Plum is a fruit tree with tasty and healthy fruits that we can eat fresh, make preserves, jams and compotes, dry and freeze.
It contains many vitamins and has a beneficial effect on the gastrointestinal tract, preventing constipation.
The plum has always been a cultivated tree, and originated from the hybridization of cherry plum and sloe.
It is distributed almost everywhere.
Planting and caring for plums
The plum dries out or the plum leaves curl - these problems can arise from improper planting and care of the tree. In addition, pests and diseases can also affect plums. Plum trees are planted in autumn or spring. In the conditions of the middle zone, spring planting is preferable, since in the autumn the tree may not have time to take root before the cold weather and there is a great danger of freezing.
It is best to purchase seedlings from trusted places. This will be an additional guarantee of their health and safety. Then you can be sure that a high-quality seedling was not purchased by a sick person and not be afraid of introduced diseases.
For planting, pits are prepared in advance. To do this, they are dug to a depth of 60 -70 and a diameter of 60 -70 cm. The dug soil is mixed with humus at the rate of 2 parts earth and one part humus. This composition is returned to the pit. A wooden stake is driven in there, and a plum seedling is tied to it. The seedling is buried so that the root collar is 5-7 cm above the soil level. The roots are covered and lightly compacted. The tree is watered abundantly and the soil around it is mulched with peat or compost.
In the first 2-3 years, fertilizers are not applied, but they begin to feed in the 4th year. These can be nitrogen fertilizers in early spring for intensive growth, and later phosphorus or nitrogen-potassium fertilizers to nourish the tree. In the autumn, they are fed with phosphorus-potassium compounds.
In addition, it is important to care for pruning and thinning the crown, preventing thickening and removing small growths around the plum, which this plant produces in abundance. The shoots can take a lot of nutrients from the main tree.
Another agrotechnical technique is fruit thinning. This will prevent the branches from breaking off, and the fruits will be larger and of better quality. Before the fruits begin to fill, their number should be reduced by removing the excess ones, so that when they ripen they do not touch each other. If there are too many remaining fruits, you can support the branches with supports.
In order for the plum tree to be less damaged by pests and diseases, early spring pruning should be done. This can prevent the disease of white rot and gum bleeding.
How the plum tree is sick. Pests and diseases? How to get rid of it?
The yield of plums, and the tree itself, can suffer from various diseases or pests. If you do not carry out proper care and prevention, you may not get a harvest and lose trees.
What diseases affect plums? These are hole spot, fruit rot, coccomycosis (red spot), curl, moniliosis, bacterial spot.
Hole spot (clusterosporiasis). The disease is expressed in ulceration of branches and shoots, gum development. The fruits are affected down to the seed. The plum tree dries and the leaves fall. The disease is most dangerous for trees in the spring, when air humidity is high and it rains. To prevent and treat the disease, you must follow the basic rules for caring for plantings and remove affected branches. Avoid thickening of the crown and thin it out in a timely manner. After harvesting in the fall, collect fallen leaves and dig up the soil in the garden. Treat ulcers with 1 percent Bordeaux mixture and cover with garden varnish. After flowering after 2-3 weeks, the plum needs to be sprayed with Bordeaux mixture (1%) solution or copper oxychloride (30-40 g per 10 liters of water). Kuproskat is also used (at bud break and then after 7-10), 2 ml of the drug per 10 liters of water. When the disease manifests itself - Skor, Horus, Abiga-Peak. Any treatment with chemicals must be carried out no later than 20 days before harvesting the fruits.
Fruit rot. It mainly affects fruits with mechanical damage (pecked by birds, beaten by hail, etc.). First, a brown spot forms on the fruit; in warmth and high humidity it grows quickly. Spores appear here, which are then carried by the wind throughout the garden and infect other plants. For control purposes, such fruits must be buried and the trees sprayed with Bordeaux mixture.
Coccomycosis. This is a fungal disease. The disease affects leaves and fruits. Weak trees suffer the most due to poor tree care. The leaves are covered with reddish-brown small (0.5–2 mm) spots. As the disease develops, they join together, and a whitish coating appears on the bottom of the leaves. The infection also persists in fallen leaves. Fight with Bordeaux mixture or copper oxychloride. Infected leaves are burned.
Curly. Plum shoots become bent, plum leaves curl, wrinkle and turn yellow. Their early fall occurs. To combat curl, diseased shoots are cut out, fallen leaves are burned and the plants are sprayed with a 3 percent solution of Bordeaux mixture. For prevention purposes, you need to choose disease-resistant varieties for planting, such as Hungarian, Rencold, etc.
Bacterial spot- another fungal disease. Dark spots similar to sores appear on the fruits, which grow and turn black. The disease is caused by bacteria living on the buds and branches. The disease is provoked by heat, humidity and frequent rain. Plum leaves dry out and fall off. For prevention and treatment, trees are treated with a solution of three percent Bordeaux mixture. Other copper-containing products are also used: Abiga-Pak, Oksikhom. Fallen leaves are collected and burned.
Moniliosis. The disease affects flowers, leaves, twigs, and fruits. Plum leaves and branches dry out, the fruits rot and dry out. The moniliosis fungus forms infected foci in plant tissues where spores arise. The disease begins in dry fruit and affects the entire plant. The plum is drying up. Spores can be carried by insects, especially in wounds and damage. For preventative purposes, the crown is thinned out, falling leaves and damaged shoots are destroyed. Treatments with Bordeaux mixture are also carried out. 3-6 times per season. 5-6 times if spring and summer are rainy. At the same time, they also fight against spore carriers – insects.
Plum pests. How to fight?
Codling moth. This pest prefers apple and pear trees, but does not disdain plums. Its caterpillars are very voracious and can damage up to half the crop. They eat fruits and ovaries. To get rid of this pest, the branches are cleared of dying bark and the soil is dug up in the spring. After flowering, spray with Inta-Vir at the rate of 3 tablets per bucket of water. They make belts on the plum trunk, periodically checking them and destroying harmful insects. Cracks in the bark are covered with clay.
Plum papilion. A very dangerous pest, small black with yellow legs. A larva lives in fallen fruits in winter. The female lays eggs in the spring inside the fruit and the larvae eat the seed. Infestation by this pest causes fruit to drop at the beginning of ripening. To protect against the thick stalk, fallen plums are disposed of. And after the tree blooms, it is treated with Insegar" (5 g per bucket of water)
Aphid very dangerous for plums. It feeds on sap from leaves and young shoots. Plum leaves curl. The shoots stop growing. Young growth on trees is the most attractive to plum aphids. To protect trees, shoots should be cut back early in the spring. And when aphids appear on trees, they are treated with Inta-Vir.
Proper care and prevention and timely treatments against pests and diseases will help you preserve the tree and get a good harvest every year.
Plum diseases and the fight against them, photoVisible signs of fungal or insect damage on the plant indicate an active stage of infection. In such a situation, it is necessary to begin the fight as quickly and effectively as possible. A section that discusses the main diseases of plums and their treatment in pictures will help determine the cause of the plant's wilting, find methods of control and preserve the harvest.
Plum leaf diseases: the best remedies for protection and treatment
Diseases of stone fruit leaves gradually spread to the branches of the tree, affecting the entire plant. When considering plum diseases and their treatment with photos, special attention should be paid to fungal infections, since they are more common and thanks to timely diagnosis and the use of the necessary remedies, the affected plants can be quickly cured and healthy ones can be protected from the spread of spores.
Clusterospiriosis - perforated spotting (lat. Clasterosporium )
The disease is fungal. The causative agent of clasterosporiasis is the fungus Clasterosporium carpophilum.
The first signs of damage include brown spots on the leaves, framed by a dark border. Gradually, the infected tissues die and fall out, and in their place a through hole forms. The disease subsequently affects the integument of the tree; reddish spots lead to the appearance of cracks in the bark and the release of gum.
In order to prevent plum hole disease, it is necessary to promptly remove plant residues and burn them, treat gum wounds with copper sulfate, and remove near-trunk shoots. Treating plants with 1% Bordeaux mixture will help combat the fungus:
- during the period of bud appearance;
- immediately after flowering;
- 2 weeks after flowering.
In case of severe damage, plums are treated with the systemic fungicide Hom. It is recommended to carry out another spraying 20 days before harvest. Rate of use of the substance: 30 g per 10 liters of water. Effective from: Kurpoksat, Skor, Horus.
The following varieties are highly resistant to hole spot: Renklod violet and green, Anna Shpet, Vengerka, Kirk.
Polystigmosis - red spotting (lat. Polystigma)
Polystigmosis refers to common fungal infections, the spores of which, when high humidity in late spring, affects the plum - diseases and treatment with photos, as well as a detailed description of external signs will help to recognize what exactly the tree is infected with and begin treatment.
Small red spots appear on the leaves of trees, which gradually dry out and die. The main preventative measure is to remove plant debris and burn fallen leaves in the fall, since it is on them that the pathogenic fungus overwinters.
If symptoms are detected, it is necessary to eradicate the plants and soil in the circles around the trunk with 1% copper sulfate before the development of buds. Further methods of control are the use of fungicides Oksikhom, Skor, Topaz. Spraying is carried out before flowering, upon completion, and after harvesting.
The most resistant varieties: Renklod Altana and green, Ochakovskaya, Vengerka.
Plum coccomycosis (lat. Coccomyces)
Very often a tree dies due to improper treatment of coccomycosis. Thanks to our material, you will be able to promptly determine what is affecting the plum, the diseases - photos of which we have provided, will help you recognize the infection and apply the necessary remedies.
The causative agent is the fungus Coccomyces hiemalis. Affects all types of stone fruit crops. Main symptoms: at the beginning of summer, the upper side of the leaves becomes covered with small brownish spots, and the lower side with a powdery pink coating.
Coccomycosis can be effectively treated with the drugs Horus and Abiga-pik strictly according to the instructions. No less effective is lime treatment (0.1 kg per 10 liters of water). Spraying is carried out at the beginning of bud break.
For prevention purposes, it is necessary to carefully remove and destroy all plant debris on the site, since the fungus is easily carried by the wind. Plum varieties resistant to coccomycosis: Bogatyrskaya, Dashenka, Alyonushka.
Diseases of plum fruits: photos, descriptions, treatment and prevention
Stone fruits require additional protection during the filling and ripening of the crop. Fungal diseases of plums that affect the fruits are dangerous to the harvest, and their treatment consists of creating the necessary conditions, maintaining care, as well as preventive treatments. If such measures are not taken, the number of fruits can be reduced by up to 60%.
Stone fruit moniliosis (lat. Monilia cinerea Bonord)
Stone fruit plants are often affected by the fungus Monilia cinerea. Popularly, this disease is called fruit or gray rot.
The plum fruits begin to rot and become covered with gray growths (mushroom body). Tree branches wither and look scorched.
For preventive purposes, carrion should be collected regularly throughout the season, the affected parts of plants should be cut off, and burned. It is necessary to actively combat insects that are carriers of the disease.
To combat plum blight, use the drug Skor, treating the plants according to the instructions. In autumn, during the leaf fall period, it is recommended to treat trees with 3% Bordeaux mixture.
Moniliosis-resistant plum varieties: Award, Edinburgh, Venus.
Plum pockets (lat. Taphina pruni)
The marsupial fungus Taphina pruni attacks plum and cherry plum fruits. Growing fruits do not form a seed; their flesh grows and deteriorates, becoming brown in color. The fruits lose their shape, quickly deteriorate and fall off.
Similar plum diseases, photos and descriptions of which you will find in our article, overwinter in the bark and bud scales. A favorable condition for active development is high humidity during the flowering period.
As a preventive measure, it is necessary to promptly remove plant debris and infected parts of plants. Fallen fruits should be collected and burned until a waxy coating appears on them (before spores begin to disperse). For protection, it is recommended to spray trees with Bordeaux mixture, 1% copper sulfate or 3% iron sulfate during the formation of buds and at the end of flowering.
Late plum varieties with a long flowering period are prone to damage: Memory of Temiryazev, Valor, Golden Drop.
Plum pests and their control, photos and signs of occurrence
Fruit mite (lat. Panonychus ulmi)
The small insect has a brown body 0.5 mm long. The fruit mite feeds on the sap of leaves and buds, as a result of which they turn brown and fall off early. Red shiny eggs overwinter on the surface of the bark.
Among traditional control methods, strong-smelling infusions (for example, garlic) are often used to repel pests. A simple recipe based on mustard: 10 g of powder needs to be infused in 1 liter of water for 2 days. The resulting liquid is diluted in a ratio of 1:5, and the plants are treated in early spring during the period of bud development.
Yellow plum sawfly (lat. Hoplocampa flava L.)
The larvae damage the fruits even at the ovary stage. They feed on plum pits and pulp. The adult insect is a Hymenoptera and has a brown body up to 5 mm long. Damaged fruits do not develop and quickly deteriorate and have an unpleasant odor of larval excrement.
Trees are treated before flowering with Karbofos, Cyanox, and Gordon. For prevention, it is necessary to follow the agricultural practices of stone fruits. Since the larvae remain viable in the soil for several years, you should regularly dig up the soil in the circles around the trunk.
Among folk recipes, an infusion of wormwood and spruce needles is very popular. The strong aroma repels unwanted insects. Just 2 tablespoons of infusion per bucket of water is enough.
Bottom line
When choosing plum varieties, it is recommended to give preference to those that are resistant to common diseases. This will save you a lot of hassle in the future. Proper care and prevention will completely avoid the use of aggressive chemicals, and folk recipes will help overcome infection in the early stages.
It's hard for me to imagine a garden without a plum. This is one of the most popular and unpretentious fruit trees I know. When my summer cottage remained abandoned for many years, plums were the only ones that continued to bear fruit. So preserving and caring for them means a lot to me.
Here are the main types of pests:
- Common plum moth
- Plum sawfly
- Plum (reed) pollinated aphid
Also dangerous for the garden are fat stalks, mites (gall and red fruit mites), and wrinkled sapwood. Plum trees are also susceptible to attack by less specialized insects, such as rose and netted leaf rollers, rose leafhoppers, gypsy moths, several species of moths, moths, birch moths, redtails and others.
- before the buds open,
- when the first leaves appear,
- before flowering time,
- before the start of the maturation stage.
Additional processing is often carried out in late autumn, when the crop is harvested.
Common plum moth
It looks like a small brownish-gray butterfly with a wingspan of about 1.5 cm and is somewhat similar to a common moth. The codling moth spends the winter under the bark of a plum tree in cocoons in the form of a mature caterpillar ready for transformation.
Flight begins in the last days of flowering and continues throughout the summer until the average daily temperature drops below +14°C. During the warm period, the life cycle is repeated twice.
The pest chooses the underside of the fruit to attach greenish-white eggs. This only happens at night. Moreover, a separate “house” is selected for each egg. The butterfly infects up to fifty fruits at a time. The hatched caterpillar can crawl along the drain for several hours until it finds a suitable place to enter and makes its way inside.
The caterpillar does not eat the peel and carefully masks the hole. However, a spoiled fruit can be easily recognized by a drop of gum, which is released at the place where the pest got inside. In this way, the plum tries to heal the wound.
As the caterpillar grows and feeds, it acquires a characteristic pink color. In total, this period lasts about a month, during which time the pest gradually approaches the place where the cutting is attached. In unripe fruits, the codling moth eats away the pit, and in well-formed fruits, the pulp around it.
The caterpillar then emerges and pupates to begin the cycle again. Some butterflies hatch in the same season, some remain in the bark until the following summer. Therefore, the ideal time to spray trees is immediately after flowering.
Non-toxic pest control methods:
Chemical methods for controlling plum pests:
- Substances of the pyrethroid class (permethrin, cypermethrin) paralyze the moth. These toxins are not washed off by rain for a long time and do not lose their effectiveness in the sun, but at the same time they have a selective effect (they only affect certain types of insects) and are minimally toxic to humans.
- Neonicotinoids such as confidor, bankol, mospilan, actara also have a paralytic effect on the moth. These substances are persistent and long-lasting, while being safe for humans.
Spraying begins at the beginning of summer. It is best to change insecticides periodically. Otherwise, as in the case of bacteria and antibiotics, pests can develop immunity.
Plum sawfly
This type includes not one, but two species: there is a yellow and a black sawfly. They look very similar. This is a small, a few millimeters, brown fly (shown in the photo above) or black with lighter legs.
Sawfly cocoons wait out the winter at a depth of 5-20 cm in the soil under plum trees. Flight begins when daytime temperatures reach +10°C, so plums with early flowering suffer the most.
Insects use buds and ovaries as a “cradle”; each female can lay from 30 to 60 eggs. The yellow variety is more fertile.
Each caterpillar eats up to 6 fruits during its growth! You can recognize an infected ovary by a dark, rusty spot on its side.
Pest control without insecticides:
- Sawflies spend the winter underground, so to prevent and control them, it helps to dig up the soil around the trunks in late autumn. The larvae are defenseless against frost and die.
- Before flowering, sawflies can often be seen on plum branches. If you spread the litter and shake the tree well, most of the insects will be trapped. Then they can be destroyed manually.
If there are a lot of insects, only spraying will help. Organophosphorus pesticides, such as metaphos or karbofos, are best suited for this.
Plum (reed) pollinated aphid
The photo above shows a typical colony. The eggs survive the winter, waiting for the arrival of warmth in cracks in the bark. In the spring, when the buds begin to bloom, the larvae hatch. By the end of flowering they turn into wingless females.
These females are viviparous and can give birth to smaller, winged aphids up to ten times a year. Winged individuals are subsequently also capable of reproduction.
They lay eggs to reproduce the following spring. To do this, by the way, they can use not only the same plum tree, but also reeds growing nearby, from where they move back to the garden in mid-summer.
Mass distribution of insects occurs in June-July. Numerous colonies are clearly visible: they cover the leaves, thin young shoots and ovaries with an even bluish carpet of insect body remains.
Aphids suck out the vital juices, so not only the crop is threatened, but the life of the entire tree is in danger. In addition, additional damage is possible: the sugar-rich “milk” that insects secrete attracts ants. The sweet liquid is nutritious for the development of fungi and diseases of the plum.
The natural enemies of aphids are ladybugs. The more there are in the garden, the better the natural protection. But if they can’t do their job, other methods of controlling drain pests will help. The main folk recipe is different types of soap solutions:
- Soap-ash solution. One kilogram of ash is diluted with ten liters of boiling water and left for two days. Then mix 100 g of soap. Sometimes a simple soap solution is enough: a two-hundred-gram piece of laundry soap is ground, added to a bucket of water and stirred until completely dissolved.
- Infusion of marigolds. In this case, half a bucket of dried marigold flowers is poured with boiling water and left for two days, after which soap is also added.
In advanced cases, a 15% solution of karbofos is used.
When spraying, it is important that the solution reaches the underside of the leaves as much as possible. The procedure should be repeated several times: immediately after bud break and after flowering.
You can learn more about methods of combating plum aphids from the video:
Results
- Prioritize using non-toxic pest control methods that are safe for humans, animals and beneficial insects. Remember prevention.
- If there is still a need for more aggressive measures, use different insecticides and alternate them so that the pests do not develop immunity.
- All insects have different life cycles, so the garden is treated with insecticides at least 3-4 times during the summer.
- Watch for the appearance of aphids, they are especially dangerous because they additionally contribute to the development of fungal diseases of plums.
Plum is one of the fastest-growing and highest-yielding among stone fruit crops. It can be successfully grown in regions that have harsh weather in winter. In terms of winter hardiness, it is second only to cherries. Depending on the variety and growing zone, plum yield can be very high - more than 200 kg of fruit per tree. But for this you need to follow high agricultural technology.
EATERS OF FRUITS AND LEAVES OF PLUMS
The quality and quantity of the harvest is influenced by many factors, but one of the main ones is the physiological state of the plants, their resistance to pests and diseases. It is also important to what extent the trees are additionally protected from attacks by harmful organisms. Every year, significant damage to the plum crop is caused by the black plum sawfly, eurythoma, or plum thickipe - pests from the order Hymenoptera, as well as plum and eastern codling moths from the order Lepidoptera. It is possible to limit the number of phytophages if you control their vital activity during critical periods of development. To do this, you need to know how pests reproduce. are born, grow and feed. and when they are most vulnerable.
with sucking mouthparts (mites, aphids) and leaf-eating phytophages (moths, leaf rollers, moths, silkworms, hawthorn, lacewing, American white butterfly, or ABB). Rosaceae develop in one generation during the growing season. variegated golden and combative leaf rollers. Two or three generations per growing season are produced by currant, willow, reticulated, omnivorous and other types of leafrollers. Among the moths, the plum is damaged by the winter moth and the fruit moth. fluffy, moon-shaped and other species of this family.
Pests of the second group include codling moths - plum moth, oriental moth (it also damages shoots), sawflies, plum moth. goose and cockchafers (adult insects supplement their “menu” with leaves). The most common phytophage from the second group is the black plum sawfly. In plum plantations heavily populated by the sawfly, up to 95% of the ovary falls off. Under the infected trees, in the trunk circles, there is a large number of fallen fruits with black exit holes on each. They were done by the larvae, leaving for cocooning in the soil after completing their development cycle.
The plum moth and plum moth, multiplying uncontrollably in plum plantations, occupy an “honorable” second place in terms of harmfulness after the sawfly. If the development of the larval stage of the codling moth takes place in the stone, then the larvae of the plum moth feed in the pulp of the fruit. During this period, they make a passage around the seed to the stalk, gnawing at the same time the vascular system in the plant tissues and disrupting the circulation of nutrients. Fruits damaged by codling moths and moths turn purple prematurely and fall off.
The habitat of the eastern codling moth has formed; the species is widely distributed in all peach and plum growing areas. In the fight against the eastern codling moth. In addition to spraying with chemicals, mechanical methods are effective - if damaged, wilted shoots of all fruit crops (especially peach) in the area are cut out and burned in a timely manner, this will limit the number of the pest.
Scale insects and false scale insects are included in the third group of phytophages. They suck juices from the leaves and bark of branches, which leads to drying out and death of young trees. As a result of the toxic effect of the saliva of the Californian scale insect, longitudinal and transverse cracks appear on the trunk and branches. When feeding, the acacia false scale excretes a large amount of honeydew, on which sooty fungi then develop, contaminating the leaves and branches.
The California scale insect and the American white butterfly are quarantine pests - if they appear in fruit plantations, protective measures must be taken regardless of the number of individuals.
WHEN TO START SPRAYING A PLUM OR DO YOU COUNT EVERYTHING!
In order to carry out all the necessary protective spraying on time, it is necessary to rely on indicators of the economic harmfulness of pests (Table 1). The number of pests is determined visually by shaking them off trees, as well as installing and periodically cleaning pheromone traps. Before each spraying, which is carried out during the growing season, the degree of damage to trees by pests is first examined and it is decided whether it is advisable to treat the plants with chemicals.
The number of fruit sawflies is determined during the white bud phenophase, until the air temperature exceeds 10 °C. To do this, in the morning, when adult insects are inactive, they shake the tree branches and count the fallen individuals. A more effective method of controlling the development of this pest is white glue traps. If the number of adults in the trap exceeds the threshold (Table 1), then treatment is necessary. After treating plums with Aktara preparations 25% w.c. g. or Confidor Maxi (Table 2). which is carried out against sawfly adults before plum blossoms, repeated treatment (against larvae after flowering) is no longer necessary, since these drugs have a long period of action (21 days).
Owners of summer cottages and garden plots sometimes find it difficult to decide on the advisability of treatments against the plum moth - they simply do not have enough data for this. Firstly, in order to predict the number of pests in the current season, you need to know how many insects there were in the previous one. Secondly, the number of codling moth butterflies during the growing season is determined using pheromone traps. They make it possible to control the population density of a species and signal the need for protective measures if the quantitative composition of butterflies exceeds the economic threshold of harmfulness (ELT).
If pheromone traps are not freely available, you can rely on the first indicator - the degree of harmfulness of the species in the previous year. If 2% of the crop was damaged, then treatments against the codling moth are necessary this year. For spraying to be effective. It is important to set the processing time correctly. The basis for their determination is the phenophases of fruit trees, weather indicators and direct observations of pests.
The period of spraying against the plum moth is determined by the sum of effective temperatures of 200 °C (threshold 10 °C), at which the first generation caterpillars begin to hatch. Against this pest, in addition to Matcha, Lufox and biological products (Table 2), pyrethroids are also effective - Decis Profi, Karate Zeon, Arrivo, Fastak, approved for sale to the public. There is a limiting factor in their use - the air temperature should not rise above values of 20 ° C. At higher temperatures, ultraviolet rays destroy the active substance of the drugs and their effectiveness decreases. Insecticides from the pyrethroid group should be used during the hatching of moth caterpillars, in the morning or evening.
According to the experiments of scientists at the Institute of Horticulture, drugs from a new group - insect growth and development regulators (Match. Lufox) are very effective against lepidoptera, and their effect does not depend on weather conditions. The duration of the toxic effect of Matcha and other insecticides of this group is 28-35 days after their use. The match is effective against caterpillars of codling moths, leaf rollers, moths, and mites. The effect of the drug is manifested in the inhibition of chitin synthesis in caterpillars during the transition from one age to another; as a result, the treated individuals cannot complete this process and die.
The spectrum of action of the drug is expanded due to the ovicidal effect - when females lay eggs on the pre-treated surface of leaves or tree bark, caterpillars do not hatch from them. Match, 5% k.e. and Lufox 105 EU, k.e. should be used on plum varieties of different ripening periods at the end of May - the first ten days of June, during the peak summer of butterflies, mass oviposition and hatching of caterpillars. Plum plants of mid- and late-ripening varieties are sprayed a second time (with one of the above insecticides) 28-35 days after the first treatment. Late varieties of plums are sprayed against the plum moth three times during the growing season.
Among the diseases that affect plums, the most common are cleasterosporiosis (hole spot), fruit rot, red spot (polystigmosis), cytosporosis, rust, gommosis (gum disease), plum pockets, plum pox or plum pox (viral disease). In all plum growing regions, clusterosporiasis “dominates”. Polystigmosis affects trees mainly in the southern regions. Other pathogens of plum diseases are found everywhere, to varying degrees.
To obtain stable and high-quality fruits, scientists recommend an integrated protection system (IPS) for plums, developed at the Institute of Horticulture. It is aimed at combating both pests and diseases, and takes into account the characteristics of their development and spread. According to the IZS, highly effective drugs are used to protect the garden.
ECO-METHODS FOR PEST CONTROL OF PLUM
For connoisseurs of environmentally friendly products, there is a simple method of protecting fruits using microbiological insecticides. Bitoxibacillin (BTB), lepidocide, and gaupsin are effective against plum moth and other species of lepidoptera. The production of these environmentally friendly and highly effective preparations is seriously pursued at the Odessa Engineering and Technology Institute “Biotechnika”, at the Institute of Plant Protection (Kiev), as well as at some regional plant protection stations. The drugs are available in liquid form, with a consumption rate of 100 ml per 10 liters of water. Two treatments are carried out against each generation, with an interval of 8-10 days.
If possible, you should abandon the use of chemicals against plum moths or reduce their quantity and rate of application (the so-called economically feasible reduction), since insecticides applied in the summer destroy beneficial insects that can keep populations of mites, aphids, and leafminers on sub-threshold level.
Goldentail
To reduce the consumption of chemical insecticides, herbal preparations with insecticidal properties are used. Hot peppers are effective against aphids and codling moths. (1 kg of fresh or 0.5 kg of dry pods is poured into 10 liters of water, kept for two days, boiled for 1 hour, cooled and left for two hours). The prepared broth is stored in a dark place in well-sealed containers. Before flowering use 0.2
l of concentrate, after flowering - 0.1 l per 10 l of water. A decoction of wormwood is also used as an insecticide. To do this, during the flowering period, the leaves and upper parts of the plant are collected, then half a bucket of fresh or 700-800 g of dried mass is poured into 10 liters of water, left for 24 hours, boiled for 30 minutes, cooled and 10 liters of water are added.
ADDITIONAL MEASURES FOR PEST CONTROL OF PLUM
When carrying out protective measures on fruit-bearing plums or other crops, it is advisable to use pesticides and mineral fertilizers together. Tank mixtures of insecticides, fungicides and fertilizers are simultaneously effective against insects and pathogens, have a wide range of protective effects, prevent the emergence of resistant populations of pests, and create favorable conditions for plant development.
Combined compounds of insectofungicides with mineral fertilizers (nitroammophosphate, urea or ammonium nitrate) are highly effective. When using mineral fertilizers with a consumption rate of 30-50 g per 10 liters of water, the technological quality of the working solution improves - suspensions and emulsions are more stable, they better wet the leaf surface and “stick” well, remaining on it. By adding fertilizer to the working solution, you can reduce the consumption rate of insecticides by 20-30%.
In addition to protective measures, it is important to maintain agricultural technology at a high level. Caring for fruit trees includes watering and fertilizing. Plants need an additional portion of moisture in the summer, in the heat, and in late autumn they also need moisture-replenishing watering. Fertilizer feeding (root and foliar) improves the physiological state of trees and increases their resistance to adverse environmental conditions.
In addition to biological, chemical, mechanical and agrotechnical methods of protection, immunological ones also occupy an important place in IPS. By cultivating plum varieties that are resistant or tolerant to one or more types of pests, the number of protective sprays can be reduced and still produce good yields of quality fruit.