Scabbard willow on currants - how to fight and get rid of

The scale insect is a small, up to 5 mm, shell-shaped insect that feeds on the juices of leaves, ovaries and currant branches. The insect spreads very quickly and affects not only currant bushes, but also gooseberries, raspberries, cherries, cherries.

The first signs are small yellow spots that grow over time until foliage falls from the shrub. If you notice in the early stages (yellow spot), then the bush can still be saved, but with a large fall of twisted leaves, you must already resort to radical measures - complete uprooting and burning of the branches. The need for such an approach lies in the fact that the scabbard secretes honeydew, which provides nutrition to the sooty fungus, another serious disease of garden plants.

In general, scale insects rarely appear on young shrubs, only in case of non-compliance with agronomic requirements for planting and care. Most often it can be seen on old and unkempt currant bushes.

The most favorite place is the transition of the cutting of the leaf to the branch from the inner side of the leaf. These places need to be constantly viewed, because not only the scabbard likes to huddle "in the shade", but also the aphid, the leafworm.

In this article, we will look at the main methods of treatment for scabies.

Insect characteristic

The main characteristic of this parasite is that if you do not start the fight in time, the insect closes with a shield and no drugs can destroy it until the next hatching of the larvae. The main struggle comes down to the destruction of young animals, and the affected branches with a shield will need to be cut and burned behind the site. Find out how to deal with caterpillars on currants here.

Description of appearance

Here is a brief description of the scale insects, depending on gender and stage of development:

Female

It has no wings, no legs - so it can only move by crawling. Another difference from males is that there is a round protective shield. The maximum size is up to 2 mm. A body with a chitinous shell is masked by the appearance and color of the plant on which the pest colony has settled. Depending on the plants, females can change not only color, but even the outline and length of the body. The female Californian scale insect can be easily recognized by its yellow spot with white edging in the middle of the shield.

Male

The elongated structure of the body is oval; its color can vary from a grayish tint to a yellow-black color. On its carapace, there is a transverse strip painted in a darker color. The maximum size of the shield in an adult parasite is up to 1 mm. The insect moves on its legs and can fly over short distances, unlike females. Another distinctive feature for a person with a magnifying glass is that the eyes of the males are colored purple.
Several forms of Californian scale larvae are classified:

• "Nymphs"- a transitional form, during this period the formation of scutes begins, and their body begins to acquire an oval shape. The color changes and becomes dark black;
• "Tramps" - recently hatched individuals with an oblong body, painted gray. The size of the calf is up to 0.3 mm, so the gardener will definitely need a magnifying glass to identify and detect the hatched larvae.The main task at this stage for parasites is constant nutrition, so their mouth is well developed and may even be longer than the larva's body.

Life cycle

The scale insect hibernates in the form of eggs, which the female covers with her body. In the first warm days of spring, the hatched "Tramps" begin to actively feed and develop. Adults, overwintered individuals remain at the wintering site, they firmly adhere to shoots or trunks and suck the sap of the plant. Males begin to take care of their offspring by mid-May. Their number is small, only 10% of the total mass of the flock. Find out about the best varieties of tomatoes for open ground at this link.

Females, during the warm period, are able to lay up to 100 eggs from which voracious larvae emerge.

This small fry quickly spreads over a tree or shrub or spreads to neighboring plants and sucks out the sap of the plants. Starting to turn into nymphs, the larvae are covered with chitinous shields and become inaccessible to any drug.

Males, preoccupied with the continuation of the genus, when mating, throw off their defenses and, after fulfilling their paternal duty, die. Already in August, up to 90% of females grow from larvae, which lay eggs under them and are covered with protection.

Scabbard - how it looks, description

This pest infects plants in open beds, spreads at high speed, loves vegetables and fruits very much, parasitizes mainly on them. The name "scabbard" speaks for itself - the body of an insect about five millimeters in size is covered with a hard brown shell.

Having settled on a plant, the scale insect feeds on its juices until it deprives it of its vitality.

Signs of the appearance of a scale insect:

1. If the scabbard sticks to the leaf, a yellow speck appears on it, growing as the juice is sucked out.
2. The leaf turns completely yellow.
3. There is a twisting of the leaf, it falls off, the branches are bare.
4. Plant growth stops, complete drying begins.
5. The plant dies.

If you do not start the fight against the scale insect in time, its massive and extremely rapid reproduction will begin, the bark of the plant, ovaries and fruits will be completely covered with these insects. In addition, the honeydew secreted by the scabbards provides nutrition to the sooty fungi that immediately settle on the affected plants. Especially massive scale insects reproduce in old, unkempt gardens. A favorite place of settlement for adults is the place where the leaf cuttings meet with a branch or trunk, and they especially love the underside of the leaf.

The appearance of spots on the leaves is a sign of scute infection.

Symptoms of defeat

If the larvae can be seen only under a magnifying glass, then the consequences of their "feeding" and development are easy to detect. The foliage on the plants becomes with a sticky and shiny surface, as if smeared with honey. Already at this stage it is too late to start the fight, usually the scabbards are covered with defense. The plaque is sweet in taste, this is due to the release of sweet and sticky waste products by feeding "tramps".
Then the shoots and trunks are covered with a grayish bloom, due to a lack of nutritious juice, the plant begins to lag behind in development, the foliage becomes small and gradually dries up. The nutrition of the plant from the processes of photosynthesis is disrupted and, in fact, the plant stops "breathing" through the foliage. Early leaf fall begins, the bark on the trunks and shoots cracks, bends. How to spray currants in the spring from pests and diseases, find out in this material.

Effects

A gardener who does not carry out preventive treatments against the scabbard on currants and other garden plants runs the risk of being left without a crop and generally losing seedlings. If at the beginning, from insufficient nutrition, parts of the bush are suppressed, then in the future the lack of nutrition causes the shoots and trunks of the bush to dry out. This article will tell you about ammonia from aphids on currants.

It is not always possible to reliably protect the garden, even after carrying out all preventive treatments, if the neighboring area is abandoned or not treated from pests. In this case, active males and "vagabonds" will quickly fill the neighboring garden and young females will hatch in August.

What harm is done

The considered species of parasites cause colossal damage to vegetation.... In just a couple of years, they are able to destroy entire currant plantations.

Pests feed on the cell sap of shoots, foliage and berries. As a result, the bushes begin to dry out. In the absence of timely treatment, there is a complete dying off of the plant. After the pests destroy one currant bush, they move to the specimen that is nearby.

Pest control

To protect plants, you will need to use all available methods. We will analyze them in more detail in separate chapters.

Agrotechnical methods

Among the agrotechnical measures, we will single out several main types of work in the garden:

1. one of the most effective ways that can prevent the spread of scabies in the garden and neighboring plants is the autumn hilling of bushes. This will additionally protect the shrubs from frost. In early spring, during the melting snow, the earth is shoveled from the bush and the females, who have climbed under the warm earthen cushion, die.
2. If several bushes have been infested with scale insects, and all the remaining plants have escaped this fate, we recommend covering the affected shrub with a covering material and opening it only when applying chemical treatments - this is the most effective way to prevent the spread of larvae and males across the site.
3. It is impossible to destroy adult females, males and nymphs with the help of any drug; they are used to destroy the larvae of "vagrants" and males during the period of fertilization of females. Therefore, when we see an escape, with a large number of pests scattered over it under the shields, we simply remove it. Be sure to immediately burn it in a barrel or on a fire outside the territory of the site.
4. You can try to save the plant, especially if it is a trunk or a skeletal branch of a tree. To do this, we wipe all the shoots with a toothbrush, cotton pad or sponge and rip off the sucked pests. Preparing a soap solution and applying it to the shoots before using a sponge or cotton pad will facilitate the mechanical cleaning of the scabbard. It is recommended to additionally wash the foliage with a thick aqueous solution of laundry or tar soap.

It is better to wash and wipe the shoots and foliage on the bush completely. It is not a fact that the scale insect has not settled on them, even if you did not manage to find it.

Chemicals

For treating the garden against scale insect larvae, we recommend using contact preparations. According to gardeners, the use of neonicotinoids shows good results, among which we single out several compositions:

• Aktara;
• "Colorado";
• "Apache";
• Mospilana;
• Tanreca.

To prepare the solution, having read the instructions on the package, dilute and stir the preparation thoroughly. Pour it into a sprayer and evenly cover all parts and foliage of shrubs from all sides.

After spraying, one must not forget about the tillage of the near-trunk circle.

In addition to these drugs, many gardeners use solutions of organophosphorus and hormonal agents:

• "Kemifos";
• Sparks;
• "Admiral";
• "Pyriproxifen".

Repeated treatment of plants with chemicals during the growth of "vagrants", whose bodies are not protected by chitinous armor, will help to increase the chances of exterminating the scale insect larvae and eradicate the existence of these pests on currants.

Traditional treatment

Folk remedies are various decoctions or infusions. For mechanical removal of larvae and adults, a solution of 30-40 g of laundry soap and 10 liters is used.water. Here are some recipes for folk remedies against the scabbard on garden plants and currants:

1. To prepare a medium-sized garlic infusion, 5 cloves of garlic, from which the shell and grind them to a state of gruel. You can use a fine grater or a garlic press. Add the same amount of laundry soap, fill it with 3 parts of water and leave for 48 hours in a dark place. With the finished infusion, wipe the affected areas and all parts of the plant.
2. The infusion of tobacco is prepared according to the following scheme - pour 1000 g of leaves or tobacco dust with 10 liters of rainwater, let it brew for a day and spray all parts of the plant.
3. It is recommended to prepare a decoction of hot peppers - pour 50 g of fresh peppers with 500 mg of water and simmer for 5-7 minutes. We put the container in a dark place and let the solution brew for 24 hours. In order for the solution to adhere well to the trunk and foliage, we recommend adding 15-20 g of crushed laundry soap. We add water, bringing the volume of the finished solution to 5 liters and process the shrubs.
4. A solution of vegetable oil and tar soap - mix three parts of sunflower oil with 1 part of crushed soap. With this solution we wipe the trunks and foliage while removing the females and males protected by chitin. We leave the solution for 3-4 hours and then wash off, using always warm water.

Read about the processing of currants with ammonia and other preparations here.

Resistant currant varieties

Planting seedlings that are not attacked by pests helps to avoid constant garden treatments. Here are some of the most popular varieties among gardeners.

Chernoich

Let's highlight several popular varieties of black currant:

• "In memory of Michurin";
• "In memory of Potapenko";
• "Nightingale Night";
• "Belarusian Sweet";
• "Minx";
• Oryol Serenade;
• "Otradnaya";
• "Blackie";
• "Black Pearl".

In Old Russian, "Currant" means "smell". This is due to the pleasant and unique aroma of black currant due to the high content of essential oils.

Red and white

Among the red ones, we single out several varieties of bushes:

• "Beloved";
• The Red Cross;
• Viksne;
• Chulkovskaya;
• "Ilyinki";
• "Ural Beauty";
• "Lights of the Urals";
• "Scarlet Dawn".

And several varieties of white:

• "Snezhana";
• "White Fairy";
• "Proteins";
• "White Versailles".

Gardeners should choose plants that are regionalized for a specific climate zone.

The most productive currant bush that is resistant to damage to the scale insects over time loses its immunity and therefore, after 5-6 years of growth, it will be necessary to carry out treatments according to the full scheme.

The use of professional drugs

It is possible to get rid of the scabbard on currants in one treatment, if you choose an effective drug, respond to the problem in a timely manner. It is necessary to prevent infection in the spring, before the leaves bloom.

It is not recommended to process during flowering, as bees may suffer and yield will decrease. You can not process currants during the ripening period. The optimal option for using insecticides is early spring, late summer after harvest. In the interval, folk remedies should be used.

Insecticidal preparations retain their properties from 1 to 3 months. Processing in early spring protects the currants from the scabbard for the whole summer. But the effectiveness of the product is reduced by torrential, prolonged rains in the first week of treatment. Re-spraying is allowed after a month.

Prophylaxis

Let's note the common truth - it is easier to prevent damage to plants by diseases or pests by performing simple preventive treatments of plants and soil in the trunk circle, than to selflessly fight pests, losing money for the purchase of chemicals, the crop and possibly the plant itself.

Frequency of treatments

Here is a calendar of treatments for plants from the scale insect in the spring. The scabbard at this time is actively developing, larvae hatch, at the end of May, the males throw off their shields and scatter around the garden in search of females. Therefore, the main stage of the struggle is spring:

• early spring, the time before the swelling of the buds is the period of the first treatment of shrubs against diseases and the hibernating shield;
• beginning of bud formation flowers - this is the time to fight most pests, including the scale insect;
• at the end of flowering - preventive treatment with contact insecticides;
• further preventive treatments carried out using folk recipes at intervals of 10 days. At least three treatments are carried out.

Watch out for periodicals. In many regional publications, agronomists give recommendations on the preparations and timing of hatching of the scale insect larvae.

Natural enemies

Among the natural enemies of different types of scale insects, we single out 2 worst enemies of parasites:

1. Prospaltella or "Prospaltella perniciosi" - one of the riders, in the diet of which, the scale insect takes one of the first places. Only with this parasite you need to be very careful, because at a high concentration, apple and pear trees may die.
2. A well-known helper against aphids, will help gardeners to destroy parasites - this is a well-known ladybug, or rather kidney-shaped and two-point hylorus. These assistants destroy up to 70% of the scale insects in the garden. One "sunshine - bold" eats at least 700 pieces of "vagabonds" and "nymphs".

Preventive measures

To save yourself from the unpleasant worries of dealing with the scabbard, and to preserve the plant. It is enough to consider a few simple aspects:

• 
  Plants should be inspected for contamination every two weeks. It does not take much time, and can be combined with feeding, transplanting, dusting the leaves.

• Pests love weakened plants. Therefore, it is important in what conditions the flower lives. Each type of indoor pets has its own requirements for climate, watering, and sunny color. These biological features must be taken into account.
• There should never be stagnant water in the saucer under the flowerpot. Everything that the plant has not drunk in 4 hours must be poured out.
• Together with water, fertilizing with mineral fertilizers and special preparations can be carried out.
• The flowerpot should provide space for the growth of the root system. If the root is cramped, you need to transplant and replace the topsoil, or update the nutrient mixture as a whole.

Effective drugs

Currant scabbard remedy can be bought at a specialized store. The following drugs are highly effective and affordable:

• Actellic. The solution is prepared immediately before use. Spray from a garden spray bottle or spray bottle. Not addictive to insects.
• Aktara. An effective broad-spectrum drug. The active components concentrate in the leaves, poison the pests through the esophagus. Among the disadvantages is an unpleasant odor.
• Tanrek. Spray currants, water the soil, apply to the bark. Protection is enough for several months. Be sure to carry out the treatment from the scale insect in early spring, late autumn.

In addition to insecticidal agents, bacteriological ones can be used. It is recommended to process twice a month. It is necessary to get rid of the scale insect in a timely manner. If everything is left to chance, the currants may simply die.

Currants are unpretentious, they can grow on almost any soil. In order to get good harvests, it is necessary to carry out the usual agrotechnical methods in a timely manner - to water and feed. Regular pest and disease control is essential. Representatives of the currant family can be damaged by more than 70 species of insects. Often on berry bushes, a scabbard is found - a sucking pest that feeds on the juices of branches, leaves and shoots.This dangerous insect can destroy all currant bushes in the garden, if you do not take action and start fighting it in a timely manner.

Resistant black and red currant varieties

The scabbard attacks mainly weakened plants. By purchasing zoned varieties with complex pest and disease resistance, you reduce the chances of scabbards breeding in your garden. This link will tell you about the Selechenskaya currant variety.

Table: Resistant blackcurrant varieties

Table: Resistant red currant varieties