2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
White podura, also called white springtail, is a pest of vegetables planted indoors. It damages both germinating seeds and ladders of growing vegetable crops (mainly cucumber). These parasites live mainly in plant debris, as well as in manure and soil. Sores appear on the leaves and cotyledons damaged by them, similar in appearance to the damage caused by flea beetles. Most often, white podura harm cucumbers. This usually happens in February and March, when greenhouse conditions are not yet favorable enough for the full development of plants and are characterized by high soil moisture combined with low air temperatures. And harmful parasites can get into greenhouses with manure, compost or soil
Meet the pest
White podura is a tiny wingless animal, endowed with a white little body of a cylindrical shape and growing in length only up to one or two millimeters. These parasites are endowed with four antennae, well-visible heads and very short legs. Their mouthparts are very weak and are always hidden in the head capsules. There are no jumping forks in dangerous pests, but instead of them, on the tips of their abdomens, you can observe a pair of tiny spines bent upward.
The eggs of these pests are incredibly sensitive to drying out and in the absence of sufficient moisture they often die. Larvae also prefer moist biotopes and live mainly underground. But the adults try to stay in the upper soil layers.
It is noteworthy that all stages of development of the white podura endure cold snaps equally easily - they simply go deeper into the soil. But if the pests begin to experience a moisture deficit, then they can die quickly enough.
The main habitat of gluttonous parasites is the topsoil, as well as its surface. Often they can be found in manure or in plant remains.
White podura severely damages seedlings and seedlings of spinach, cucumber, aster and some other crops. It does no less harm in greenhouse and greenhouse conditions, damaging a huge number of potted plants. In addition to vegetables and greenhouse plants growing indoors, it can also damage indoor plants. However, this scoundrel does not particularly harm the houseplants kept in the apartment conditions.
How to fight
To prevent damage to seedlings of vegetable crops by white podura, one should try to create conditions in greenhouses that are conducive to the rapid development of seedlings. In no case should excessive soil moisture be allowed.
If the plant roots are damaged by white podura enough, it is advisable to carry out an emergency treatment of the substrate with non-systemic insecticides. Ideally, they should be in granular or powder form. This is due to the fact that the composition of liquid preparations often include emulsifiers and solvents, which not only significantly worsen the quality of the substrate, but also "burn" the roots of plants, which in turn provokes further damage to growing crops by root rot. Preference should be given to preparations containing active substances that are persistent in the soil. But it is better to refuse the use of systemic drugs - this will help to avoid a decrease in plant immunity.
Perhaps the best preparations for treating the substrate against white gums are those with fipronil, for example, "Regent". Fipronil has excellent contact properties in the absence of systemic properties and remains in the soil for a long time, protecting plants for more than a month. Another excellent drug against harmful soil entomofauna is "Diflubenzuron". This hormonal drug has the ability to stop all stages of parasite development. In addition, it is practically harmless to all warm-blooded creatures and is as environmentally friendly as possible. It is allowed to be used even in residential premises.
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