Wireworms are the worm-like larva of the click beetle that can damage potato crops.
The insect bores long passages in tubers, making them unsuitable for storage and consumption. How to save potatoes from wireworms and how to deal with them in the garden?
There are several methods of protecting potatoes from wireworms, which can be classified into agrotechnical, mechanical and chemical.
Agrotechnical methods of protecting potatoes from wireworms
- Deep digging of the soil in spring and autumn with the identification and removal of larvae, pupae and click beetles.
- Crop rotation. Do not plant potatoes in the same area for more than two years in a row. Good predecessors for potatoes are beans, peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage.
- Use green manure crops to repel wireworms. Mustard, lupine, vetch and alfalfa are particularly effective. Planting lettuce between rows of potatoes, whose roots are eaten by the pests, can also help.
- Liming the soil. Wireworms like acidic soil, so increasing the soil pH to 6-7 will help get rid of them.
Mechanical methods of protecting potatoes from wireworms
- Traps with sweet bait. In the evening, place bowls with sugar syrup or diluted jam on the site. In the morning, collect the larvae that have been caught and destroy them.
- Check tubers when digging. Remove damaged tubers and do not use them for planting or storage.
Chemical methods of protecting potatoes from wireworms
- Treat the holes before planting with a solution of potassium permanganate (5 g per 10 l of water) at the rate of half a liter of solution per hole.
- Treating tubers before planting with insecticides, such as Aktara, Prestige or Tabu.
- Treatment of crops during the growing season with insecticides, for example, Confidor, Bazudin or Calypso.
- There are different ways to protect potatoes from wireworms.
The main thing is not to neglect the problem and take timely measures to combat the pest. If you notice wireworms on your plot, do not postpone the treatment of plantings and soil. This way you can save the harvest of potatoes and other root crops.
Earlier we wrote about the rules for fertilizing strawberries.