2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Melon aphids live almost everywhere and, in addition to melons and gourds, are not averse to eating eggplants, peppers and other crops and weeds. In one season, this dangerous pest can give from nine to fifteen generations, which determines its fairly high harmfulness. The melon aphid can be winged and wingless, and it is the wingless individuals that are especially gluttonous. In addition, these garden gourmets often endure a huge number of unpleasant diseases
Meet the pest
The size of the ovoid wingless parthenogenetic females of the melon aphid is from 1, 2 to 2 mm. As for their color, it can be completely different - black-green, yellowish or greenish. And the juice tubes of the gluttonous pests are painted black. Each individual is endowed with thin yellow legs and a straight forehead, and the length of its antennae is approximately ¾ of the total body length.
Winged parthenogenetic females grow in length up to 1, 2 - 1, 9 mm. Their antennae are usually shorter than the body (however, longer than in wingless parthenogenetic females), the breasts and heads are black, and the tails with tubules are slightly shorter than in wingless parthenogenetic individuals. The larvae of harmful parasites are characterized by a lighter color, and in the second larval instar nymphs already show the rudiments of the wings.
The melon aphid is characterized by non-cyclic development and exclusively parthenogenetic reproduction. Overwintering of larvae and wingless parthenogenetic females takes place on the root parts of various perennials - milkweed, shepherd's purse, plantain, and so on. All of them are able to withstand frosts down to minus ten degrees, and in greenhouses and greenhouses with greenhouses, they can easily reproduce throughout the winter period. These gluttonous parasites colonize melons and gourds after winged females fly out of their wintering grounds. As a rule, the air temperature in this case often exceeds the twelve degrees. Winged females revive from thirty to forty larvae, and wingless ones - from forty to sixty. Each generation, from the larval stage to the adult stage, develops on average from nine to twelve days. A particularly intensive development of melon aphids is observed at moderate humidity and temperature.
The leaves of the crops attacked by the melon aphid twist, the ovaries with flowers fall off, and the stems are noticeably bent. As a rule, these pests form their colonies on the lower parts of the leaves, but quite often they are also found on young fruits, as well as on flowers and stems. In the shortest possible time, they suck out all the juices from the green parts of the growing crops, thereby causing them to turn yellow, wrinkle and dry out. And the sticky excrement secreted by the melon aphids greatly contributes to the development of fungal and viral ailments (Alternaria, anthracnose and many others).
How to fight
Weed vegetation for preventive purposes should be systematically eliminated from the sites. And insecticides against melon aphids begin to be used if in the first half of the season they manage to populate from 7 to 15% of the crops grown. It is best to use for spraying preparations such as "Fury", "Karate" and "Actellik".
Systemic insecticides ("Aktara", "Confidor", etc.) have proven themselves quite well in the fight against melon aphids. It is especially good to use them simultaneously with drip irrigation.
The number of melon aphids is also limited by various predatory insects. The larvae and imago of these voracious parasites will not refuse to feast on the larvae of sirfid flies, predatory bugs and predatory gall midges. Also, pests can infect endoparasites from the families of aphilinids, aphidiids, etc. Ladybugs are also excellent natural enemies of the harmful melon aphid.
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