chemicals, you can try more safe measures fight to get rid of insects on potatoes. Especially if the area is small. The number of time-tested methods is enormous. It is only necessary to notice in time that the leaves begin to dry out, and the bushes do not grow well.

Potato pests and their control folk methods:

• Potassium permanganate. The simplest and most common recipe for potato pests is a solution of potassium permanganate. For 1 l warm water you need to take 50 g of potassium permanganate and spray the bushes with the resulting solution. This method will quickly remove insects from the site.
• Wood ash. You can also spray the bushes with a solution wood ash and warm water if insects began to eat potatoes. During the planting of tubers in each hole, you can fall asleep not a large number of ash. This will scare away insects that are in the ground and gnaw potatoes, and also prevent the appearance of larvae in the soil. If a wireworm appeared on the site, then lime flour is added to the wells along with the ash.
• Traps with beer. To save potatoes from a bear, they usually make traps with beer. On the site you need to arrange bottles of beer, its smell attracts the bear. The insect will quickly disappear from the garden. And to in early spring to get rid of colorado potato beetle, then chopped potatoes can be scattered throughout the site.
• Digging up the site. To prevent the appearance of potato pests in advance, in the fall, after harvesting, you need to dig up the site. Most insects prefer to winter in the ground and lay their larvae there.

Who's eating potatoes?

But not only insects can spoil the potato crop. Often a mouse or shrew gnaws potatoes. It is very simple to understand that it is rodents that spoil the tubers. On the tubers, teeth marks are clearly visible.

The larvae of the Colorado potato beetle can also gnaw potatoes in the ground. The pest gnaws small holes in the tubers. If there are a lot of larvae, then the potatoes can be heavily eaten. When harvesting, you can sometimes see the larvae inside the potatoes.

Another pest that gnaws on tubers is the wireworm. Eating tubers, he gnaws "passages" in them, as if piercing with wire.

If it is relatively easy to deal with beetles that eat tops on potatoes, then it is much more difficult to deal with underground pests.

What are the control measures against potato aphids?

Despite its name, potato aphid can appear not only on potatoes, but also on other crops. The control measures will be similar.

The potato aphid is a small insect with an elongated body. As a rule, it is green. There are two types of aphids:

• Winged.
• Wingless.

The winged potato aphid is slightly larger.

At first, it is very difficult to understand that bugs appeared on potatoes. They form colonies on the underside of the leaf and at first there are no visible changes on the leaves. They begin to actively gnaw on the tops of potatoes when the colony increases. Then the aphids move to outside leaves, feeding on young and succulent shoots. The tops begin to dry out gradually.

We fight on potatoes with aphids:

• First of all, you should dig up the site in autumn and spring, since aphids prefer to winter in the ground. Weeds should also be destroyed regularly. After all, it is their appearance that contributes to the development of aphids on tops.
• If ants have appeared on the site, then urgent measures must be taken to combat them. After all, it is they who carry the aphids to the places where the anthill is located.
• Such drugs as Rovikurt, Fosbecid and Aktellik have proven themselves well. At the first sign of the appearance of potato aphids, you can spray the bushes with these preparations.

How to get rid of potato moth?

What is the description and treatment of potato moth? The potato moth is dangerous pest which can cause serious crop damage. Adults are small butterflies Brown color. But the moth larvae pose the greatest danger to tubers.

The larvae that eat potatoes are characterized by a yellow-pink body, which reaches a length of 1 to 3 cm.

The fight against potato moth:

• In order not to have to fight it, when landing, you need to dig deep holes. And during hilling, the height of the soil layer should be at least 15 cm.
• If the moth has already appeared, the bushes are sprayed with chemicals. You can use drugs from the Colorado potato beetle. But it should be remembered that in this case it is possible to harvest the crop not earlier than in a month.
• Often, moths appear in the basement where potatoes are stored. There is salvation from it. To do this, you need to take lepidocid and planriz (2 l: 0.5 l). Dip the potatoes in the solution for 20 minutes. After 3-4 days, potatoes can be eaten.
• So that the moth does not start during the harvest, then it is worth digging it up until the tops have dried up. To do this, 1 week before harvesting, all tops are mowed. There should not be tops on the site, they are immediately collected and thrown away.

Fighting the potato scoop

The potato scoop is a small butterfly that looks like a moth of a brown hue. A sexually mature individual does not cause much harm to potatoes, which cannot be said about caterpillars.

Scoop gnaws holes right in potato tubers, thereby causing great harm harvest. A worm appears mainly on waterlogged soil, so if long time were heavy rains, then the probability of the appearance of cutworm larvae is high. The larva crawls along the stem inside the tuber and begins to eat it from the inside, without touching the peel and leaving no holes in it.

How to deal with potato cutworm larvae:

• Nemabakt. If the bush has become painful, then you can use the drug Nemabact. You need to breed it according to the instructions and process the area with potatoes. It is better to buy a product in specialized stores so as not to purchase a fake.
• Sagebrush. The scoop does not tolerate the smell of wormwood. To prepare a decoction, you need to take 3 liters of water and 1 kg of wormwood. Boil the broth for about 20 minutes. Then let it brew and strain. Potatoes should be watered before the flowering period and 2 weeks after it begins.
• Prevention. The potato cutworm will not lay larvae if, after harvesting the potatoes, the area is dug up and all weeds are removed. You also need to regularly weed the beds.

How to get bed bugs out of potatoes?

How to deal with bedbugs in the Irkutsk region? Bed bugs can also ruin a potato crop if you don't start fighting them in time. Bed bugs found on potatoes are called cruciferous bugs. Most often found on cabbage.

Ways to get rid of bed bugs:

• chemicals. It is better to use chemicals if the bugs have begun to multiply actively and cause serious damage. You can use any preparations against pests of agricultural crops (Aktara, Gladiator, Zolon, Fagot).
• Onion peel. Bed bugs can't stand the smell onion peel, therefore, in order to cope with them, you need to take 1 kg of husk and 5 liters of water. Prepare a decoction and water the beds with it, Special attention focusing on areas where bed bugs appear in large quantities. You can also use a decoction of wormwood.
• Traps. If you do not start taking action in time, then the bugs will eat the entire crop. Therefore, among the beds, you can lay out a cloth soaked in kerosene.

How to deal with cicadas?

Cicadas not only eat parts of plants, but also suck out the juice from them, thereby causing damage to the crop. The cicada looks like a fly, only gray-green in color.

Fight the cicada as follows:

• Tops after harvesting should not be on the site. An insect can lay eggs on it and in the spring the larvae will begin to actively hatch.
• Near the site you can hang several feeders. Birds eat cicadas, thereby preventing them from breeding in the area.
• If the soil was heavily contaminated, then for several years in a row, onions or garlic should be grown in this place.
• An effective method of pest control is chemicals. The drugs Akarin, Calypso and Decis have proven themselves well. It is desirable to spray potatoes in warm, calm weather. Most optimal time- early morning or evening. It is important to ensure that the drug falls on the lower part of the leaf, because it is from this side that the cicada eats the tops. If part of the solution remains after processing, then it must be poured out.
• Garlic infusion will help get rid of the larvae that the cicada lays. 300 g of green garlic pour 3 liters of water and leave for a week dark room in a closed container.

How to remove a potato skewer from the site?

From insects that infect potatoes, the most effective remedy struggle is prevention. Potato skewer is also often found in plots. Shpanka eating potato tops is very dangerous if you do not get rid of it in time. This is a small black bug.

As a rule, black larva is found in the south, but due to the fact that winters are not so frosty, and summers are hot, the Spanish larva may also appear in the central regions.

How to get rid of skewer on potatoes:

• You can collect the shpan manually if there are not very many beetles on the site. But you should be aware that the insect releases a substance that, when it gets on the skin, can cause abscesses and inflammation. Therefore, it is recommended to collect the shpank in tight gloves.
• The second way is to treat the bushes with pesticides. You can use any chemicals against insects.

How to get rid of a potato ladybug?

The potato ladybug is a small bug, wings and an orange-colored body. There are black dots on the wings. The potato ladybug feeds on the leaves without touching the veins. Over time, the leaf begins to dry out and dies.

The potato ladybug is practically indestructible. The only way get rid of it - spray the bushes with chemicals. But after a while, most likely, the bugs will reappear.

You can use special biological preparations. Their main advantage is that they are harmless to humans. But there is one significant disadvantage - during the rain they are quickly washed off from the plants. Therefore, you need to spray the tops on a sunny day.

Pests and their habitat

You need to regularly inspect the entire bush in order to notice pests on the site in time. But, depending on which part of the plant will dry out, you can make an assumption which insect has started on the site:

• The potato fly prefers to breed mainly on leaves.
• Potato foliage is eaten by insects such as the Colorado potato beetle and its larvae, leafhoppers and potato flea.
• The stems of the bush are often affected by Colorado potato beetles, potato moth, cutworm and mole cricket (underground parts of the stem).
• Potato tubers are gnawed by mice, moles, wireworms, nematodes, a bear and potato scoop larvae.

The easiest way to prevent some insects is to dig up the area and remove weeds in time, as well as inspect the potato bushes. Then the harvest will be good.

For getting high yield, you should know the main diseases and pests of potatoes in order to fight them in a timely and skillful manner. The most common potato pests: stem nematode, Colorado potato beetle, mole cricket, wireworms, caterpillars winter cutworm, potato moth and many other "lovers" to eat root crops. Among the diseases can be distinguished: potato rot, macrosporiosis, potato cancer. Today we will talk about them and other dangerous potato pests.

The most dangerous potato pests

Wireworms and false wireworms

Pests of the larvae of the nutcracker beetle and darkling beetle, damaging the tubers and stalks of potatoes. Their body is dense, worm-like, yellow in color, about 20-25 mm long.

signs

They harm the fact that they gnaw through the tubers, making long, narrow channels in them. Such damage is a favorable environment for pathogens that cause rot. During the growth period, pests damage root system, the base of the stems, so the plants are significantly behind in development or wither.

• The fight against potato pests - wireworms and false wireworms is carried out with the help of regular crop rotation, using legumes.
• Spring and autumn digging of the soil for the destruction of pest larvae.
• Liming of acidic soils;
• During spring and summer: loosening the soil, destroying weeds;

Colorado beetle

Beetles are dangerous pests of potatoes, destroying tops and tubers, which leads to a decrease in yield. Very voracious, actively breed. Feature These beetles, in that they are able to fly great distances in search of food. They can also accumulate in the soil during the permanent cultivation of potatoes. The main danger is the larvae of the Colorado potato beetle.

Control and prevention measures

• The decrease in the number of the Colorado potato beetle is facilitated by the collection of larvae and adults by hand;
• Regular weeding, loosening the soil and hilling plants.
• To combat Colorado potato beetles, biological and chemical preparations are used (the biological preparation "Bitoksibacillin", "Boverin"; chemical: "Tsimbush", "Dilor", "Volaton").

potato nematode

The female has a spherical body, while the male has a worm-like body. The female nematode first white color gradually darkens to brown. After fertilization, females lay eggs, their number is up to thousands of pieces, then they die off and turn into cysts that remain in the soil. The viability of larvae and cysts in the soil can be more than 10 years, so it is very difficult to deal with these pests.

signs

Plants affected by the nematode are significantly stunted, the lower part of the leaf may wither, few stems are formed, the root system develops poorly, tubers form small or they are completely absent. With a weak infection - external signs invisible. Damage will appear only after harvesting, examining the tubers you can see small cysts.

Control and prevention measures

• Before planting plants, urea is introduced into possible foci of infection, which is then watered with infusion on potato sprouts;
• Careful selection of planting material;
• It is recommended immediately after planting potatoes to water the holes with liquid chicken manure;
• To combat nematodes, special preparations are also used, one of which is Nematicide (it is applied to the soil 2-3 weeks before the planned planting);
• When harvesting, carry out a thorough inspection of the tubers - eliminate the infected potatoes;

potato moth

signs

The pest damages not only potatoes, but also plants such as: eggplant, tomatoes, peppers.

The main pests are caterpillars that penetrate under the peel, into tubers or stems. In the foliage, the caterpillars eat away the inner tissues of the leaves, making many moves, polluting them with their excrement. After such an intervention, the stem of the plant dies.

Control and prevention measures

• To combat caterpillars, a solution of 10% karbofos (45 g per 5 liters of water) is used.

stem nematode

signs

Tiny roundworms (0.3 -0.4 mm) settle in the soil and potato tubers. The danger is that the affected plant does not differ in appearance from a healthy one, which makes it very difficult to fight the pest. Basically, stem nematode larvae pass into young tubers from the mother tuber, or from the soil. Actively developing, by the time of harvest, the tubers are covered with gray spots with a metallic sheen, the peel in some places exfoliates and destroyed tissue is visible under it.

Control and prevention measures

• Since infection in most cases occurs through the affected tubers, for the purpose of prevention, the quality of seed potatoes should be carefully monitored;
• Realize autumn digging, delete weed grass and post-harvest destruction of crop residues.

Medvedka

The insect is a pest, lives in the soil, digs passages in the ground, harms young shoots, gnawing through the underground parts and tubers.

Control and prevention measures

• To combat the bear, they use baits prepared with their own hands from boiled grains of corn, millet, barley, pickled with metaphos (25 g). To 0.5 kg of grain add 15 g vegetable oil and mix well, then lay out in the holes of the bear or directly into the soil, a few days before planting. When shoots appear - lay in the aisle.
• In case of mass reproduction of the pest, the soil of the plants is watered under the root with a solution of 10% karbofos (30-50 g per 10 l of water), the consumption of the solution is 6-8 l per 1 sq.m.
• Same nice results shows the finished granular preparation "Medvetoks". It is introduced into the furrows between the beds or along their perimeter, then watered abundantly. The granules act for more than three weeks, without disintegrating even in very wet soil. After eating one granule of the drug, the bear dies within a few hours.

Scoop caterpillars

Caterpillars damage potato tops and tubers. During the growing season, they penetrate the foliage (sometimes into the stems and tubers) and make many moves. Damaged tissues become a good environment for the development of various microorganisms that cause the development of rot (dry and wet). Stems wilt, warp, dry out, or break in places damaged by cutworm caterpillars.

Control and prevention measures

• To combat caterpillars, scoops use drugs: "Decis", "Tsimbush".

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Potato diseases

Late blight (potato rot)

signs

This disease affects all parts of the plant: potato tubers, stems and leaves. The first signs appear on the lower leaves of the plant, which are more protected from direct sunlight, dark brown spots appear on them, and on the reverse side - white coating. This phenomenon indicates that a fungus is present on the plant, disease-causing late blight. After some time from the infected tops, the disease is transmitted to the tubers.

The disease spreads especially quickly during rains, as the spores of the fungus are washed off the plant and absorbed into the soil. At harvest, the disease is quite difficult to detect, only after a few weeks the tubers become covered with typical spots. When cutting potatoes, you can see brown stains on the pulp. The affected potatoes are not subject to storage, as a rule, they soon rot.

Control and prevention measures

• Use healthy tubers for planting (for greater quality assurance, pre-sprout potato tubers before planting);
• Do not plant potatoes near tomatoes when planting, and keep in mind that it is not recommended to plant potatoes for several years in a row in the same area;
• During the growing season, hill the plant higher so that the resulting tubers are not too on the surface.
• The best effect on the fight against late blight is shown by spraying the tops chemicals. At the moment the plants reach a height of about 15-20 cm, carry out preventive treatment with a solution blue vitriol(for 5 liters of water - 5 g of the drug);
• At the first sign of infection, spray the plants with a 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid, which you can easily prepare yourself (remember this recipe, it will come in handy more than once in the fight against other diseases and not only potatoes).

How to make Bordeaux liquid

• To prepare Bordeaux liquid, you will need two containers (preferably glass ones);
• Pour 3 liters of water into one container and dissolve 120 g of quicklime in it;
• In the second container in 3 liters hot water dissolve 60 g of copper sulfate;
• Pour one liquid into another and mix thoroughly. Everything, the solution is ready for spraying!

Rhizoctonia

signs

A fungal disease that affects sprouts, stems and tubers. Tubers that have been germinated in the dark are especially susceptible to the disease. Dark or brown ulcers appear on their sprouts, leading to partial death of the sprouts. Affected shoots may produce lateral shoots also affected by the disease. On the formed tubers, rhizoctonia appears as hardened dark lumps that are easily peeled off. With this disease, delayed germination, developmental delay, premature wilting and, as a result, a yield loss of 15-20% are noted.

Control and prevention measures

• Planting should be carried out with germinated tubers (previously moistened in a 1.5% solution boric acid), in well-warmed soil, not less than 8-9 ºС;
• Control the condition of the soil: follow the optimal watering, do not allow the appearance of a crust on the surface;

common scab

signs

Young shoots and growing tubers are especially susceptible to the disease. Scab appears on the surface of the tubers in the form of rough, dry ulcers, which, when growing, merge into a rough crust. The tissues of young sprouts are destroyed, germination is reduced, affected tubers rot. Plants are more susceptible to this disease - growing on sandy soils, less - on clay.

Control and prevention measures

• For planting, choose only healthy tubers, pre-treated in a formalin solution (0.25 liters of 40% formalin per 50 liters of water). Dilute formalin in a large container into which you can drop a wicker basket with potatoes. Soak the potatoes in the solution for 3 minutes, then let the liquid drain and pour the tubers onto the spread matting. Cover with a tarp for 2 hours. Please note that germinated tubers cannot be processed.
• Avoid growing potatoes on soils that are too calcareous and fertilized with fresh manure - this is a favorable environment for the active reproduction of scab in the soil.
• Spend pre-sowing treatment soil fertilizers; ammonium sulfate (35-40 g per 1 sq.m.), potassium magnesia or superphosphate (30g per 1 sq.m.), or right before planting potatoes, add manganese sulfate to the wells (2 g per well), good mixing with earth.

macrosporiosis

signs

This disease spreads to the foliage, stems, and tubers of potatoes mainly in the first half of the period. active growth. The disease manifests itself as many dry dark brown spots all over the leaf surface, at first with clear contours, and later they increase in size and merge into solid black. The foliage dies off, and after a while the trunk is also affected by gray-brown ulcers, which rot in rainy weather and dry out in the sun.

Control and prevention measures

• Adhere to the principle of fruit change (in one place you can grow potatoes once every three years);
• Plant potatoes as far away from tomatoes as possible, as this crop is also susceptible to this disease;
• Apply potash and phosphate fertilizers to the soil;
• For prevention - once a week, spray potatoes with a solution of copper oxychloride (20 l of water / 80 g of the drug) or 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid;
• Good results are shown by treatment with Polycarbicin (20 g per 5 l of water), Arceride (25 g per 5 l of water).
• For greater effectiveness in the fight against macrosporiosis, drugs should be alternated, as addiction occurs.

potato cancer

signs

very dangerous fungal disease, is one of the quarantine diseases of potatoes. If this disease is detected, the tubers are to be destroyed, and the soil of the site is disinfected, then the soil is no longer suitable for growing potatoes.

At the first stage, small white growths similar to cauliflower heads appear on plants infected with the disease, later they darken and eventually turn black, turning into a mass of mucus. Cancer disease can spread with infected tubers or soil on them, tools for tillage.

Control and prevention measures

• One of the most effective measures against the spread of potato cancer is the cultivation of disease-resistant varieties.

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Do you know how to grow potatoes from seeds?

09.07.2015 8 294

Diseases and pests of potatoes - the main causes and methods of control

Major potato diseases: treatment and prevention

In order to save your crop in time and prevent the appearance of viruses and harmful microorganisms on potatoes, you need to know what diseases are. Let's take a closer look at those that are often found:

late blight is perhaps the most devastating disease of potatoes. Not only stems and leaves can be affected, but the tubers themselves. If you look at lower leaves plants, you can see dark brown spots that quickly increase in size. The leaves begin to turn black, dry out, and in rainy weather they rot. On the tubers themselves, characteristic depressed dark spots with brown streaks.

Potato diseases can be prevented by spraying the plants with Bordeaux liquid or a solution of copper sulfate. This must be done before the potatoes bloom. You can also use folk methods, for example, iodine with milk. For ten liters of water we take one liter of milk and 15-20 drops of iodine. As preventive measures, you can spray the tops of plants with infusions of garlic. It is necessary to grind 100 grams of cloves, pour a glass of water and leave for a day. Then dilute it all in a bucket of water and spray. Such sprays can be carried out throughout the entire period of potato growth at intervals of 8-10 days;

in the photo - late blight of potatoes

Fusarium (dry rot). Plants can become ill at any stage of development, but as a rule, symptoms become very noticeable during the flowering period. top leaves begin to lighten, the stem turns brown, and rots during precipitation. A diseased potato dies in just a couple of days. On the tubers you can see gray-brown spots various shapes, which are slightly depressed. Inside, a void is formed in which the mycelium of the fungus is located.

in the photo - fusarium (dry rot) on potatoes

Before planting, it is advisable to pickle the tubers with Fitosporin-M or Baktofit to avoid soil contamination. This disease is promoted by the spread of late blight on early dates development, so fighting it will save you from problems with ear rot;

common scab. In most cases, tubers, plant roots are affected. Wrinkled dry sores form on the tubers, which can merge into one large rough spot. As a rule, the disease spreads through the affected land.

In such cases, the soil must be treated with a solution of potassium permanganate, and the tubers themselves should be sprayed with Maxim. It is advisable to do this before planting potatoes in the holes. Crop rotation is recommended, as fungal spores of this disease can persist in the soil for up to five years. Be sure to use green manure in the area with further digging.

in the photo - potato scab

Medvedka- this malicious pest, popularly called "earth cancer", never bypasses the ridge with potatoes, eats young shoots or the tubers themselves. Medvedka prefers sunny, well-warmed places where he builds his nests. They are usually located at a depth of no more than 15 centimeters, where the insect lays a large number of eggs.

in the photo - a bear eats potatoes

Dusting the tops of potatoes with ash is considered effective. Doing so better in the morning when the leaves are still damp with dew. It is also considered a good remedy: cut potatoes into slices (1 kg), pour one glass of urea, two liters of water, close tightly, leave for a couple of days. Then lay out the bait in a convenient container (for example, cans), arrange between the rows. You need to do this once a week.

If you notice a diseased plant in your garden, you should immediately remove it, burn it, or place it in a bleach pit. The wells need to be plentifully treated with urea. Do not let the soil deplete, the nematode will easily settle in such areas. There are drugs such as Nemabakt and Bazudin, they will help you if the earth is already badly affected.

in the photo - potato nematode

wireworm- a small worm, about two centimeters in size, hard to the touch, usually yellow or brown in color. If your garden is too damp, there is a lot of shade, weeds grow, then wait for the wireworm to visit.

To get rid of the wireworm, bring chalk, ash or eggshell. Thus, reduce the acidity of the soil, which this worm does not like so much. Plant peas, beans, beans, chickpeas on the plot. Marigolds can be planted along the perimeter, the smell of which will scare away not only the wireworm, but many other insect pests. Dig up the garden for the winter, then the larvae remaining in the ground will freeze.

Take preventive measures in time, monitor the condition of the soil, remove weeds from the beds. What will be the potato if the diseases of the tops and tubers spread, and no measures are taken. As the proverb says: "Do not throw ashes on the road, but carry a little to the garden" ...