2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
The dark sowing nutcracker is a polyphagous pest that lives almost everywhere. Most often, it is found in the northern forest-steppe and in the mountainous part (mainly in the western regions). The larvae of these parasites cause serious damage to all kinds of vegetables, root crops, as well as corn. Almost all agricultural plants can suffer from its harmful activity to one degree or another
Meet the pest
The dark seed beetle is a beetle with a fairly wide body, the size of which reaches from 7 to 9, 5 mm. The front back is transverse, and the femoral covers do not taper outward. Elytra densely covered with short yellowish-gray hairs. The legs and antennae of this variety of the clicker are brownish-ore, and the top has a brownish-grayish color. The head of the pest is densely and coarsely punctured, convex, without edging along the anterior margin of the forehead.
The average length of cylindrical larvae is 28 mm, and they reach only 2 mm in width. All larvae are characterized by a shiny shade and uniform dark yellow color, and there is a small tip at the tips of their bodies. And the size of the little white pupae is in the range of 9 - 12 mm.
Wintering of harmful beetles, as well as larvae, takes place at a depth of fifty to eighty centimeters in the ground. In the south of the forest zone, bugs usually emerge in the second decade of May. The activity of pests does not decrease until the end of the first decade of June.
Eggs are laid by females in the soil (up to five centimeters in depth) near the roots of cereal crops, and the pests try, if possible, to choose heavy clay or loamy soils. The eggs of the dark sowing nutcrackers are white, reach a diameter of about 0.5 mm and most often have a spherical shape. They are usually deposited in piles, in each of which there are from three to eighteen pieces. The total fertility of females ranges from 75 to 230 eggs. It is noteworthy that with a moisture deficit, the egg-laying process stops.
The duration of the period of embryonic development of dark sowing clickers depends to a large extent on the air temperature. At a temperature of 18 to 23 degrees, embryonic development fits into twenty to thirty days, and at a temperature of 11 degrees, it will take longer - from sixty to sixty-five days. The period of development of larvae takes on average four years, and sometimes even can reach five or six years. Only in the steppe zone do they develop faster - in three years. The development of larvae and pupae, as well as the development of eggs, takes place in the soil.
Most of the time, dark sowing clickers spend under the debris of vegetation, the lower leaves of weeds, or under soil lumps.
How to fight
When growing crops, strict adherence to basic agrotechnical rules is important. The soil should be cultivated as carefully as possible, periodically fall plowing, liming as needed, and fertilization (especially ammonia and potash). Regular weed control will also come in handy. It is especially important to deal with creeping wheatgrass. Compliance with the rules of crop rotation will also serve well. Moreover, it is periodically necessary to introduce crops into the crop rotation that are slightly damaged by the dark sowing nutcracker - these include mustard, flax and millet.
The rapid development of young seedlings before overwintered larvae appear in the upper soil layer is facilitated by early sowing of crops, accompanied by the placement of seeds at the optimum depth. When planting vegetable crops, it is allowed to pour into the holes a small amount of potassium permanganate solution (10 liters of potassium permanganate water will require 5 g).
If there are from five to ten larvae for each square meter of planting of various crops, the use of insecticides will be advisable. In order to control pests, the preparations "Semaphore" or "Promet" are used. And when planting potatoes, it is recommended to add Diazinon or Bazudin to the soil.
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