Rapeseed beetle and control measures. Rapeseed leaf beetle: methods of pest control Rapeseed leaf beetle harmfulness

Leaf beetles are one of the largest families, including 35 thousand species. They are distributed throughout the world except Antarctica. The main food of adults and larvae is plant leaves. Some species are used by humans to combat the growth of weeds.

In addition to beneficial insects, it belongs to the family worst enemies agricultural crops - Colorado potato beetles. The rapeseed leaf beetle is also among the crop pests.

He specializes in cruciferous vegetables - cabbage, radishes, rutabaga, rapeseed, mustard and other plants.

Description of the species

The rapeseed leaf beetle (Entomoscelisadonidis) is an insect of the order Coleoptera, of the leaf beetle family. The body of the beetle is oval in shape with convex elytra. Size 7-10 mm, males are smaller than females.

The color is bright – red-yellow with a distinct pattern. The pronotum has a wide central and two lateral spots of black color.

Three longitudinal black stripes run along the elytra - two on the sides and one along the seam.

Rapeseed leaf beetle

Interesting fact. A characteristic feature of leaf beetles is the ability to retract their legs and antennae under the body so that they are not noticeable from the outside.

The head is covered with a solid capsule, which passes into the prothorax. The eyes are round. The antennae are clear-shaped, consist of 11 segments, directed forward. The mouthparts are of the gnawing type, the jaws are adapted for grinding plant food. The upper lip, clypeus and crown are black.

The apical angles of the pronotum are rounded, and those of the elytra are rectangular. The lower body and limbs are painted black.

The elytra are covered with rows of punctate punctures. Beneath them lie well-developed wings used for flight.

The photo shows that the wings of the rapeseed leaf beetle are transparent with pronounced venation.

The abdomen, completely hidden by the elytra, consists of 5 sternites and 6-8 tergites. Legs of walking type. The coxae of the fore and middle limbs are fixed movably. The tarsus is widened and flattened, with many hairs on the sole. Tibia flattened on top with one noticeable spur.

Distribution area

The species Entomoscelisadonidis lives in regions with mild climates. Beetles are found in the southern part Western Europe, Asia Minor, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, northern China. The insects were introduced to North America. In Russia they live in the Caucasus and southern Siberia.

At the beginning of summer, adults crawl out of the soil. They feed on flowers and leaves of cruciferous plants. They are not ready to breed and need additional nutrition, which lasts about two weeks. During the hottest period of summer, beetles begin diapause.

Insects stop feeding and burrow into the soil to a depth of 15-20 cm. Adults return to activity in late August or early September. The breeding season begins. At this time, the beetles feed on cabbage pods and eat the seeds.

Leaf beetles fly well; when living conditions deteriorate, adults develop new territories. After breeding, the beetles die.

Reproduction

Females lay oval, reddish-brown eggs in top layer soil. Their length is 1-2 mm, quantity - 150-280 pieces. The eggs overwinter in the soil, but the protracted warm autumn gives them time to hatch into offspring. In this case, the first instar larvae go to winter. Usually the larvae hatch in early spring, in April. Their bodies are elongated and spindle-shaped.

Reproduction of leaf beetles

Initially the color is yellow, after molting the upper part becomes dark brown or black, and the lower part becomes buffy-yellow. Body length 14-15 mm. Each segment has several warts with hairs. Large head and three pairs of black limbs. Development takes from 10 to 28 days. The larvae change through four instars. When the temperature drops below 10° they burrow into the soil.

Information. The adults and larvae of leaf beetles have a defense mechanism. In case of danger, they release an unpleasant-smelling, caustic substance.

Rapeseed leaf beetle larva

Adults damage winter rapeseed and cabbage seedlings. In normal years the damage is negligible. The species is dangerous in the southern European regions of Russia, where most of the offspring survive in favorable conditions.

The larvae are inactive; they do not crawl far from the place where the eggs were laid. At the end of May they are buried in the soil to a depth of 6-10 cm, where they pupate in an earthen cradle. The pupa is red and black, 10 mm in size. The pupal stage lasts 8-10 days.

If the air temperature is below 20-22°, then it lasts up to 20 days.

Maliciousness

Young larvae feed on cruciferous weeds - shepherd's purse, wild mustard, wild mustard. If there are agricultural crops of cabbage and oilseeds nearby, they move to them.

Pests pose a particular threat to the crop during outbreaks of mass reproduction. The beetles eat the pulp of the leaves, leaving only the veins, flowers and pods of the cruciferous vegetables.

They prefer to eat cabbage, rutabaga, mustard, radishes and rapeseed.

Leaf beetle adults eat crops

Information. Depending on the region, 1-2 generations of rapeseed leaf beetle develop per year.

Ways to combat rapeseed leaf beetle

When a massive invasion of red-black beetles is discovered on a site, the question arises, how to deal with the rapeseed leaf beetle? Pests are destroyed by physical methods and chemicals.

Physical and agrotechnical measures

To protect cabbage crops from damage, you must do the following:

  1. Promptly destroy weeds on the site. Wild cruciferous crops provide food for insect pests.
  2. Autumn plowing of the soil carried out after the laying of eggs by female rapeseed leaf beetles.
  3. Summer loosening of the soil around cabbage crops and between rows helps remove pest pupae from the soil and destroy them.
  4. On a small private plot high efficiency provides manual collection of adults and larvae of the leaf beetle. The collected beetles are destroyed.
  5. Recommended early boarding cruciferous seedlings.
  6. One of the tricks of farmers is to plant small areas of rapeseed, which distract leaf beetles from the main crop being grown.

Chemical treatment

When more than 5-6 adult individuals are found on one plant, insecticide treatment cannot be avoided. Agricultural fields are pollinated with 12% hexachlorane dust at a dosage of 10-20 kg per 1 ha.

This is a white or gray powder that is a contact poison. Insecticide solutions are also used: “Phobecid”, “Karbofos”, “Zollon”, “Aktellik”, “Metafos”.

Treatment is carried out in the evening, when insects sit on the tops of the leaves.

Insecticide against leaf beetles

Chemicals contact and enteric-contact action enter the body of beetles with food. Within a few hours they cause paralysis, disrupt the functioning of enzymes and the transmission of nerve impulses in insects. The protective effect of insecticides lasts 2-3 weeks.

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Source: http://BeetleStop.ru/rapsovyiy-listoed/

Fighting the leaf beetle

The leaf beetle (Chrysomelidae) is a member of the Coleoptera family, which has more than fifty thousand species worldwide. Their habitat is so large that it covers the entire land surface on which there is vegetation.

Leaf beetle

These pests are most often represented by phytophages, although a small group consists of saprophages and phytosaprophages involved in the process of processing plant organic particles found in the soil.

Leaf beetles range in size from three to fifteen millimeters. The body shape can be oval, spherical, elongated or flattened. The body color is most often bright and colorful, but it can also be quite dull.

There may be growths and spines on the body. If you pay attention to photos of pests, you may often get the impression that they do not have legs or antennae.

This occurs due to the ability to hide them under one’s own body, creating the appearance of their absence.

Morphology of sexually mature individuals. Leaf beetles exhibit sexual dimorphism, however, the characteristic structural features of females and males are the same. The leaf beetle has a short head with segmented antennae directed forward or downward. Periorbital and frontal grooves are visible above the round eyes.

Leaf beetle in the garden

The body is equipped with two wings, on which the veins are clearly visible. There are elytra and epipleurae. The mesothorax of the pest is always smaller than the metathorax. The lower (sternites) and dorsal (tergites) semi-rings of the chest and abdomen act as the skeleton. Three pairs of legs are divided into segments. The reproductive system of males is represented by the aedeagus.

Habitats and food

Leaf beetles can damage all parts of plants. Most often, adults gnaw holes in the leaves, and the larvae, as a rule, eat the whole leaves, leaving only veins.

The stems suffer much less often, but the pests chew them out from the inside. The larvae of some of them live in the soil and damage plant roots.

Eating pollen and flower petals is rarely observed, but leaf beetles do not touch fruits.

Adults and larvae of pests very often live openly. If danger arises, they quickly fall to the ground. But in some species, poisonous blood or a very unpleasant odor acts as protection.

Types of leaf beetles

The most common leaf beetles in Russia are:

  • poplar,
  • viburnum,
  • alder,
  • aspen,
  • rapeseed,
  • green.

The poplar leaf beetle lives on all types of poplars and willows. In the photo you can see that the beetle has an oval green or blue body with a length of 10 to 12 millimeters. The elytra are yellow-brown in color, and there is a small black dot on the sutural corners.

The larva of this pest has a yellow-white body 8 to 12 millimeters long, on which spots and warts are scattered, the head and legs are black. Characteristic of this species is the smell of cinnamon, which comes from the larvae.

The poplar leaf beetle overwinters under a layer of fallen leaves without going deep into the soil. In May, they crawl onto the foliage and begin to gnaw through holes in it.

The females lay eggs on the underside of the leaves, and after 8-12 days, larvae emerge from them, which turn the leaves into “skeletons”.

After three weeks, they pupate, and after ten days, sexually mature individuals emerge from them, which are capable of the next generation.

Types of leaf beetles

The viburnum leaf beetle is a pest beetle that develops only on viburnum leaves. In the photo below, you can see a sexually mature individual of the leaf beetle with an elongated yellow body, as well as yellow-brown elytra. The dirty gray larvae reach a length of 12 mm and have twelve pairs of legs.

In September, leaf beetles lay eggs in various cavities of new branches, covering them with lids. When the buds open, the eggs hatch into larvae that gnaw holes in the leaves. At the beginning of June they fall to the ground, and within a month the development process is completed in the soil. Young beetles climb up the trunks onto the leaves and gnaw them, leaving only veins.

The alder leaf beetle is a beetle whose length ranges from 5 to 6 mm. The adult, which can be seen in the photo below, has blue, greenish or violet elytra and a black or dark blue strongly convex body. Adult larvae of the pest are black, their entire body is covered with hairs and has a length of up to 12 mm.

Female pests lay their eggs on alder leaves; in May, larvae emerge and eat the leaves, then fall to the ground and pupate. The sexually mature alder leaf beetle appears at the end of August and eats tree leaves, making holes in them irregular shape. During the first frost, the beetle hibernates until May.

The alder leaf beetle is considered a very common species in almost all European countries and causes great damage to trees. The aspen leaf beetle shown in the photo has yellowish-red elytra and a blue-black body and prothorax. Larvae white with a dark coating have black warts and spots. Its length is up to 8 mm.

Fighting the leaf beetle

The aspen leaf beetle has a development cycle similar to that of the poplar pest. Characteristic feature larvae is the presence in the warty protrusions of a poisonous liquid with a sharp unpleasant smell. When there is danger, the aspen leaf beetle secretes it, scaring away enemies. The orange skin of the pest pupae constantly emits this smell, which protects them from being eaten by birds.

The rapeseed leaf beetle, the photo of which is posted below, has an elongated oval body from 7 to 10 mm long, yellow-brown elytra with black longitudinal stripes. Large larvae from 13 to 16 mm have a brown dorsal surface and a yellow abdomen.

The entire body is covered with multiple warts from which bristles grow. When touched, the warts release a toxic, sticky substance that repels birds. The rapeseed leaf beetle eats leaves of cabbage, mustard, rapeseed, rutabaga and radish.

The mint green leaf beetle shown in the photo is a rather beautiful beetle with bright green elytra and an oblong blue-green body 8-11 mm long. The upper part of the larva is dark brown, and the lower part is yellow. This pest eats the leaves of many essential oil crops, and most often mint.

Control measures

The leaf beetle family is so numerous that it poses a threat to the yield of many agricultural crops. To combat them, it is necessary to use comprehensive methods, which include:

  1. Manual collection of mature individuals and larvae of pests.
  2. Timely pruning of affected areas of plants and burning them.
  3. After harvesting, it is necessary to destroy in time vegetable waste, in which larvae and adults can overwinter.
  4. To destroy overwintering larvae, the beds must be dug up during the first frost.
  5. Treatment of trees and shrubs with insecticidal preparations.
  6. Fruit and berry trees can be sprinkled with ash, which also prevents pests from appearing on the leaves.
  7. Similar methods include treating plants with infusion of hot pepper, tomato tops or infusion of chamomile.

Source: https://rozarii.ru/borba-s-vreditelyami/borba-s-listoedom.html

Pests of winter rapeseed

17.10.2016 Views: 3032

Growing winter rapeseed is associated with many unfavorable factors, among which a separate group can be identified harmful species phytophages that damage and sometimes completely destroy plants.

Winter rapeseed is threatened by both polyphagous insects (more than a hundred species, including wireworms, meadow moths, etc.) and specialized pests that damage rapeseed plants and other representatives of the cruciferous family, incl.

and root vegetables.

Despite the huge number of potential pests, the greatest danger to winter rape comes from specialized pests, primarily the cruciferous flea beetle and the rapeseed flower beetle, chemical protection from which is required annually.

Under certain climatic and agronomic conditions, an increase in the number of other pests of rapeseed is observed: caterpillars of white moths and cabbage cutworms, rapeseed leaf beetle, cruciferous aphids, seed secrecy, rapeseed sawfly, meadow moth, weevil, etc.

The use of chemical treatment in the fight against these insects is advisable only when the possible crop losses from the damage caused by them exceed the cost of chemical plant protection.

Cruciferous flea beetle(family Chrystomelidae, order Coleoptera, genus Phyllotreta) – very numerous rapeseed pests belonging to different types insects, among which there are wavy, light-footed, notched, blue, black and southern. These are small (no more than 3.5 mm) jumping beetles with one- or multi-colored elytra, distributed everywhere.

They can cause great damage to winter rapeseed crops if their number on the plant ranges from 5 to 9 pieces. Under favorable conditions (hot, dry period) and mass appearance, cruciferous flea beetles can completely destroy winter rape seedlings over a large area in one to two days, and in rainy and cold weather their activity decreases sharply.

Beetles overwinter in cruciferous plant remains in fields and gardens. In the spring, already at a temperature of 8 - 9 ° C, they begin to actively eat rapeseed leaves, forming holes in them, or gnaw their edges. Beetles also damage buds, pods and cotyledon leaves.

Crucifer flea beetle larvae are less dangerous than beetles. They emerge from eggs laid in the soil, in the roots or on the leaves of a plant, feed on leaves, small roots or root crops, gnawing them at the root collar. At the end of July - August, a new generation of flea beetles appears.

Pre-sowing treatment of winter rapeseed seeds with protective and stimulating substances, as well as compliance with optimal sowing dates and timely removal of cruciferous weeds can maximally protect rapeseed fields from this pest.

No less dangerous for rapeseed crops and rapeseed beetle(family Nitidulidae, order Coleoptera) - a small (up to 3 mm) black beetle with a metallic tint of green or blue color, characterized by increased cold resistance, therefore it appears from the soil in early spring with the melting of snow.

This pest is especially dangerous for vigorous forms of rapeseed, but winter crops can also be seriously damaged during the budding period. Rapeseed flower beetle beetles feed on plant pollen, so they gnaw through the buds and settle inside them, laying eggs there as well. Rapeseed flower beetle larvae also feed on pollen.

This hidden lifestyle of these insects contributes to their late detection. In addition to pollen, beetles damage stamens, pistils and flower petals, causing the bud to dry out and fall off. In case of more early flowering rapeseed, the larvae of the rapeseed flower beetle damage young shoots and pods of plants.

An indicator of the greatest harmfulness is the presence of 3 to 5 beetles on one winter rapeseed plant.

As an urgent measure to save crops, spraying insecticides is used from the beginning of the budding period until the beginning of flowering (honey harvest period). Considering that mass pupation of the rapeseed flower beetle occurs in the upper soil layers, it is also important to carry out soil treatment during this period.

White butterfly caterpillars(Cabbage whites - Pieris brassicae L.) appear on the leaves of winter rapeseed in April - May and actively eat the pulp of the leaves, and then other parts of the plant.

Considering that during the warm period, cabbage whites produce from two to four generations, under favorable conditions climatic conditions(+20 – 26° C) such a number of caterpillars can cause significant damage to winter rapeseed crops.

Caterpillars cabbage scoop(Barathra brassicae L.) is a very common pest not only of winter rape, but also of many other crops.

Dark green caterpillars actively eat plant leaves at night and hide in the soil at the base of stems during the day.

Since cabbage cutworm pupae overwinter in the ground at a depth of 9–12 cm, one of the methods of controlling them is deep fall plowing. The use of entomophages also significantly reduces the growth of the cabbage cutworm population.

Rapeseed leaf beetle(family Chrysomelidae, order Coleoptera) is a small beetle (7 – 10 mm) reddish-red in color with a black central stripe that feeds on rapeseed leaves.

After overwintering in the egg phase on the soil surface or in its upper layers, the larvae emerge in April.

And although adult forms of the rapeseed leaf beetle are considered more dangerous, the threat of damage to crops when its larvae appear en masse is quite high.

From the moment of their appearance, the larvae of the rapeseed leaf beetle eat the leaves of cruciferous crops, incl. and rapeseed, and after two to four weeks they hide in the ground, at a depth of 5–8 cm, and pupate there.

New generation beetles gnaw leaves, flowers and pods cruciferous plants, and then wait out the summer heat in a state of rest at a depth of 15 - 18 cm, so that in August-September they come to the surface again.

The appearance of rapeseed leaf beetle can be prevented by autumn tillage, loosening of rows, as well as timely destruction of weeds. The use of insecticides is advisable only in the case of an average density of these insects of 5–6 or more per plant.

Seed secretive proboscis, elephant (family Curculionidae, order Coleoptera) is a small beetle (up to 3 mm) black in color with light scales. It overwinters in plant debris on the soil, and in the spring it gnaws holes in the pods of cruciferous plants (incl.

winter rapeseed) and lays eggs there. The larvae feed on young seeds for a month, then gnaw a new hole in the pod and emerge. Hiding in the top soil layer they soon pupate.

The emerging beetles destroy the leaves, stems, buds and pedicels of cruciferous crops.

Methods of combating rapeseed secretive proboscis include timely removal of cruciferous weeds, loosening the soil during the pupation period, as well as deep autumn plowing of the soil.

Rapeseed sawfly(Athalia rosae L) is a dangerous pest of winter rapeseed. This is a medium-sized beetle (6 - 9 mm) with a bright shiny orange-red color with two black diamond-shaped spots on the back.

The greatest damage to rapeseed seedlings is caused by the false caterpillars of this insect. The rapeseed sawfly appears in large numbers in cool, damp weather. In late August - early September, beetles lay eggs on the leaves of winter rapeseed and other cruciferous plants.

From these eggs false caterpillars emerge, which destroy the leaves of young plants. The danger to crops is determined by the appearance of 2 - 3 sawflies per 1 m2. Having completed feeding, the larvae of the rapeseed sawfly lie in the soil to a depth of 7–15 cm and form a cocoon.

They pupate in April. Adults feed on the nectar of various plants.

meadow moth(Margaritia (Pyrausta) sticticallis) – butterfly small size(18 – 26 mm), grayish-brown in color, one of the most dangerous and widespread agricultural pests. Adults feed on flower nectar. Warm and humid weather is favorable for their reproduction.

Light green, transparent caterpillars appear from the laid eggs after 2–7 days. They eat plant leaves until irregularly shaped holes form in them. The hard parts of the leaves remain. As the caterpillars grow, the intensity of leaf damage increases. In case of significant destruction of the deciduous mass, the plants die.

With a lesser degree of damage, their yield is significantly reduced.

To protect winter rapeseed crops from damage by meadow moth caterpillars, both agrotechnical methods (optimal sowing dates, keeping fields clean of weeds, deep fall plowing, etc.) and biotechnical methods (release of trichograms) are used. The use of biological products bitoxibacillin and lepidocide is also effective.

The main task to ensure high yields of winter rapeseed is to comply with the timely sowing of the crop on a previously prepared and treated field using inlaid seeds, as well as to protect seedlings and crops from diseases and pests.

To protect winter rapeseed fields from colonization by phytophages, various protection methods are used.

Damage to the crop by the cross-shaped flea beetle can be avoided by pre-sowing treatment of rapeseed seeds with a high-quality insecticidal disinfectant. Control of rapeseed sawfly and various types of fall armyworm requires more costs.

Since caterpillars damage crops at night, fields should be sprayed with insecticides at night.

Among the most frequently used and known for their wide spectrum of action are the following insecticides: “Mospilan” (Samit Agro Ukraine, application rate 0.1 - 0.12 kg/ha), “Napoval” (Alfa Chemical Group Ukraine, application rate 0 .1 – 0.15 l/ha), “Borey” (CJSC Firm “August”, application rate 0.15 l/ha).

They are used to destroy crop pests such as rapeseed sawfly, secretive proboscis, rapeseed flower beetle, cruciferous flea beetles, weevils, meadow moths, aphids, etc.

Thanks to timely treatment of winter rapeseed fields with one of these preparations, it is possible to avoid partial or complete damage to seedlings by pests and, as a consequence, significant losses in winter rapeseed yields.

Source: http://agrostory.com/agronomists/vrediteli-ozimogo-rapsa/

Leaf beetle: ways to combat the beetle, effective methods

The leaf beetle is a representative of the Coleoptera family. There are approximately 50,000 species of insects belonging to this genus. They are so common that they can be found in almost any part of the planet where there is any vegetation. The only exceptions are Antarctica and the Arctic. Different climatic zones are inhabited by various types these insects.

What are leaf beetles?

Leaf beetles are small or medium-sized beetles, whose body length is about 3-5 mm. Insects usually bright colors, and their body shape can be varied.

Representatives of some species are very similar to ladybugs. In addition, a feature of leaf beetles is that they, like ladybugs, are able to hide their paws under themselves.

This may explain the fact that when sitting, their limbs and antennae are invisible.

Adult beetles have antennae directed forward, which consist of 11 segments. In some individuals, characteristic bumps can be found on the forehead. The eyes are round in shape.

Leaf beetle insects are endowed with well-formed wings. Many of them have elongated hind legs, with their help insects can jump.

Leaf beetles are characterized by sexual dimorphism - females are slightly larger in size than males.

Leaf beetle larvae can also be varied. Their appearance mainly depends on their lifestyle, but in general characteristic feature for all there is an undeveloped throat, 1-3-segment antennae and 4-segment tarsi.

Main types of leaf beetle

Among the most known species leaf beetles can be distinguished as follows:

  1. The alder leaf beetle, which is also called the alder booger. The larvae of this insect feed on the leaves of gray alder, and the diet of adult beetles is black alder. The oval body of the imago is colored dark blue color with a beautiful metallic shine. Its length is 5-7 mm.
  2. The poplar leaf beetle can be recognized by its black body and chest shield with a green metallic tint. The elytra are red. The larvae of this species of leaf beetle feed on the leaves of poplars, willows and aspens.
  3. The body color of the St. John's wort leaf beetle is dark green with a bronze tint. The bottom of the insect's body is colored green with a metallic sheen. The larvae feed on the roots and leaves of St. John's wort, and the adult leaf beetles feed on the buds of this plant.
  4. The cabbage leaf beetle has an oval body shape, its color is dark green with a metallic sheen. The insect size is 3-5 mm. Cabbage leaves are eaten by both larvae and adult insects. This causes significant damage to the crop.
  5. Body length strawberry leaf beetle– 4-5 mm. It is painted an unsightly light brown color. Large quantity larvae and adults, eating strawberry leaf blades, can destroy almost all the leaves in the garden bed.
  6. A well-known representative of leaf beetles is also Colorado beetle. Compared to other species, the insect is quite different large sizes– 10-12 mm. The body is convex and has a bright yellow-red color. The wing covers have longitudinal black stripes. This leaf beetle is considered one of the most dangerous pests for plants of the nightshade family, especially potatoes.
  7. In terms of species composition, grass leaf beetles belong to a large genus of Coleoptera, which has about 460 species and 250 subspecies. These small bugs (8-10 mm) feed mainly on plants of the aster family (tansy, wormwood, sneezeweed), borage, lamiaceae (mint and watermint) and balsamaceae. These insects lack the ability to fly, so they spend almost their entire lives next to food plants.
  8. Rapeseed leaf beetles are distinguished by an elongated ovoid body shape. Insects have long antennae and convex elytra that cover the abdomen. The adult beetle is colored black, and its crown, elytra and sides of the thoracic shield are yellow-red. It is a pest of plants of the cruciferous family.
  9. The body of the onion leaf beetle has an oval shape, 6-8 mm long. The large head with bulging eyes is located on protrusions on the sides. Larvae and adult beetles feed on onion flowers, leaves and stems. In addition, asparagus, garlic and lilies suffer from this leaf beetle.

Lifestyle

From the name it is clear that these beetles live by eating leaves. The larvae can live directly on leaf blades, on the roots of plants in the ground, on stems, and sometimes under water.

Leaf beetles for the most part eat leaves of food plants. Some of them may feed on some certain plants, others - any type of vegetation. There are species that prefer fallen leaves and animal carcasses.

By scraping the surface of the leaf blade, the larva or adult beetle makes a hole in it. However, such damage does not always indicate that it was caused by leaf beetles. Such holes can be left by sawfly larvae, caterpillars, snails, slugs, weevils and grasshoppers.

With intensive reproduction of leaf beetles, their number grows very quickly. They occupy most of the leaves on trees, shrubs and garden plants.

As a result, if you don't take action necessary measures, all leaves may be destroyed. Sometimes plants suffer due to damage to the roots by the larvae of some leaf beetles.

However, they do not cause significant harm to strong and strong specimens.

Leaf beetles are found as pests cultivated plants and trees, as well as beneficial insects that help fight weeds. Pests cause significant damage to cabbage, strawberries, eggplants, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, beets, tobacco, cereal plants, radishes, rapeseed, horseradish, onions, and garlic.

In addition, leaf beetles damage the leaves of alder, poplar, birch, willow and alder. However, along with this, there are species that destroy St. John's wort, ragweed, nightshade and other weeds.

Reproduction of leaf beetles

Females lay eggs on the stems or leaves of plants. They look like piles that can be in different positions. Eggs come in a variety of colors, ranging from red to yellow.

In the family of leaf beetles, there are species that have switched to viviparity or ovoviviparity. An interesting fact is that in the first stage the larvae usually feed in groups. Growing up, the larva can remain in the group, or separate from everyone else and feed on its own.

How to fight the leaf beetle?

Features of the fight against leaf beetles depend on the species to which they belong.

For example, when a strawberry leaf beetle is detected, you first need to get rid of weeds, such as cinquefoil and meadowsweet, since the pest very often lives on them.

Strawberry bushes can only be treated with certain types of pesticides. Usually use 10% "Karbofos" (70 g / 8-10 l of water) or "Karate" (2-3 ml / 8-10 l of water).

At the end of fruiting, it is important not to forget to loosen the soil under the bushes from time to time - in this simple way the pupae of the pest are destroyed. To compensate for damage from beetle attacks, you can use drugs to stimulate the growth and development of strawberry bushes. In order to scare away leaf beetles in early spring, you can use tobacco dust, pollinate plants.

It is somewhat more difficult to combat the onion leaf beetle, since garlic or onion plantings cannot be sprayed with chemicals.

To protect yourself from the pest, you need to regularly get rid of weeds, strictly observe crop rotation, collect beetles by hand, and during the larval stage, spray the plants with effective infusions prepared from high larkspur or wormwood. You need to combat the onion leaf beetle in a comprehensive manner, and not use only one method.

Before fighting the viburnum leaf beetle, you need to trim and destroy dry inflorescences and branches - this way the pest population decreases. During the summer, adult insects and larvae must be collected by hand.

When fighting the viburnum leaf beetle, you can use the following insecticides: “Phosbucid”, “Aktellik”, “Kemifos”, “Molniya”.

Spraying with one of these preparations will be most effective during the period of mass emergence of larvae and emergence of adults.

You can prevent the appearance of leaf beetle pests by using the following methods:

  • pruning and destruction of shoots and branches damaged by adult insects or their larvae;
  • manual collection of adult pests and larvae;
  • reproduction in places where pests have settled, insects that eat their eggs. An example would be a ladybug;
  • spraying plants affected by leaf beetles with special chemicals;
  • application folk remedies, in particular, spraying the affected plants with an infusion of hot pepper, chamomile or tomato leaves.

Conclusion

It should be remembered that the success of pest control depends on how quickly it is started. In order to detect the leaf beetle in time, you need to periodically inspect trees and shrubs. With a minimum number of pests and proper timely treatment, the plants will be saved.

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Important! All content presented on the site is for educational and informational purposes only, aimed at giving visitors to the resource a clearer understanding of various parasites and related diseases. It is strictly forbidden to use the information posted on the site for self-diagnosis and self-medication; always contact a specialist!

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Photo. Rapeseed flower beetle - Meligethes aeneus F.

Systematic position.

Class Insecta, order Coleptera, family Nitidulidae, genus Meligethes.

Biological group.

Oligophages are pests of cruciferous crops.

Morphology and biology.

The body of an adult beetle is flat, oblong, 2-3 mm long, black on top with a metallic blue or green sheen. The prothorax is short. The elytra do not cover the last segment of the abdomen; their surface is covered with small dots and delicate gray hairs. The antennae are club-shaped, brownish-black, consist of 11 segments, the club itself consists of three. Legs are short. The tarsi are five-segmented; the tibiae of the front legs are serrated, reddish-brown or yellowish. The egg is elongated-oval, white, smooth. The grayish or yellowish larva has 3 pairs of thoracic legs, up to 4 mm long, covered with small black warts with hairs. The mesothoracic and metathoracic segments have a brown horny shield on both sides. The pupa is up to 3 mm long, initially light, then darkens. Beetles overwinter in the top layer of soil or in plant litter at the edges of forests and in forest belts. Awakening is observed in April-May when the average daily air temperature is above 8°C. Needs additional nutrition and is initially settled weeds from a wide variety of families; subsequently migrate to cruciferous weeds. In June it migrates to flowering cruciferous crops. Food includes flower petals, pollen, stamens, pistils, nectar, and flower ovaries. Damaged flowers dry out. This is where the insects mate, and after 3-4 days the females lay eggs in the young flower buds or flowers, one egg at a time. Fertility - 60-180 eggs. Embryonic development lasts 10-14 days. The larvae also begin to feed on the inside of flowers: pistils, stamens; They live 3-4 weeks and have three molts. Late-hatched larvae also eat the pods. Several flowers can change during a lifetime. Pupation occurs in the surface layer of soil. In mid-July, a new generation of beetles hatch.

Spreading.

Lives in Europe, Western and Central Asia, North Africa. On the territory b. The USSR is distributed everywhere (except for the Far North). The greatest harmfulness is observed in a number of regions of the Central zone of the European part of Russia, Siberia, the Urals, Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova.

Ecology.

Mass colonization of flowering vegetation by hatched beetles is observed in late May - early June at an average daily air temperature of 13.8-14.6°C (the sum of effective temperatures is 239-247°C). Insects live hidden - inside the flower, preferring fields protected from cold winds, adjacent to dense weeds. It develops successfully in a wide range of temperatures, the most favorable conditions are at 21-26°C and relative air humidity of 70-80%. Gives one generation per year in the North-Western and Central zones of Russia; in the south - 2-3. Natural entomophages: Malachius aeneus F., Microgaster sp., Coccinella septempunctata and others.

Economic importance.

Damages rapeseed, mustard, rutabaga, cabbage and other cultivated cruciferous plants. Damaged flowers fall off. We can talk about the harmfulness of the beetle if there are 2 individuals per plant. Damage to one plant by 5 beetles reduces the yield by 16%, and by 20 beetles - up to 50%. The beetles of the overwintered generation are the most harmful. Protective measures: weed control, autumn plowing, destruction of post-harvest residues, application chemicals protection against both adults and larvae at appropriate insect numbers.

© Berim M.N.

Latin name:

Meligethes aeneus

Synonyms:

Rape pollen beetle, Meligethes brassicae, Meligethes aeneus, Rape pollen beetle

Classifier:

Arthropods › Insects › Coleoptera (beetles)› Sparkles

Literary sources:

  1. Blinova V.P. Justification and improvement of a set of measures to combat the rapeseed flower beetle (Meligethes aeneus F.) on the testes of forage cruciferous crops in the conditions of the Moscow region (abstract of Ph.D. thesis). Leningrad: LSHI, 1972. 25 p.
  2. Bogdanov-Katkov N.N. Pests of seed crops. Rapeseed flower beetle (Meligethes aeneus F.). St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg TAZRA, 1920. 15 p.
  3. Vlasenko N.G. Rapeseed flower beetle. / Protection and quarantine of plants. 1977. No. 8. P. 47.
  4. Vlasenko N.G. Attractiveness of cruciferous plants to imago rapeseed flower beetle. / Forecast and integrated control of pests, diseases and weeds of agricultural crops. Sat. scientific works of the Siberian Research Institute of Agriculture and Chemicalization of Agriculture. (ed. Korobov V.A.). Novosibirsk: Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 1991. P. 40-41.
  5. Volkov S.M., Zimin L.S., Rudenko D.K., Tupenevich S.M. Atlas of pests and diseases of agricultural crops in the Non-Chernozem zone of the European part of the USSR. M.-L.: Agricultural Publishing House. Literature, 1955. P.!64.
  6. Harmful animals of Central Asia. / Ed. E.N. Pavlovsky. M.-L.: Publishing house of the USSR Academy of Sciences. 1949. P. 66.
  7. Gar K.A., Melnikova A.I. Forecast for the appearance of rapeseed flower beetles and processing time. / Plant protection. 1986. No. 7. P. 51-52.
  8. Karavyansky N.S., Blinova V.P. Rapeseed flower beetle. / Agriculture of Belarus. 1970. No. 12. P. 15.
  9. Karavyansky N.S., Mazur O.P. Pests and diseases fodder crops. M.: Rosselkhozizdat, 1975. P. 214.
  10. Kireychuk A.G. Spangled beetles of the superfamily Meligethinae (Coleoptera, Nitidulidae) of the fauna of the USSR (abstract of Ph.D. thesis). Leningrad: ZIN, 1979. 24 p.
  11. Kozhanchikov L. On the biology of Meligethus aeneus Fabr. / Plant protection from pests. Bulletin Bureau of All-Russian Entomo-Phytopathological Congresses (ed. Bogdanov-Katkov N.N.). L.: Publishing house protection of plants from pests, 1929. P. 560-562.
  12. Mankova G.S. Rapeseed flower beetle and testing of some insecticides to combat it. / Issues of agricultural technology and selection of field crops. Collection of scientific works Bel. Research Institute of Agriculture (ed. Samsonov V.P.). Zhodino: Research Institute of Agriculture, 1977. pp. 193-198.
  13. Forecasting the appearance and recording of pests and diseases of agricultural crops. / Ed. V.V.Kosova, I.Ya.Polyakova. M.: Publishing house of the USSR Ministry of Agriculture, 1958. P. 539-540.
  14. Forecast of the distribution of the main pests and diseases of agricultural crops for 1989. / Ed. AND I. Polyakova et al. M.: VIZR, 1989. P. 145-146.
  15. Forecast of the distribution of the main pests and diseases of agricultural crops for 1990. / Ed. AND I. Polyakova et al. M.: VIZR, 1989. P. 120.
  16. Forecast and integrated control of pests, diseases and weeds of agricultural crops. Sat. scientific works of the Siberian Research Institute of Agriculture and Chemicalization of Agriculture. (ed. Korobov V.A.). Novosibirsk: Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 1991. P. 40-41.
  17. Agricultural entomology. / Ed. A.A. Migulina. M.: Kolos, 1983. pp. 207-208.
  18. Titov K.G. Protection of cruciferous testes from rapeseed flower beetle. / Agriculture of Belarus. 1960. No. 7. P. 73-74.
  19. Chesnokov P. Features of the bioecology of the rapeseed flower beetle and their significance for the protection of the testes of cruciferous crops. / Sat. scientific works of the Pushkin laboratories VIR (ed. Eichfeld I.G.). L.: VIR, 1949. pp. 265-269.
  20. Shchegolev V.N. Agricultural entomology. M.-L.: State. agricultural publishing house Literature, 1960. pp. 263-265.

The rapeseed flower beetle belongs to the family of sparkleweeds. It is quite objectively considered one of the most dangerous insects that harm plant seeds on a very wide scale. Pests such as cabbage moth and cabbage fly also like to prey on cabbage plants.

The locations of the rapeseed flower beetle have a huge range. The Chernozem, Volga regions and North Caucasus. Plantings of rapeseed, cabbage, mustard, radish and many other similar plants are subject to its attacks.

The large number of these pests is due to their resistance to cold and early awakening, literally as soon as the snow melts. Rapeseed flower beetles spend the winter in the remains of grass and foliage, as well as in thick bushes or in the trees. As soon as the air temperature rises to ten degrees, they wake up. At twelve degrees, they begin to settle in places where they can find initial food. Usually they choose places with an abundance of densely growing weeds that have good protection from the wind.

Description of the insect

Larva

The body of the larva of this beetle with three pairs of legs has a light gray tint. It is completely covered with black warts. The head is dark brown.

Adult

The body of an adult beetle is black. The rapeseed flower beetle is characterized by a bluish or green metallic sheen. Legs are brown. The length ranges from one and a half to two and a half centimeters.

Reproduction method

On winter crops, eggs begin to be laid starting in April. To do this, females gnaw holes in unopened flower buds. Larvae appear on average after two weeks. And after another week they go into the ground, where they begin to pupate and in July a new generation of full-fledged individuals of the rapeseed flower beetle appears. The larvae can only develop in the flowers of cabbage crops.

Since these beetles are characterized by fairly high cold resistance, in southern latitudes they can produce three generations per season. Young beetles feed on cabbage flowers during the summer, and by August they begin to fly to their wintering areas.

What harm does it cause to plants?

The rapeseed beetle causes damage to flower buds when feeding. cabbage plants, damaging the seeds. Even if they continue to develop further, they grow deformed and unusable.

Often, with large invasions of these beetles, more than 70% of the seed material dies.

Nutrition method

Since rapeseed flower beetles are adherents of a hidden lifestyle, which they lead inside the buds, in order to penetrate there, they gnaw many holes in them. Their main harm is that, by eating pollen, they damage the ovaries of the flower, as well as the pedicels and sepals. The buds in which the flower beetles settle begin to turn yellow, and then completely dry out and fall off.

In small quantities larvae cause less damage to flower stalks than adults. But if they settle in numbers of more than five inside one bud, then, in addition to pollen, they eat inner part flower. Then they move on to neighboring buds, and when they run out, they begin eating shoots and young pods that have formed.

How can house ants be dangerous? You will find the answer in the article at this link.

Means and methods of control

Prevention is better than cure

In order to prevent the mass spread of rapeseed beetle in places where cabbage crops are planted, it is necessary to treat the plants and take preventive measures:

  • Carefully remove weeds in which beetles can settle in early spring. In the autumn, all remaining plant cover should be removed so that the rapeseed flower beetle does not remain there for the winter;
  • it is necessary to carry out agricultural work in compliance with all rules and technologies;
  • If possible, seeds should be sown in the most early dates so that flowering begins before the females can lay eggs in the flowers;
  • constantly loosen the soil near cabbage plants, this will help disrupt the pupation process of beetle larvae;
  • Spray with specially designed compounds.

Fighting technology

As soon as an infestation of crops with rapeseed flower beetle is detected, treatment of cabbage crops must immediately begin. The following solutions can be used:

  1. andometrine (0.04 percent),
  2. tsimbusha (0.03 percent),
  3. zolon (0.3 percent);
  4. etafosa (0.2 percent).

What pests damage rapeseed and rapeseed?

Rapeseed and rapeseed have many pests, but this does not mean that we need to fight them all. The fight must be carried out at the threshold of harmfulness, when the cost of chemical treatment is equal to or lower than the cost of increasing the yield.

Among the most common pests of rapeseed and rapeseed, we should note the cruciferous flea beetle, rapeseed flower beetle, cabbage moth, rapeseed sawfly, meadow moth, stem and seed secretive insects, cabbage and turnip whiteweed, and aphids.

The most dangerous pests, chemical protection against which is necessary annually, are the cruciferous flea beetle and the rapeseed flower beetle. Over the past 20 years, the meadow moth has attacked rapeseed once, the sawfly sometimes makes itself felt, and you should pay attention to the cabbage moth. White-winged white-winged butterflies are often seen, but they are very few in number. An outbreak of any pest is quite likely when created by nature favorable conditions for its reproduction. A pest forecast for the year ahead is published annually. But since the forecast is not always accurate, and we cannot yet control nature, we must always be prepared for any outbreaks, or rather, conduct regular monitoring of rapeseed crops throughout the entire growing season - from sowing to ripening and be always prepared for repelling an attack.

What is rapeseed flower beetle?

Rapeseed flower beetle after cruciferous flea beetle- pest number 2.

This is a small bug, up to 3 millimeters long, black in color, with a greenish shiny tint, which is why the rapeseed flower beetle is sometimes called the rapeseed beetle.

The beetles overwinter in the soil, their emergence is timed to coincide with the beginning of the flowering of early cruciferous weeds; they migrate to rapeseed when buds begin to form. It would be more correct to call the flower beetle a “bud beetle”, because sometimes the buds are so damaged that it does not bloom; only those flowers bloom, the buds of which remained untouched by the pest due to the end of the period of its harmfulness.

The beetles bite into the bud, eat the stamens, pistils and flower petals, lay eggs inside the buds, and larvae develop there and eat the contents of the bud.

The period of harmfulness of the rapeseed flower beetle is mid-May - end of June; in years with cold May, it also covers the first ten days of July. The peak of the greatest harmfulness of the flower beetle occurs in mid-June.

The rapeseed flower beetle develops in one generation; in July, the beetles of the new generation scatter in search of food, gain weight and fat, winter well and pose a serious threat to the next year's crop.

How to deal with rapeseed flower beetle?

For now only chemically, since other methods are available, but widespread they haven't received it yet. Thus, the famous scientist (late) Dr. Dieter Spaar, whose book “Rapeseed and Rapeseed Rape” became a reference book, argued that rapeseed in ecological farming, i.e. It is impossible to grow without the use of pesticides (this book is on sale in our editorial office - editor's note).

But there is a way that does not require the use of pesticides, but science does not recognize it. This method is very simple, does not require additional costs, and it already has followers. And this method consists in postponing the sowing dates for a whole month ahead, which was justified above and will be justified below in connection with meteorological data on the dynamics of the temperature regime, while the development of plants is delayed by a whole month and the most vulnerable phases of the development of rapeseed and rapeseed seedlings and budding do not coincide with the period of highest harmfulness of both the flea beetle and the flower beetle. Rapeseed and rapeseed seem to “escape” pests, which makes it possible to significantly reduce the pesticide load on nature, our mother, and in some cases, do without the use of pesticides at all.

What is the chemical control of rapeseed flower beetle?

In carrying out spraying of crops with insecticides. There are economic thresholds of harmfulness when present on one plant:

At the beginning of budding stage - 1-2 beetles;

In the budding stage - 3-4 beetles;

There are 5-6 beetles at the end of budding stage.

But many years of practice show that it is necessary to start spraying rapeseed and rapeseed crops without waiting for the economic threshold of harmfulness. Due to our sluggishness and weak material and technical base for chemical protection, treatment against the flower beetle is often carried out untimely, as a result of which most of the harvest is lost.

The flower beetle beetles move onto the rapeseed from the weeds, place themselves near the intended location of the bud and wait patiently for the bud to begin to appear. Therefore, it is necessary to inspect the crops daily while still in the rosette phase and, if flower beetles are detected on rapeseed, begin spraying. Existing insecticides protect crops for 10-12 days, and it is better to start treating crops 2-3 days earlier than 1 day late.

The second treatment should be carried out 10-12 days after the first, before flowering begins. During the flowering period, rapeseed cannot be treated with chemicals; this leads to the destruction of bees and other beneficial pollinating insects.

What insecticides can be used on rapeseed and rapeseed against the flower beetle?

Any pyrethroid drugs like Decis - Tarzan (0.07-0.2), Sumi-alpha (0.15-0.3), Fascord (0.1-0.36), Tsitkor (0.15-0.5), Fastak (0. 1), Kinmiks (0.2-0.3), Karate-zeon (0.15), and many others.

What mistakes are made when chemically protecting rapeseed from the flower beetle?

First and main mistake - delay in the start of spraying, which leads to large crop losses. And the reason is that the implementation of protective measures for many crops coincides in time and the sprayer enters the rapeseed field at the very last place. Conclusion - rapeseed farmers should have their own sprayer, which should be in in the right place at the right time.

Second mistake - when a sprayer enters a rapeseed field after chemical weeding of grain with herbicides without washing the container and the entire system. In this case, rapeseed dies in the area treated with one sprayer filling. Conclusion - The sprayer needs to be washed!

These two errors are from poverty and deprivation.

From poverty because most farms have only one sprayer, the productivity of which is low due to the high consumption of working solution per hectare - 200-300 liters and the sprayer costs more at a gas station than it does in the field, its productivity is very low. In chemical works with systemic preparations, it is necessary to switch to low-volume spraying when productivity increases several times, which is equivalent to purchasing several new sprayers.

From depersonalization because the salary of a machine operator who works on spraying does not depend on the final result - the yield, he needs to work more hectares.

Third mistake concerns spring rapeseed, which, due to its precocity, is attacked by the flower beetle 5-7 days earlier than rapeseed, when no one is waiting for it. You just need to be aware of this, regularly inspect the crops and start processing in a timely manner.

Found in practice and other errors - spraying in hot weather, using harsh and cold water. This applies not only to rapeseed.

Is it always necessary to carry out two sprays against rapeseed flower beetle?

Treatments must be carried out according to the threshold of harmfulness, but always on early rapeseed and rapeseed crops.

For later crops (end of May), one treatment at the beginning of budding is sufficient; the rapeseed “goes away” from the second treatment.

On the latest rapeseed crops, in the first ten days of June, sometimes you can do without spraying; sometimes one treatment is enough.

On winter rape crops, flowering begins early - in the first half of May, when the flower beetle has not yet woken up after hibernation and there is no need for spraying. There is no need to spray spring rapeseed sown in the third ten days of June, because during its budding period, the flower beetle is no longer dangerous.

On crops of winter rape, which blooms later than winter rape, one treatment - at the end of budding - is necessary.

In any case, you need to keep an eye on rapeseed and rapeseed, especially spring forms, from sowing to ripening, otherwise you may be left without a harvest.

What is the rapeseed stalk stalker?

This bug is an early pest, the female of which lays eggs on the underside of the rapeseed leaf at daytime temperatures of +8+10 degrees. The larvae penetrate the stem and move inside it, feeding on the plant pulp.

Damaged plants are prone to lodging, especially in dense crops. Affected plants seem to curl, and affected shoots break off. In case of a mass casualty, the damage is noticeable, but so far it has not come to that. The most favorable weather for breeding of the stem stalker is a cool, rainy spring. The main method of combating stem secrecy is to inlay seeds with the same preparations as against cruciferous flea beetle. For late (June) crops, the stem stalker is not dangerous.

Is cabbage moth dangerous?

It is dangerous and even very dangerous in hot and dry May. The cabbage moth appears at the beginning of budding of spring rapeseed. For early sowings this is the beginning of June.

The moth feeds on the pulp of the leaf from the underside; it does not gnaw holes through, but reduces the intensity of photosynthesis, thereby reducing the yield. Control measures are the same as for the rapeseed flower beetle.

Should you be wary of the rapeseed sawfly?

The rapeseed sawfly looks like a fly with a reddish tint. The damage is caused by a greenish-gray, very voracious false caterpillar up to 25 mm long with 11 pairs of legs. The false caterpillar overwinters in the soil at a depth of up to 10 cm and flies out in May. Females lay eggs in the pulp of the leaf. The false caterpillars hatched from eggs eat away the pulp of the leaves, and the damage goes in a circle, increasing in diameter (cannot be confused with anything!). A few days are enough for only skeletons of petioles to remain on the rapeseed field.

But there is no need to rush with plowing, because... new plants begin to grow from the preserved roots, ripening occurs with a month delay (as with late sowing in June) and the yield of oil seeds is no lower than from undead plants, especially if nitrogen fertilizing is given. There were such cases.

The sawfly develops in three generations; it can manifest itself at any time during the growing season; observations are needed. When plants are damaged by false caterpillars of the second and third generation, the regrowth green mass can be used for livestock feed.

Are aphids found on rapeseed?

It occurs quite often. Aphids colonize individual plants; no mass damage was observed. In case of mass destruction, you can spray with any systemic insecticide from sucking pests.

Beautiful white-winged butterflies constantly fly in the rapeseed fields. Is there any harm from them?

These are cabbage and turnip white butterflies fluttering. It is not the butterflies that cause harm, but their green caterpillars, up to 25 mm long, whose bodies are covered with numerous hairs and bristles.

Cabbage white caterpillars begin to gnaw leaves from the edges, approaching the veins. Turnip white caterpillars gnaw a leaf without any system, after which large, numerous holes form on the leaves. White butterflies develop in 2-4 generations, so they are visible all summer... Butterflies fly in search of a place to lay eggs. And if there are a lot of butterflies flying, then there will be a lot of caterpillars.

Control measures:

1. Release of Trichogramma, which lays its eggs in the white eggs and destroys them from the inside.

2. Treatment of crops with biological products - dendrobacillin or bitoxibacillin.

Tell me, does the meadow moth harm crops?

The meadow moth is a multi-row pest; it is especially dangerous for plants with succulent, fleshy leaves, including rapeseed. Meadow moth butterflies with light brown wings and dark brown spots on them. The wings are folded into a triangle. The pest is a caterpillar up to 35 mm long, greenish-gray in color with 8 pairs of legs, a dark stripe along the back and yellowish stripes on the sides, and a black head.

The hatched caterpillars eat everything, leaving behind a stem shrouded in cobwebs. It is very important not to miss the beginning of the summer of butterflies, i.e. the beginning of oviposition. The most effective remedy against the meadow moth - trichogramma.

Does rapeseed have diseases and what are the measures to combat them?

They still exist high damage They are not applied to rapeseed, but you need to have an idea about them, because... At any moment, depending on prevailing weather conditions, an outbreak of one or another disease is possible. The most common of them are fomoz, gray rot, alternaria, powdery mildew and a number of others. Agrotechnical measures play a leading role in protecting rapeseed from diseases. Usually, the infectious onset of diseases remains in the soil; crop rotation must be observed and rapeseed must not be allowed to return to its original place earlier than after 3 years.

Fertilizers must be applied in balanced quantities. High doses of nitrogen without phosphorus and potassium increase yield, but reduce plant resistance to disease. Timely cleaning and drying oil seeds prevent them from becoming infected with diseases.

Among the chemical control measures, seed treatment is still used

fungicides; if necessary, spraying of crops is possible.

How to increase the effectiveness of chemical protection of rapeseed?

First of all, by reducing the time required to carry out protective measures, and this is possible by increasing the productivity of sprayers and, above all, by switching to low-volume spraying with systemic preparations, and most of them are systemic.

What is the best way to organize work during low-volume spraying?

Work in the morning from 4 to 8 hours before the heat of the day sets in, and in the evening from 18 to 22 hours, after the heat of the day subsides.

One refill of the OP-2000 sprayer tank at a working solution consumption of 25 l/ha and at a unit speed of 10 km/h is enough to treat 80 hectares, two refills - for 160 hectares, which is 3-4 times more than with high water consumption .

The output per sprayer can be increased by increasing the speed of movement (if field levelness allows), by increasing the operating time when using a GPS satellite navigation device with replacing the tractor driver (an additional 4 hours in the morning and evening) and uninterrupted supply of water, and even better - ready working solution.

If the daytime temperature is no more than 20 degrees, spraying can also be carried out during the daytime by placing another tractor driver on the tractor, since during chemical work one operator is not allowed to work for more than 4 hours in a row. Then there will be no problems with chemical treatments!

What to do if early sowing the rapeseed is overgrown with weeds, and the rapeseed beetle prevents the buds from blooming?

Such cases occur in those farms where rapeseed was sown in the first half of May, but they were unable to buy pesticides. If the rapeseed density is at least 100 plants per square meter, necessary:

2. Apply 1-2 c/ha of ammonium nitrate with a grain seeder;

3. Thresh in the month of September.

The point is that from the roots remaining in the soil, the rapeseed will quickly grow back, ammonium nitrate will promote good branching and suppress weeds, pesticides will not be required. In other words, it will be similar to sowing at a later date.

If mowing is delayed, rapeseed may not ripen, but its green mass can be used for livestock feed at the end of September, and the regrown crop will yield a harvest of green mass for feeding in October-November.

What is the systemCLEARFIELD(CLEARFIELD)?

Production system CLEARFIELD on rapeseed - this is a unique herbicide combination NOPASARAN and high-yielding hybrids rapeseed resistant to these hybrids. Resistance of rapeseed hybrids obtained traditional method selection, without the use of genetic engineering methods, which means that these hybrids are not transgenic. A single application of the herbicide NOPASARAN allows not only to destroy weeds that have sprouted at the time of treatment, but also to create a soil herbicide screen that inhibits subsequent germination of weeds. The CLEARFIELD production system is suitable for both classical rapeseed growing technology and minimal technology, and especially for direct seeding into the stubble of the previous crop.


What is rapeseed flower beetle?

The rapeseed flower beetle, after the cruciferous flea beetle, is pest No. 2.

In the Republic of Tatarstan there has not been a single year without great harm from the flower beetle.

The rapeseed flower beetle is a small bug up to 3 millimeters long, black in color with a greenish shiny tint, which is why the rapeseed flower beetle is sometimes called the rapeseed beetle.

The beetles overwinter in the soil, their emergence is timed to coincide with the beginning of the flowering of early cruciferous weeds; they migrate to rapeseed when buds begin to form. It would be more correct to call the flower beetle a bud beetle, because sometimes the buds are so damaged that it does not bloom; only those flowers bloom, the buds of which remained untouched by the pest due to the end of the period of its harmfulness.

The beetles bite into the bud, eat the stamens, pistils and flower petals, lay eggs inside the buds, and larvae develop there and eat the contents of the bud.

The period of harmfulness of the rapeseed flower beetle is mid-May to late June; in years with cold May, it also covers the first ten days of June. The peak of the greatest harmfulness of the flower beetle occurs in mid-June.

The rapeseed flower beetle develops in one generation; in July, the beetles of the new generation scatter in search of food, gain weight and fat, winter well and pose a serious threat to the next year's crop.

Ways to combat rapeseed flower beetle

For now, this is only possible using a chemical method, because there are other methods, but they have not yet become widespread.

This is what the famous author, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, professor, foreign member of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences Dieter Spaar writes in the book “Rapeseed rape and rapeseed” (Moscow, 2007, UDC 633.853.484), which he co-wrote with other 19 doctors and professors on page 224 in the section “Features of growing rapeseed in ecological farming”: “Experience shows that rapeseed, which requires intensive plant protection for satisfactory yields, is relatively difficult to grow in ecological farming.” On page 225 there is the following statement: “A big problem in organic farming is the control of pests and diseases, especially the fight against the rapeseed flower beetle. The profitability of production highly depends on the successful solution of this problem,” and the following summary: “.... many issues, especially pest control, have not yet been satisfactorily resolved, because the range of permitted means for direct events is very limited and many of the permitted means are not effective enough,”

Scientists have admitted their weakness in the face of the rapeseed flower beetle.

"Other Ways" by Dr. Spaar

The rapeseed flower beetle is a dangerous pest of rapeseed and rapeseed. Scientists are looking for ways to destroy it, but the above 9 methods have no practical significance yet.

There is another one - this will be the 10th method that does not require the use of pesticides, but science does not recognize it. This method is very simple, does not require additional costs, it already has followers, and although there are not many of them yet, there will be many soon. And this method consists in moving the sowing time forward by a whole month, while the development of plants is delayed by a whole month and the most vulnerable phases of the development of rapeseed and rape seedlings and budding do not coincide with the period of the highest harmfulness of both the flea beetle and the flower beetle. Rapeseed and rapeseed seem to “escape” pests, which makes it possible to significantly reduce the pesticide load on nature, and in some cases, avoid the use of pesticides altogether.

In the meantime, chemical weapons are the main means of destroying the flower beetle.

June sowings make it possible to grow spring rapeseed in ecological farming, without the use of pesticides. Does Dr. D. Spaar know about this?

In his book “Rapeseed rape and rapeseed,” Dr. D. Spaar preaches sowing rapeseed at the earliest possible date; he says nothing about June sowing dates. I probably didn't study it. But he complains that it is difficult to grow rapeseed in organic farming due to the impossibility of growing it without pesticides.

Actually, I should know, because the experience of growing rapeseed in Tatarstan has been widely publicized; there are publications in several central magazines and on the Internet regarding the postponement of sowing dates for rapeseed and rapeseed from May to June.

His book is written on the example of Germany and the Republic of Belarus, where climatic conditions are completely different, unlike Tatarstan.

Chemical control of rapeseed flower beetle

In carrying out spraying of crops with insecticides. There are economic thresholds of harmfulness when present on 1 plant:
- at the stage of beginning budding - 1-2 beetles;
- in the budding stage - 3-4 beetles;
- at the end of budding stage - 5-6 beetles.

But many years of practice show that it is necessary to start spraying rapeseed and rapeseed crops without waiting for the economic threshold of harmfulness. Due to our sluggishness and weak material and technical base for chemical protection, treatment against the flower beetle is often not carried out in a timely manner, which results in the majority of the harvest being missed.

The flower beetle beetles move onto the rapeseed from the weeds, place themselves near the intended location of the bud and wait patiently for the bud to begin to appear. Therefore, it is necessary to inspect the crops daily while still in the rosette phase and, if flower beetles are detected on rapeseed, begin spraying. Existing insecticides protect crops for 10-12 days and it is better to start treating crops 2-3 days earlier than 1 day late.

The second treatment should be carried out 10-12 days after the first, before flowering begins. During the flowering period, rapeseed cannot be treated with chemicals; this leads to the destruction of bees and other beneficial pollinating insects.

Insecticides used on rapeseed against flower beetle- these are any pyrethroid drugs such as Decis - Tarzan (0.07-0.2), Sumi-alpha (0.15-0.3), Fascord (0.1-0.36), Tsitkor (0.15-0.5), Fastak (0.1), Kinmiks (0.2), Karate- zeon (0.15), and others.

Errors encountered when chemically protecting rapeseed from flower beetle

The first and main mistake- delay in the start of spraying, which leads to large crop losses. And the reason is that the implementation of protective measures for many crops coincides in time and the sprayer enters the rapeseed field at the very last place. Conclusion - the rapeseed unit must have its own sprayer, which must be in the right place at the right time.

Second mistake- when the sprayer enters a rapeseed field after chemically weeding the grain with herbicides without washing the container and the entire system. In this case, rapeseed dies in the area treated with one sprayer filling. Conclusion - the sprayer needs to be washed!

These two mistakes come from poverty and impersonality.

From poverty because most farms have only one sprayer, the productivity of which is not high due to the high consumption of working solution per hectare - 200-300 liters and the sprayer costs more at the gas station than it works in the field, its productivity is very low. In chemical works with systemic drugs, it is necessary to switch to low-volume spraying when productivity increases several times, which is equivalent to purchasing several new sprayers.

From deprivation of personal income because the salary of a machine operator who works on spraying does not depend on the final result - the yield; he needs to work more hectares. The rapeseed unit must have its own sprayer.

The third mistake concerns spring rapeseed, which, due to its precocity, is attacked by the flower beetle 5-7 days earlier than rapeseed, when no one is waiting for it. You just need to be aware of this, regularly inspect the crops and start processing in a timely manner.

There are other mistakes in practice - spraying in hot weather, using hard and cold water. This applies not only to rapeseed.

The effect of chemical treatment of rapeseed crops against the flower beetle on bees

Chemical treatment against the flower beetle must be carried out before rapeseed and rapeseed begin to flower, then the bees will be alive and healthy.

When sprayed during the flowering of rapeseed and rapeseed, the bees die along with the flower beetle. Don't be late with spraying!

Is it always necessary to carry out two chemical treatments against rapeseed flower beetle?

Treatments must be carried out according to the threshold of harmfulness, but always on rapeseed and rapeseed crops in the first half of May under the conditions of the Republic of Tatarstan.

For crops in the second half of May, one treatment at the beginning of budding is sufficient; the rapeseed “goes away” from the second treatment.

At the latest sowings of rapeseed - in the first ten days of June, sometimes you can do without spraying, sometimes one treatment is enough.

On winter rape crops, flowering begins early - in the first half of May, when the flower beetle has not yet woken up after hibernation and there is no need for spraying. There is no need to spray spring rapeseed sown in the third ten days of June, because during its budding period, the flower beetle is no longer dangerous.

On crops of winter rape, which blooms later than winter rape, one treatment - at the end of budding - is necessary.

In any case, you need to keep an eye on rapeseed and rapeseed, especially spring forms, from sowing to ripening, otherwise you may be left without a harvest.

Influence on the flower beetle sowing rapeseed and rapeseed in late (June) periods

Rape and rapeseed seem to “escape” pests, including the flower beetle.

On what basis is this judgment?

Based on the biology of the rapeseed flower beetle.

It is known that the rapeseed flower beetle develops in one generation. In 1990, the developmental biology of the rapeseed flower beetle was studied in detail.

Its harmfulness begins from the moment the eggs are laid and ends with the emergence of a new generation of beetles. In the conditions of the Republic of Tatarstan, this is a period from approximately the second half of May to the end of June. The peak of the greatest harmfulness occurs in the 1-2 decades of June; the budding of rapeseed and rapeseed, sown in the first and second decades of May, exactly coincides with the peak of the harmfulness of the rapeseed flower beetle. It’s as if we ourselves are giving rapeseed and rapeseed to be eaten by the pest, creating difficulties for ourselves for their subsequent heroic overcoming by double chemical treatment, and not always on time, or rather, always at the wrong time, with a delay.

This is clearly visible on the graph of combining the periods of rapeseed development phases with the period of harmfulness of the flower beetle. When sowing early, 2 chemical treatments are necessary. This graph also clearly shows that when sowing rapeseed in the first ten days of June, the flower beetle is no longer dangerous; only one treatment can be carried out against it.

Spring rapeseed, sown in the third decade of June, does not suffer from the flower beetle at all; chemical treatment is simply not needed.

This fits well with the position of Academician A.A. Zhuchenko on the need to transition from a modern industrial-technogenic farming strategy to an alternative-adaptive one, which is dictated by life itself and is not disputed by anyone. The essence of the alternative-adaptive strategy is to adapt agriculture to maximize the use of the evolutionary genetic potential of plants. This involves placing them in a kind of ecological niche in which the plants are most productive and competitively resistant to weeds, pests, diseases and other environmental factors.

No one objects that millet and buckwheat are late sowing crops. It's time to understand that spring rapeseed and rapeseed are universal crops in terms of sowing time, that they can be sown both early and late.

Position of academician Zhuchenko A.A. in relation to rapeseed and rapeseed - this is sowing at the maximum possible late date for a particular region, which guarantees their ripening upon receipt high yield with minimal costs, especially for chemical protection.

Confirmation of these arguments

In the experiments Yulmetyev R.M. with the timing of sowing rapeseed, plots that were sown before May 20 were sprayed twice, those sown at the end of May - once. The plots sown in early June were not sprayed even once, because... the presence of the flower beetle did not exceed the threshold of harmfulness.

The same is observed in industrial crops.

What to do if the early sowing of rapeseed is overgrown with weeds, and the rapeseed flower beetle does not allow the buds to bloom?

Such cases occur in those farms where rapeseed was sown in the first half of May, but they were unable to buy pesticides.

If the rapeseed density is at least 100 plants per square meter, you must:

  1. Before July 10, mow the above-ground mass at a cutting height of at least 15 cm.
  2. Apply 1-2 c/ha of ammonium nitrate using a grain seeder.
  3. Harvest in September.

The point is that the rapeseed will quickly grow back from the roots remaining in the soil, amselitra will promote good branching and suppress weeds, no pesticides will be required. In other words, it will be similar to sowing at a later date.

If mowing is delayed, rapeseed may not ripen, but its green mass can be used for livestock feed at the end of September, and the regrown crop will yield a harvest of green mass for feeding in October-November.



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