2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
The plum pseudo-shield lives almost everywhere where fruit trees grow. This nondescript pest equally damages plum plum, blackthorn and sweet cherry with cherry. Peaches with apricots also do not go unnoticed. And a little less often she can attack apple trees. The suction of tree sap by parasites, as well as the influence of enzymes in their saliva, provoke the fall of various generative organs and foliage, retardation of plant growth and drying of shoots with twigs. If fruit trees are densely populated with pests for several years in a row, the trees may dry out entirely
Meet the pest
The size of females of plum false shield reaches about 3 - 3, 5 mm. All of them are endowed with six- or seven-segmented antennae and are painted in dark brownish or dark chestnut tones. Males are much smaller - they grow in length only up to 1.5 mm. Their antennae are equipped with ten segments, and the color of the pests is dull black. In addition, the presence of wings is characteristic of males.
Rusty-yellow oval eggs of plum false scales are about 0.38 mm in size. And slightly convex oval larvae that have reached the second instar grow up to 1 - 2 mm in length. On each larva, you can see transverse rows of black spots. Each individual is endowed with a red median keel, and their dorsal surfaces are covered with a transparent and thin waxy coating. The edges of the bodies of the larvae are equipped with nineteen pairs of tiny setae.
Larvae that have reached the second instar overwinter on the bark of tree branches. Most often, they choose twigs with a diameter of 1.5 to 2.5 mm for wintering. As soon as the air warms up to six to seven degrees in the spring, the larvae begin to actively move in order to find places to which they can suck. Around May, you can observe the appearance of females, reaching their maximum size by the time the buds begin to separate from the plum. As soon as this happens, they begin to lay eggs.
Plum false shields reproduce mainly sexually, but this does not exclude the possibility of their parthenogenetic reproduction. This is due to the fact that the number of males in the population is relatively small and ranges from 10 to 80%. During oviposition, the dorsal surfaces of females noticeably harden. Eggs are laid by them under the abdomens, which slowly begin to retract, approaching the dorsal sides of the bodies, and the vacated space is quickly filled with eggs. The bodies of dead females are called upon to perform a protective function. The laying process takes from sixteen to twenty days, and it lasts from the end of May to the end of July. The total fertility of nondescript pests reaches from 550 to 3000 eggs.
After laying eggs, the larvae revive quite quickly - after ten to thirty seconds. Immediately in the places of their revival, they stick to the bark of the branches. The larvae grow rather slowly during the summer, molt only once, and after reaching the second instar, they remain hibernating until spring. For plum false shields, one-year generation is characteristic.
How to fight
Fruit plantings periodically need to be thinned out, and heavily damaged branches should be cut and burned.
If for every square meter of tree shoots there are a couple of hundred larvae of plum false shield, in the early spring period it is necessary to spray with ovicides. As a rule, it is carried out along the still dormant kidneys. A solution of "Nitrafen" is especially suitable for this. And as soon as the mass migration of larvae begins, insecticide treatments are started.
Sometimes the larvae also die in winter - this happens when the thermometer drops to minus twenty-seven degrees or even lower. And among natural enemies, entomophages are the most active. Especially strongly plum pseudo-scale insects are infected with hymenoptera parasites.
Recommended:
Diseases And Pests Of Plum: Plum Gall Mite
The plum gall mite causes irreparable harm to the plum with thorns. However, almonds and peaches often suffer from its invasions. Near the bases of the shoots of the first and second years, reddish-brown galls gradually form, subsequently acquiring the same shade as the shoot bark. Gradually growing together, the galls fold into rather large growths, inside which ticks quickly settle. Often, in the habitats of these harmful insects, the yield is halved. And with the secondary
Nondescript Garden Tolstopod
The garden mollusk actively damages the roots of fruit, berry and some field crops. The main harm to plants is caused by gluttonous larvae, since adult mosquitoes feed mainly on the nectar of flowering crops (mainly fruit and umbrella crops). Most often, you can meet garden tolstopods in the European part of Russia, as well as in the Caucasus and the Urals. If you do not declare war on these pests, then they will certainly destroy a rather impressive part of the crop
The Ubiquitous Acacia False Shield
Acacia pseudoscale lives almost everywhere and develops on various tree and shrub species. Most often it can be found on white acacia, plum, apple and hazel trees. As a result of feeding of females and harmful larvae, the number of leaves and their size are noticeably reduced, yellowed leaves quickly fall off, and shoots and twigs gradually dry out. The quality of the crop, as well as its quantity, also decreases markedly. And if the damage is very significant and repetitive in the flow
Dangerous Japanese Wax False Shield
The Japanese wax false shield is a very dangerous enemy that can damage not only citrus crops, but also many other shrub, berry and fruit trees. These gluttonous parasites will not refuse to feast on figs, pomegranates, quince, apricots, apple trees and even medlar. This type of pseudo-scale insects equally actively populates shoots, trunks, and leaves. And if you do not start an operational struggle with them, you can lose a rather impressive part of the harvest
Nondescript Leafy Alfalfa Elephant
The leafy alfalfa elephant is especially widespread in the forest-steppe zone, and in the steppe it is slightly less common. This pest is extremely polyphagous: it eats over eighty plant species from as many as nineteen families. Leafy alfalfa elephants give particular preference to alfalfa, clover, sainfoin, melilot and other legumes. To a large extent, they also harm gooseberries with currants, as well as grapevines, hops, sugar beets, etc
