Onion Pests

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Photo: Liubov Kulchitskaja / Rusmediabank.ru

Pests of onions - Onions are very susceptible to various kinds of diseases, however, pests can also cause considerable harm, which can lead to the fact that you will not be able to get the harvest that you hoped for. In this article we will talk about what pests of onions exist and how to properly deal with them.

Due to the specific smell of onions, it always seems that it cannot be attacked by pests, but this is not the case. Most often, a variety of insects act as pests. These insects will have a negative effect on the onions from the inside, which will lead to rotting onions, and, in the end, the plant will completely die.

Most often, onion flies and cabbage are distinguished among onion pests. Kapustyanka is usually called a bear. The pest gets inside the bow and begins to exert its damaging effect. Then the fruit starts to rot. You can protect yourself from such a pest with a saline solution. Experienced gardeners recommend taking a glass of salt for one bucket of water. Spraying with the resulting solution should be done very carefully, otherwise onion shoots can be spoiled with salt. Therefore, you should use this solution as a root watering.

As for the onion fly, it looks very much like an ordinary fly. The greatest activity of this pest occurs already in early spring, as soon as the lilac blooms. In June, the onion fly will begin laying larvae next to the planted onion. This usually happens directly on the fetus. After the larvae ripen, they will penetrate the onion pulp, then its defeat from the inside will begin. Infection with this pest manifests itself in the following way: the stalks that will be on the surface of the earth will become lethargic, and an unpleasant odor will come from the bulb.

Another important pest of onions is the stem nematode. This parasite will affect onion fruits that are underground. The pest itself is a rather small individual that will feed on the juice contained in the onion. Due to such a negative effect, the bulb will acquire a loose structure over time and gradually begin to rot.

In especially hot and dry weather, such a pest as onion moth appears. This parasite affects onion stalks. First, moth larvae appear on the leaves of onions, after a while they will begin to feed on the juice of the leaves. Already in the middle of summer, mature caterpillars appear, butterflies appear in autumn. These butterflies tolerate winter well, and from the new spring they are again ready to negatively affect your onions.

The onion root mite is also an important pest. This parasite affects the bulbs themselves. This pest fully affects both young plants and bulbs left for later storage. Due to the impact of this pest, the destruction of the bottom of the bulb will begin. If this happens even during the growth stage, then this will lead to the exfoliation of the entire root system as a whole. In this case, the result will be the death of the bulbs. This mite can also function on the scales of the bulb. Actually, this will lead to wilting and subsequent crumbling. All this happens due to the insufficient amount of juice, because it is on them that the tick will feed.

The onion lurker will harm the bulb itself: it bites into the pulp, and then has the ability to go back into the ground. In the soil, this parasite can overwinter and actively reproduce. The onion lurker looks like a black beetle. These bugs are afraid of outside influence, so even with the slightest touch, they will run away.

So, to deal with such pests of onions should be based on each specific pest taken. As mentioned above, onion flies can be fought with a saline solution. So that there are no larvae in the ground, dusting of the ground with wood ash, supplemented with tobacco dust and ground pepper, should be performed.

In order to combat other pests, changing the planting site of onions is suitable. It is also very important to select exclusively clean onions for planting, without traces of infection. Onions selected for planting should be processed with hot water.